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Announcing 2010's Best Waterfront Day Trips! Click here to see MWA's first installment in the series.
 
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Dragon Boat team clean-up

This beautiful shot is from Jennifer Wise Merendino's cellphone on May 1, 2010, when she and her Empire Dragon Boat teammates met with other generous citizens to pick
up trash along and in the Flushing Bay waterfront. See the story below
about the event and the team.


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WaterWire is your platform for getting the word out. All comments, points of view, event notices, and letters to the editor, Alison Simko, are welcome.

V2020

EventsGET INVOLVED!
Help update the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. The Bronx and Brooklyn workshops have taken place already, but there are still four workshops to go.
See below.

QUEENS WORKSHOP 
June 2, 2010, 6-8:30 pm
York College
Health and Physical Education Building
160-02 Liberty Avenue, Jamaica
 
MANHATTAN WORKSHOP
June 8, 2010, 6-8:30 pm
Murry Bergtraum High School
411 Pearl St. Manhattan

STATEN ISLAND WORKSHOP
June 28, 2010, 6-8:30 pm
Spiro Hall, Wagner College
One Campus Road, Staten Island
 
BLUE NETWORK AND CITYWIDE ISSUES WORKSHOP
June 24, 2010, 6:30-9 pm
PS 234
292 Greenwich St., Manhattan
The Blue Network is the term for our waterways themselves. This sixth workshop will examine and discuss the opportunities to use NYC waterways for recreation, transportation and education. The ecology of the water bodies will be discussed, as will the city's resilience to climate change and sea level rise.
 
More information about these workshops and Vision 2020 can be found at www.nyc.gov/waterfront

EventsEvents on the Waterfront
Click on the links for more
information about these events.
A detailed calendar of events
may be found at www.waterfrontalliance.org/calendar

May 20
Parks Advocacy Day
8:30a, NYU Kimmel Center's Rosenthal Pavilion, 60 Washington Square South
 
Info session: Hudson-Raritan Estuary Comprehensive Restoration Plan
3p and 6p, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, Cross Bay Blvd, Queens
 
Seminar: North River Sail & Power Squadron series
6p, 283 Lexington Ave @ 37th Street
 
Open House: Food & Water Watch of New Jersey
6:30p, 100 Bayard Street, Suite 301
New Brunswick, NJ
 
Benefit: Rock the Dock Hudson River Community Sailing
7p, Pier 66 Maritime
 
Meeting: Croton Filtration Monitoring Committee presentation
7p, 3660 Jerome Avenue, Bronx
 
May 22
Family program: Seining the River Wild
9:30a, Brooklyn Bridge Park
 
Kayak: Kayak & Beach Cleanup
10a, MacNeil Park, College Point, Queens
 
Beach Clean-up
11a, Beach 25th Street & beach boardwalk, Rockaways
 
Celebration and parade: Hudson River Pageant
1pm, start at World Financial Ctr Plaza
 
Reception: Tugboats/Waterfront Scenes
3pm, Waterfront Museum, foot of Conover Street, Red Hook, across from Fairway
 
May 23
Volunteer: Lilac Preservation Project
10a, Pier 40
 
Walk: East River Infrastructure & Talking Trash
11a, Socrates Sculpture Park
 
Walk: Jerome Park Reservoir
11a, Bedford Park Boulevard and Goulden Avenue, Bronx
 
Bike Tour: Brooklyn Navy Yard
1:45p
 
Fundraiser: Art, Wine and Wetlands Conservation
2p, Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, NJ
 
May 24
Meeting: Newtown Creek Alliance
6p, Red Star Bar, 37 Greenpoint Ave.
  
May 26
Celebration: Fleet Week
8:30a, Hudson River   
 
Meeting: Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse
6p, Water Street Restaurant, 66 Water St.
 
Celebration: Beczak Environmental Education Center 20th Anniversary
6:30p, 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers
 
May 29
Open House: Sebago Canoe Club
10a, Paerdegat Basin, Foot of Ave. N
 
Swim: Great Hudson River Swim
 
Program: Qajaq USA & NYC International Polar Festival
12p, Amer. Museum of Natural History
 
Jamaica Bay Ecology Cruise
2p, Pier 2, Sheepshead Bay  
 
May 30
Walk: The Old Croton Aqueduct
9:30a, Bedford Park Boulevard and Goulden Avenue, Bronx
 
June 1
Seminar: Influence of Storms on Sediment Transport in the Hudson River Estuary
10:30a, Hudson River Foundation, 17 Battery Place, Suite 915
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BBB
MWA Blue Bulletin Board
Announcements from WaterWorld

CALLING ALL VESSELS
All vessels are invited to gather
in a flotilla on June 17, 2010 to greet NYC artist, adventurer and sailor Reid Stowe, sailing home on his 70-foot gaff-rigged schooner Anne after 1,151 days at sea.
See www.1000days.net.
Please respond to John@DoswellProductions.com
___________

Announcements from MWA


To volunteer for the 3rd annual
CITY OF WATER DAY
FESTIVAL
on July 24, 2010, please contact
Louis Kleinman

MWA HAS MOVED
Come see us at
241 Water Street, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10038.

MWA EMAIL ADDRESSES
Our waterwire.net addresses are no longer in service. All MWA emails end in waterfrontalliance.org.

*Tides are for the waters at St. George, Staten Island on May 20, 2010. For tidal information at your specific waterfront, visit www.saltwatertides.com and the Urban Ocean Observatory

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TOCCONTENTS: May 20, 2010
Comprehensive Waterfront Plan Workshops
Have you participated yet?
 
Restoration of Lincoln Park Wetlands
Agencies collaborate to create 35 acres of marshland
 
Dragon Boat Team Cleans Up Flushing Bay Shoreline
A clean environment is important to everyone
 
Register for the City of Water Day Partner Fair on July 24
How to reach hundreds of people and have fun
 
A Fish Called Robin
Explore the world of the Northern Sea Robin with The River Project
 
A Boat Called Bird
The Village Community Boathouse launches a new gig
 
There's a River Along Riverdale?
You'd never know
 
MWA Introduces "2010's Best Day Trips to the Waterfront
In which we suggest great ways to explore this region's wonderful shoreline
 
Meet Some MWA Partners!
cwpCOMPREHENSIVE WATERFRONT PLAN WORKSHOPS
Bronx CWP panorama
First two workshops are exceptionally fruitful
As City planners and waterfront leaders hoped, opinionated and impassioned NYC residents turned out to participate in the first two public workshops to update the Comprehensive Waterfront Plan. Bronx residents gathered on May 12 (see photo above) and Brooklynites on May 17.

"I was delighted to see close to 100 members of the public attend the Bronx workshop," said Dept. of City Planning (DCP) Commissioner Amanda Burden, who was reached before the Brooklyn workshop took place. "In each of the four discussion groups, I was struck by the high level of knowledge not only about the opportunities that each of the Bronx waterways offers, but also about the challenges associated with each site. Their passion and interest was remarkable. It was rewarding to see how each group worked collectively to establish a set of priorities for each neighborhood's waterfront."

At the workshops, Dept.of City Planning project director Michael Marrella began by describing each borough's areas of focus, known as "reaches." In the Bronx there are four reaches: the area of the Hudson River, Harlem River and western Bronx; Randall's Island and the East River area of the Hunts Point Market; both sides of the Bronx River up to the Westchester border; and the area of Pelham Bay Park, Orchard Beach, Hutchinson River, Eastchester Bay and northeast Bronx.

A snapshot of the activity at one Bronx workshop table provides a sense of the ambitious program. Here, residents of Co-Op City discussed their concerns and hopes for the waterfront with City planners, members of the Hutchinson River Restoration Project, representatives from the office of City Council member Annabel Palma, a member of the City Island Civic Association, and others.

One of the largest housing developments in the world with 50,000 residents, Co-Op City lies at the shores of the Hutchinson River (see photo below) but people are kept from the water by a fence. Residents implored the City for waterfront access.
 Co-Op City along the Hutchinson River

Addressing the same waterway from another angle, representatives of the Hutchinson River Restoration Project (HRRP) emphasized the need for environmental clean-up, which should start with identification of the river on city maps where it is often left unnamed. Eleanor Raye, president of the HRRP, later reported a very positive experience. "Usually I come home from meetings like this and crawl in the door because I'm so discouraged, but this time I can't tell you how positive I feel," she said. "We were able to say something that was meaningful and people were able to hear us."

In Brooklyn, which was divided into six reaches, discussions centered around maintaining industrial and business activity, increasing access and public open space, and environmental improvement. One table discussed remediation and better boat access for Coney Island Creek, along with better transportation to and opportunities for parking. Another table explored better water accessibility near the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges and at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A third table debated what has sometimes been a clash between maritime-dependent job retention and greater public access to the waterfront. For a NY1NY1 piece on the Brooklyn workshop, click here.

See the box at left for dates and information on the remaining Comprehensive Waterfront Plan workshops. (back to top)
NJMARSHLAND IS RESTORED IN MODEL NEW JERSEY PROJECT
Lincoln Park
Army Corps, NOAA and others collaborate on Lincoln Park
Long a garbage dump, the shores of Lincoln Park in Jersey City are being restored to 35 acres of vital wetlands with a new public trail and bridge. Waterfront advocates and agency heads are hailing the project, saying it represents creative thinking and outstanding collaboration between federal, state and local partners.

As seen in the photo above, with the Pulaski Skyway crossing the Hackensack River in the distance, officials gathered at Lincoln Park on Earth Day, April 22, to celebrate the project.

Col. Boule at Lincoln Park"As many of you know, we have been working with the Port Authority in the deepening of the channels into the Port of New York and Jersey," said Colonel John Boul�, District Commander for the Army Corps of Engineers' New York District, as he explained the project's history. "The Port is of critical economic importance to the regional economy. But the Port is also located within the Hudson-Raritan estuary, which has very important ecological value. During the planning for the project, the project partners, which included both shipping and environmental interests, developed a vision of what became known as a 'World Class Harbor Estuary.' The concept is that a world-class port, world-class navigation channels and a world-class sustainable estuary are compatible and interdependent."

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection was awarded $10.6 million to rehabilitate Lincoln Park in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Working with government agencies, the contractor Green Construction and the Port Authority of NY and NJ to coordinate funding and wetlands design, the Army Corps delivered 350,000 cubic yards of clean sand dredged from Anchorage Channel in the Upper Bay to Lincoln Park. Col. Boul� reminded his audience that the Corps has promised to utilize all of the 42 million cubic yards of dredged material in environmentally beneficial ways.

Lincoln Park Gary LockeCommerce Secretary Gary Locke (the man in the blue shirt at left walking with Hudson County's Ken Jennings and NJDEP's David Bean across the clean sand that will form the base of the new Lincoln Park wetland) was another featured speaker at the event. "This project is of course about conservation and preserving America's environment. But it also gives us a glimpse into our possible economic future as well," he said. "This past summer President Obama noted that there is a lot of misinformation out there that there's somehow a contradiction between a clean economy and economic growth. There is no contradiction, and this wetlands project proves this very point. This funding will enable an ecological oasis to be created right outside New York City. It will benefit a wide variety of fish and wildlife. And it will also benefit people right here in New Jersey. This project will have created 40 full-time jobs for workers who had previously been unemployed." (back to top)

Top two photos courtesy Army Corps of Engineers; bottom photo courtesy NOAA
dragon EMPIRE DRAGON BOAT TEAM CLEANS UP FLUSHING BAY
Empire Dragon Boat team

On May 1, the women of the Empire Dragon Boat Team gathered friends, family and fellow rowers and paddlers who practice at the World's Fair Marina and cleaned the Flushing Bay waterfront. Some picked up trash along the shore and some skimmed garbage from the water by boat.

Dragon Boat team clean-up

"This was a great way to do something for the community, for the environment and for our health," said Jennifer Wise Merendino, who, with Donna Wilson, founded the dragon boat team last year. "There's a lot of run-off there, so a lot of trash gets washed up on the side. We wanted to be a part of making it a better place."

Dragon Boat team clean-upFormed of women who have survived cancer, the Empire Dragon Boat Team members are a special crew. "The Chinese dragon boat tradition is one in which all team members work together, each pair of paddlers representing part of the dragon's body -- the head, the heart, the muscles -- paddling in synchronicity and perfect balance to make progress. That is what the Empire Dragon Boat team of women's cancer survivors do -- work together, rely on each other, support each other, share the ups and downs of living with cancer, and recognize from hard experience that exercise is crucial to our physical and emotional balance," explains Diane Miller on the group's web site.

This year, the Empire Dragon Boat team will be competing in three races, two in New Jersey and one -- the annual huge, colorful Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival -- in Flushing Meadows Park on August 7 and 8. Every week they practice and get stronger and fiercer. But they keep a balanced perspective, which includes attention to their environment.

"Our environment is important to our health," said Ms. Merendino. "We really try to make sure we're doing the best we can for the environment. Our racing shirts are made of recycled materials. Our fundraisers support environmental groups. It feels really good."

Click here to see the Empire Dragon Boat Team in action. (back to top)

Photos courtesy of Empire Dragon Boat

COWDHERE'S A GREAT WAY TO LET EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION!
COWD 09 Nolan Park Register to participate at City of Water Day, where you'll connect with hundreds of people 
This year, the third annual City of Water Day on July 24 will take place at no fewer than three waterfront venues -- at Governors Island, Liberty State Park, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. Promising to be a blockbuster event that will showcase the diversity and magnificence of our waterfront, City of Water Day is a terrific opportunity for water-related organizations to get the word out about your mission and programs to the public. The photos at left and below were taken at last year's festival.

Bronx CWP panorama
The strength of the waterfront movement is the diverse network of Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance Partners, all committed to improving our waterfront. We encourage and welcome you to participate at the City of Water Day 2010 Alliance Partner Fair. Put your own stamp on your exhibit: a simple display is fine, or hold a demonstration, offer an activity or provide arts and crafts or other entertainment. Whatever you chose to do, you are guaranteed to get hundreds, if not thousands, of viewers. Click here to sign up for the Partner Fair -- and start planning your exhibit now. See you July 24! (back to top)
robinTHE RIVER PROJECT RELEASES A NEW EDUCATIONAL DVD
Northern Sea Robin Life at the Bottom
If you were a beautiful Northern Sea Robin with reddish gold fins that spread like wings, you would be happy swimming along the bottom of the cool, dark Hudson River. See what it's like to be a Northern Sea Robin living mid-stream in the Hudson -- order "Life at the Bottom," the new educational DVD produced by The River Project that has narrated underwater footage and interviews with eminent scientists, including professor and best-selling author ("Heartbeats in the Muck," "100 Weird Ways to Catch a Fish") John Waldman.

The Northern Sea Robin at right was caught near Pier 40, a surprisingly interesting habitat due to the old pilings on the north side. "It's dark and mysterious," Chris Anderson, head educator and diver for The River Project. "It's unnatural because the pilings are manmade -- but they help preserve the biodiversity and aquatic life that would have been there hundreds of years ago. We've altered the banks of New York City so much with cement bulkheads that the only habitat left for a lot of these organisms is those wooden piles." On his dives into what's left of Pier 42, Mr. Anderson sees "live oysters gathering together, red algae, different sponges, mud crabs and shrimp."

The DVD will be released on June 17 at a special screening and reception hosted by The River Project, Electra Information Systems and SWIFT, and will take place at the SWIFT offices, 7 Times Square, floor 45, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. At the event, landscape architect Marcha Johnson will present The River Project's proposal for the Tribeca waterfront. "Marcha will discuss how we plan to return to Pier 26 and what we propose for there and the habitat pier, Pier 32," said River Project founder and director Cathy Drew. To attend the presentation or order a DVD, go to the web site of The River Project or call 212-233-3030. (back to top)
BIRDWATER FOWL WITH OARS, NOT WINGS
Bird gig by Elisa Deljanin New boat, "Bird," is launched May 14
Bird, a 27-foot Whitehall gig, is the latest addition to the fleet at the Village Community Boathouse on Pier 40. It is the fourth such gig built for VCB by students at Eugene Lang College, the undergraduate arm of The New School. Their course, called "Lang on the Hudson," combines boatbuilding and rowing with the study of the history, ecology and contemporary politics of the harbor. Students at Stuyvesant High School and volunteers from the community also lent a hand in Bird's construction.

Bird gig by Rob BuchananConstruction started in October 2009 and continued over the winter in a heated boat shop on the south side of the pier. VCB gigs are built of plywood and epoxy, but based on a traditional New York Harbor design that dates from the 1820s; they're fast, safe, and carry a small sailing rig as well as four sweep oars.
Bird gig by Rob Buchanan 2
VCB is open for free community rowing after work on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and Sundays at noon, from April to November.
- Rob Buchanan

Top photo by Elisa Deljanin, bottom two photos by Rob Buchanan   (back to top)
riverdaleTHERE'S A RIVER NEAR RIVERDALE?
Photo by Jeremiah Cox
Riverdale water access
Despite the neighborhood's name, Riverdale denizens cannot easily get to the water
"We've got no access to the water, except for one tiny sliver of a fishing pier sandwiched in between the Metro North tracks and the Hudson River," said Yael Levy of Riverdale, a leafy Bronx community that is NYC's northernmost neighborhood. "People here seem to be oblivious to the water."

Ms. Levy, a lawyer and Community Board 8 member, decided this was unconscionable. She contacted fellow Riverdale resident Paul Elston, President of the Friends of the Hudson River Greenway, and together they are producing the first ever Riverdale Riverfest on June 13. "The time has come to show our elected officials and the mayor that we care about water access," Ms. Levy declared.

The Riverdale Riverfest -- whose purpose is to call attention to the lack of waterfront access and the Greenway design, and to "unite people around the river" -- will take place from 1pm to 5pm at the College of Mount St. Vincent, overlooking the Hudson River. For this event, the college will unlock the gate that prohibits people from crossing the railroad tracks, and allow visitors down to the water. Ms. Levy expects to host kayakers, the Mystic Whaler and the fireboat John J. Harvey. "We have to create momentum," she said, "and the only way to do that is to bring people to the water's edge and say, 'See what is so close to you! Look at the possibilities!' "

The seeds of the Riverdale Riverfest were sown last November, when Ms. Levy saw proposals by the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council for the Bronx link of the East Coast Greenway. Of the four possible routes put forth, only one wended along the waterfront. This drew the best response from those viewing the designs -- but also possesses the most challenging logistics due to the Metro North tracks that run between the Hudson River and Riverdale. "Logistical details about rights of way and train tracks may be even greater impediments than funding," Ms. Levy said. "I thought, 'What can we do?' " Inspired by a film about Pete Seeger and the sloop Clearwater, whose mission it is to protect the Hudson, Ms. Levy had an idea: produce a festival in Riverdale patterned after the famous, annual Clearwater Festival.
Riverdale waterfront
"We hope that RiverFest will demonstrate our community's interest in the Hudson River, in access to the River and in the Greenway Link - a linear biking and walking path that is actually on the waterfront and connects Riverdale with Manhattan and Westchester, and connects Manhattan with Westchester through the Bronx," said Mr. Elston. "We believe there is room on the waterfront for both the railroad and the Greenway, and we hope that this demonstration of community interest will galvanize the efforts of our government officials and overcome the resistance of the railroads." (back to top)
daytripJUST IN TIME FOR SUMMER: A BIWEEKLY GUIDE TO THE AREA'S BEST WATERFRONT SPOTS
Liberty Landing Marina
MWA introduces "2010's Best Waterfront Day Trips"
It's no secret that the coastlines of New York and New Jersey have become generally much cleaner and more accessible -- but many people still don't know how to get to all the new waterfront parks, paths and piers that have opened in recent years. WaterWire to the rescue! With this and subsequent editions of WaterWire, we present "2010's Best Day Trips to the Waterfront." Make this the summer that you discover more of this unique urban archipelago's beautiful shoreline.

Liberty State ParkDAY TRIP #1
Liberty State Park
Jersey City, NJ


If it's space you crave at the waterfront, head west and grab a Statue Cruises water taxi bound for Liberty State Park across the Hudson River. Seven dollars and ten minutes later you'll disembark at Liberty Landing Marina, a sea of bobbing boats before you (see photo above). Think of Dorothy starting her journey from Oz, and step onto the extra-wide Liberty State Park Promenade that lines this part of the Jersey shore for two glorious, windswept miles. Comfortably accommodating pedestrians and cyclists and banked by sweeping waterfront lawns -- great for flying kites on the river breezes -- the promenade offers incomparable vistas of New York Harbor. Click here to see a map.
CRRNJ
On this trip, you can
  • Walk, jog, bicycle or rollerblade along the waterfront.
  • Land or launch your kayak (call the park office at 201-915-3440 for details).
  • Birdwatch, fly a kite, have a picnic.
  • Go fishing or crabbing (common species include bluefish, shad, striped bass and blue claw crabs. Follow all local laws and consumption advisories. For details, contact the park office).
  • historic photo of Liberty State Park areaDrop anchor at Liberty Landing. Need some fishing tackle? Navigational equipment? Visit the Liberty Landing Marine Center (201-433-3009).
  • Wander the self-guided path through part of the 36-acre Richard J. Sullivan Natural Area, one of the few remaining tidal marshes of the Hudson River Estuary.
  • Explore the historic Central Rail Road of New Jersey terminal (see contemporary and historic photos at right), built in 1864 when this area was a freight and passenger transportation hub. 
  • Bronx CWP panoramaTake a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (get tickets in the CRRNJ terminal). 
  • Grab the shuttle to the Liberty Science Center (home to the nation's largest IMAX dome theater).
  • Hungry? For a dollar, the water taxi will ferry you to the other side of the narrow Morris Canal to Jersey City proper, where you'll find plenty of good eats within a ten-minute walk. Capt. Jim Chambers of Statue Cruises and Osprey Maritime Services knows the area well. He recommends:
partnersMWA PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

Expanding every week, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is more than a coalition; it's a force. We are ferry captains, shipping executives, park directors, scientists, sailors, paddlers, swimmers, teachers, urban planners, architects and more. Together, we advocate for the best possible waterfront in the best possible city, a waterfront that is clean and accessible to all, with a robust maritime workforce and efficient, affordable waterborne transportation. Join us! Contact Louis Kleinman at lkleinman@waterfrontalliance.org.

Meet some Partners of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance:
  • DeepRoot Partners   http://www.deeproot.com
    The mission of DeepRoot Partners is to create a more livable built environment, operating at a high level of ecological function, through the integration of green utilities.The organization is committed to restoring ecosystem services to the urban enviroment with innovative and quality products Like the Silva Cell. The organization believes in using "green utilities" like soil, trees and stormwater as tools to solve the environmental challenges that face us and to prioritize the health and longevity of our shared urban habitat. (back to top)
  • Oak Cliff Sailing     http://www.oakcliffsailing.org
    Oakcliff scholarships select 18-30 year old sailors, athletes who have shown aptitude in the sport and provide a development path towards excellence in national and international competition, sportsmanship and stewardship practices. Oakcliff hosts and sponsor national and international regattas. Oakcliff is open to the public via donation. Oakcliff provides training, coaching, and charters via donation to athletes, crews, and boat owners. Think of us as a civilian maritime academy funded by public support, generous patrons.
  • Randall's Island Sport Foundation    http://randallsisland.org
    The Randall's Island Sports Foundation (RISF) was founded in 1992 to act as stewards of Randall's Island Park, in public-private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The Foundation, in conjunction with City leadership and the local community, works to realize the Island's unique potential by developing sports and recreational facilities, restoring its vast natural environment, reclaiming and maintaining parkland, and sponsoring free programs for the children of New York City.
  • Swim Free    http://www.swimfree.org
    Swim Free is a non profit organization focused on health improvement of adults and children through swim. Activities include learn to swim programs, lifeguard training, clinics, efforts to keep the waters clean
    . (back to top)
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