Fifty Years on the River

— By Alice Phillips

TTake a quick look at Trinity’s 2022-23 Course Description Guide and you’ll find a unique class that signifies an enduring aspect of the Trinity experience – River and

Environmental Systems. This senior-only course is taken each year by a full third of the class; it commemorates Trinity’s fiftyyear relationship with nature, not just the James River in its own backyard, but also engaging habitats in Richmond, the

Commonwealth and beyond.

Back in 1993 Dr. Bill Snead began teaching an elective about the

James and the history of Richmond. Dr. Snead quickly joined forces with science teacher Marti Truman to create an interdisciplinary course that included ecology and would come to be known as

“The River Course.” Often joined by other educators like Barbara

Pearce, Bruce Hunroe, Vikki Curtis, Rob Short and Page Mauck, these dedicated guides engaged students through water testing and wildlife-mapping as well as trash collection in the James River parks. They essentially embraced any activity that got students outside and on the water. Truman refers to this experience as “transformational” in her own evolution as a teacher: “We wanted to help young people become good decision makers in their own lives, yet we realized that knowledge alone is not enough. You have to value it, and the way to create value is by connecting with the environment in a hands-on way.” This sense of encouraging young people to become caring stewards of their community became the basis of the course, as well as an integral part of the very fabric of Trinity’s belief in lifelong learning.

Two early stewards of the Rivers Program, Marti Truman and Bill Snead in 1993. Stewardship and hands-on environmental education are evident in the stories many alumni tell. Trip Jennings ’01 is a 2007 National Geographic explorer of the year and a world-renowned kayaker who learned his craft on RVA’s very own James. Back in 2008 Jennings reported, “My high school experience was actually very important to my current career. It was then that I laid the foundation of hard skills for kayaking and developed a passion for video and photography.”

The swim team and the Outdoor Program joined forces for the fourth annual “Swim to School” in the fall of 2017. The annual event attracted local media attention.

Rowan Sprague ’09 and Page Mauck at Morven Farm in 2011

Trinity invited Jennings, and since then many others, to earn their athletic credits in organized outdoor activities, an allowance that clearly shows the school’s appreciation for less traditional sports.

Trinity left a lasting impression on Rowan Sprague ’09 as well. She was instrumental in starting the Trinity Garden alongside teacher Page Mauck. “He was a mentor for me and…inspired me to pursue an environmental career,” reported Sprague, who also studied environmental engineering at the University of Virginia and started the Morven Kitchen Garden there. She currently lives in New Zealand where she works combating invasive species and advising groups about indigenous forests and carbon credits.

●A group of student-faculty environmental volunteers on a trip to Brunswick County in 1993-94

●Michael Stratton ’02, geography teacher and Outdoor Program coordinator, has become the school’s “poster child” for embracing an eco-oriented lifestyle.

Not everyone who discovered their environmental path landed quite so far from Pittaway Drive. Nicknamed “Action Mike Stratton” by his fans Michael Stratton ’02, geography teacher and Outdoor Program coordinator, is the default “poster child” for embracing an eco-oriented lifestyle. During high school Stratton was president of the Student Environmental Action (SEA) club and was known for recycling as well as riding his bike to school. He credits his love of the environment arising from the “unique, adventure-related ways” he experienced it. “Trinity taught me that anything is possible when you work for it and do the appropriate planning,” said Stratton. This lifelong environmental commitment has led him to create what is widely seen as one of the state’s best outdoor programs including hiking trips, summer adventure tours, backcountry skiing and weekly ventures in the Titan transit van to climb, kayak and mountain bike in our very own city. Last year, some 150 students participated in one or more of these activities.

Of course, most Trinity alumni participated in some sort of Freshman Retreat, an overnight excursion to help students unplug from the human world and get to know one another through the natural world. Dylan Norvell, science teacher, gives 8th grade students a For the last 13 years the trip personal introduction to the wildlife of the Chesapeake Bay. has been coordinated by Chris Markunas ’01, music and theatre teacher, who has shepherded it through several iterations — from the Sheridan campus to the New River in West Virginia to Camp Horizons in Harrisonburg, and even to our actual baseball field during COVID. Markunas believes the retreat is instrumental in helping students start their Trinity experience by passing through the same gate. “Every class has the

Clair Zeno Carpenter ’05 and one of her students from Obama Elementary School in Richmond’s Northside participate in a group water testing activity led by Trinity students in 2018.

same shared experience that is fun for most and at least survivable, if not memorable for all,” he says. “The trip is so valuable to the culture and community of the school, giving kids permission to play outdoors away from academic and social pressures.” For all the Titans who took to the outdoors during their years here, many have also learned about themselves by sharing nature with other kids. Sisters Lya Zeno Sinclair ’02, Clair Zeno Carpenter ’05, and Tappe Grotos ’15 all worked as summer counselors for River Camp, an extension of the school-year course that drew school age students from the Sacred Heart Center and St. Andrew’s School. “Being outdoors, learning, and exploring became a huge part of my life thanks to the [River Program],” Carpenter says. “I have made it a priority to spread that joy both as a mother and educator.”

Trinity’s River Course and Outdoor Program have shifted over the years with student interests ebbing and flowing like the tide. But commitment to the philosophy of outdoor learning has always remained

●Campers from St. Andrews School and counselors from Trinity enjoy a swim during “River Camp” in the summer of 2010.

Trinity’s River Course and Outdoor Program have shifted over the years with student interests ebbing and flowing like the tide. But commitment to the philosophy of outdoor learning has always remained. Whether it’s the SEA Club performing The Lorax at St. Michael’’s School, or the yearbook editors dedicating the 2010 edition to “The Environment,” or teachers Ned Trice and Alice Phillips organizing the first Swim to School in 2014, Trinity students and staff alike have demonstrated their dedication to living and learning in the environment.

These days, Trice might be taking his 8th graders to teach water testing to 4th graders with Carpenter at Obama Elementary. Stratton might be hanging out with the paddleboarders and climbers in the Wood Shed, an outdoor classroom dedicated to kayaker Christian Wood ’18. Nearby, students in the Sustainability elective might be weeding in the Mauck garden. And, Dylan Norvell, who now teaches both the senior level River Course and IB Environmental, might be leading his students into the woods to observe the Trinity creek, which still meanders its way through campus on its path to the James River.

Students enjoy the “Wood Shed,” an outdoor study and social area next to the Outdoor Program headquarters, named in memory of kayaker Christian Wood ’18.

Morris Creek Poem By Marti Truman (written after a SEA Club canoe trip in 1994) The bald eagle was beautiful, the heron was cool.It was fun playing – I forgot how fun it was to act childish and get dirty.Everything was so crisp; the sounds, the colors. It’s different not seeing trash everywhere like in the cities. I was impressed by the tremendous ecological diversity. Yeah, me too. The animals are still wild out here. They are not used to people. I’m tired, wet, and want to take a shower. A sloppy, fun time had by all.

For over 15 years, students have been testing water in the nearby creek that feeds into the James and sharing the data with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.