'Let the Water Speak': Sharing stories, building relationships in the Folwell neighborhood

For the past few years the Folwell Neighborhood Association has been working intensely to re-establish a tight-night well networked neighborhood of residents who know and care for one another. The neighborhood’s community gardens are a key part of that work — as a gathering space to commune, celebrate and work together.

In cooperation with the Water Main and MPR, Folwell neighborhood association leaders are expanding their relationship-building work to include the Mississippi River.

The Folwell neighborhood is separated from the Mississippi river by an interstate highway and a sprawling industrial site. On the evening of Thursday, Aug. 22, an event was held in The Story Garden — an outdoor community garden within the neighborhood. The gathering, titled Let the Water Speak, was dedicated to telling stories of the water and raising consciousness of the river in the lives of the people who live closest to it.

Community members, including poets and storytellers, shared their stories and art — singing songs and playing instruments throughout the evening.

You can read more about Let the Water Speak in this blog post about the event by Danielle Tietjen for her online project Gatherhaus.

Watch scenes from the event in these videos created by D.A. Bullock.

• Florida health official advises communities to stop adding fluoride to drinking water
• Record dryness in US Northeast should change water behavior, experts say
• What a mollusc shell and fiber optic cables have in common
• Research finds insecticide common in shallow ground water across Minnesota