A Tribute to Pete Seeger (1919 - 2014)

We'd like to share The Waterfront Center's Tribute to Pete Seeger with you:

The waterfront community was saddened to learn of the death of legendary folksinger, Pete Seeger -- a great proponent of clean water, maritime and environmental education, and -- waterfronts. Pete was remarkable in so many ways, not the least of which, he actually answered your letters - himself! When we decided we wanted to give an award for citizen efforts, we wrote to see if he would let us name the award in his honor. He modestly replied, "no" but that we could call it the Clearwater Award to recognize the importance of grassroots, volunteer efforts by individuals and organizations to better the urban waterfront environment in their communities and protect natural resources, especially water. Through the Clearwater Award, the Center will continue to honor the work of Pete Seeger and his colleagues.

Below is a list of Clearwater winners 1994-2013 and the trailer from a movie about Pete Seeger's life. For those from Memphis, you'll be proud to see two recipients of the prestigious Clearwater award from your city.

Anacosia River Cleanup, Washington, DC

The Annual Waterway Cleanup, Broward County, FL

Bandra Bandstand and Carter Road Waterfront Development, Mumbai, India

Beth Nicholson, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, Boston, MA

Birdsong Wetlands Restoration, Norfolk, VA

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition, Brooklyn, NY

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, Brooklyn, NY

Center for Wooden Boats, Lake Union, Seattle, WA

Champions of the Truckee Citizen Effort, Reno, Nevada

Cherry Tree Association, Bronx, NY

Chickasaw Bluffs Conservancy, Memphis, TN

Coalition to Save Hempstead Harbor, Hempstead Harbor, Long Island Sound, NY

The Confluence Project, Vancouver, WA

Creekside Park and Linda McKenna Boxx, Latrobe, PA

Duwamish Valley Vision Map & Report, Seattle, WA

Esplanade 2020: A Vision for the Future: The Ad-Hoc Esplanade 2020 Work Group, Boston, MA

Friends for Our Riverfront, Memphis, TN

Greening of the Great River Park, St. Paul, Minnesota

Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc., Teaneck, NJ

Heathly River, Healthy Communities, San Diego, CA

Heron's Head Park/A Program of Literacy for Environmental Justice, San Francisco, CA

International Marine Association for the Protection of Aquatic Life, Seattle, WA

Jeffrey V. Bibb, Clarksville, TN

Northwest Marine Center, Port Townsend, WA

Oakland-Alameda Waterfront Maps Project, Oakland, CA

Oregon Maritime Center and Museum, Portland, OR

The Parks Council, Access to the Little Red Lighthouse, NY, NY

Penn's Landing Forums, Philadelphia, PA

Rattray Marsh Protection, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Richard K. Mills/Hackensack River Stories, Teaneck, NJ

River Action, Inc., Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois

Riverfront East Alliance, Detroit, MI

Save Vallejo's Waterfront, Vallejo, CA

Scenic Hdson's Great River Sweep Volunteers, Poughkeepsie, NY

Society for the Proection of the Harbour, Hong Kong, China

Sylvia McLauglin, Save the San Francisco Bay, Berkeley, CA

Trails for Richmond Action Committee, Richmond, CA

Vicki Beiriger Richmond, Kansas City, MO

Voices and Visions of life, Pataxent, Warwickk and Cranston, RI - Holly Ewald and Michael Bell, Warwick, RI

Women's Quiet Battle for Blue Sky and Clear Water, Tubata Women's Association and the City Kitakyushu, Japan

To learn more about the sloop Clearwater and its role in cleaning up the Hudson River, click HERE.