Alabama’s River Heritage celebrates the importance of area rivers

Alabama is known for the great biodiversity found in its rivers. The Cahaba River itself is one of eight rivers in the world that is named as a “hotspot of biodiversity” by the Nature Conservancy.

For the month of November, the Homewood Public Library will have the exhibit Alabama’s River Heritage on display. Barbara Burke, a member of The Alabama Rivers Alliance Board of Director, put together this exhibit with the hopes to educate the public about the importance of our state’s rivers, as well as their international acclaim.

“It dawned on me that perhaps an exhibit using both photographs, literature and even some three-dimensional components would be a value in showing the general public the resources of our rivers,” Burke said.

The exhibit is made up of around 25 photographs, four pieces of poetry, and a few mussel shells. Several of these artists and contributors are Homewood residents themselves. The exhibit is also accompanied with books about Alabama’s rivers and the biodiversity they house.

As of right now, the exhibit will only be displayed in the gallery space in the Homewood Public Library, but there may be plans to have the exhibit travel in the future.

“I think it would be great to have it tour to other facilities other Jefferson County libraries, and even to other parts of the state,” Burke said.

Burke said the she hopes that this exhibit will give viewers a deeper appreciation of our natural resources in Alabama.

“There are very special ecosystems that thrive around our rivers here in Alabama,” Burke said. “We are responsible for the stewardship of these waters that traverse through our state en route to the Gulf of Mexico.”

The Alabama’s River Heritage exhibit promotes education, but also the beauty of the rivers. There is a mix of both artistic and scientific components of the exhibit to expand the appeal of the content. Ultimately, Burke’s goal is to connect with the public and raise awareness about Alabama's rives.

“It is critical [that] we take care of the fresh waters, as well as the marine waters,” Burke said. “I think it’s essential for human beings, as a species, to recognize that our bodies are primarily made of water. It’s what makes us a part of Earth’s living system.”

Burke said that water is such a necessary component of human life that she believes that we should all make an effort to keep waterways clean out of both a human need, as well as the needs of the organisms that live in these rivers’ ecosystems. She believes that the first step towards this is education.

“It would be lovely to have folks learn more about Alabama’s rivers [especially] by checking out books from the library,” Burke said.