Reading The River
Join us in a book group near you!
Join us for Reading the River: A Book Group Series Exploring Life with Flooding Rivers
Dive into the powerful currents of story, science, and solution with Vermont River Conservancy’s Reading the River — a three-part book group series that explores how we live with rivers that flood. Together, we’ll read compelling works that shed light on our dynamic relationship with rivers, discuss the challenges of climate resilience, and uncover inspiring, real-world solutions from communities around the world.
Whether you’re a river enthusiast, a concerned neighbor, or simply curious about how stories can shape our understanding of water and place, this series offers a chance to connect, reflect, and imagine a more flood-resilient future — together.
All are welcome. No expertise required — just a love of reading and a willingness to wade in.
Book Groups
Part One: Seek Higher Ground
Date & Time: Three Wednesdays in October: 10/8, 10/15, 10/22 from 8:00 - 8:45am, Wednesday 10/29 from 6-7pm Location: Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier. Enter via School Street entrance. Speaker: Tim Palmer, author of Seek Higher Ground
Part Two: Beaverland
Date & Time: Three Thursdays, January 29th, February 5th, and 12th from 5-6 pm Location: Aldrich Public Library in Barre
Part Three: Brave The Wild River
Date & Time: Three Thursdays in March 5, 12, & 19, from 7pm - 8pm Location: Hayes Room in Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier. Enter via School Street entrance.
Details for Reading the River: Seek Higher Ground
Dates/Times: Three Wednesdays in October: 10/8, 10/15, 10/22 from 8:00 – 8:45am, Wednesday 10/29 from 6-7pm
Location: Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier. Enter via School Street entrance.
Speaker(s): Tim Palmer, author of Seek Higher Ground
Book Group Description: Join Vermont River Conservancy for Reading the River, a three-part series exploring stories and solutions for living with rivers that flood. Three Wednesdays in October, begin your day discussing Seek Higher Ground: The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis. Read, connect with others, learn from history, and swap ideas for the future of our communities. Then cap things off by hearing from the author, Tim Palmer, via Zoom presentation and discussion on Wednesday, October 29th, from 6-7pm. Can’t join the book group? We would still love for you to join us for the webinar! Register here.
Stop by the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier to pick up a FREE book (limited quantities, first come, first served).
Webinar Description: Award-winning author and photographer Tim Palmer will present a slide show based on his latest book, Seek Higher Ground: The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis. With graphic photos and engaging narrative, Tim will share how efforts nationwide to control floods through dam and levee construction have been, at best, inadequate, and how the endless cycle of floods, damage, recovery, and repeated losses can best be ended through the protection of open space on floodplains and through voluntary relocation of homes and businesses from hazard-prone areas. He’ll show how the warming climate is making flood dangers worse, and how an improved response is essential if widespread disasters are to be avoided in the future. It’s a glimpse into the history of U.S. flood response, and hope for the future with a path forward for living alongside our rivers.
Speaker bio: Tim Palmer is the award-winning author and photographer of thirty-three books about the environment and adventure travel. He has been involved in conservation since 1970 and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Rivers, the Conservation Achievement Award for Communications from the National Wildlife Federation, the Ansel Adams Award for Photography, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Penn State University, and various book honors. See www.timpalmer.org.
Details for Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America
Dates/Times: Three Thursdays in January and February: 1/29, 2/5, 2/12 from 5:00 – 6:00pm, Leila Philip author of Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America will give a presentation followed by a Q&A session on Thursday February 19th 5:00-6:30pm online.
Location: Aldrich Public Library in Barre
Speaker(s): Leila Philip author of Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America
Book Group Description: Join Vermont River Conservancy for the second book in our Reading the River series, exploring stories and solutions for living with rivers that flood. Three Thursdays at the end of January and beginning of February, join us in-person to discuss Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America. Read, connect with others, learn from history, and swap ideas for the future of our communities. Then cap things off by hearing from the author, Leila Philip, via a Zoom presentation and Q&A on Thursday, February 19th 5-6:30pm.
Stop by the Aldrich Public Library in Barre to pick up a FREE book (limited quantities, first come, first served) starting in January.
Can’t join the book group? We would still love for you to join us for the webinar! Register here.
Webinar Description: Hear from the author, Leila Philip for an insightful presentation on how Beavers have shaped the American landscape and how they will continue to feature in the future landscape.
Speaker bio: Leila Philip is the author of award-winning books of nonfiction that chronicle diverse, personal journeys. In The Road Through Miyama, Leila, already fluent in Japanese and a potter, traveled to Japan to apprentice to a master potter in southern Kyushu. A Family Place: A Hudson Valley Farm, Three Centuries, Five Wars, One Family, took her much closer to home (literally), and weaves the history of the Hudson valley farm where she spent her childhood with a revealing account of what’s involved in cultivating orchards. Both books received awards, and glowing national reviews. A Guggenheim Fellow, Leila has also been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She works across genres, publishing poetry, essays and theatrical script and is currently at work on a documentary film.
See this link for more info on the author and book.
Register for the Beaverland Book Group!
Details for Reading the River: Brave The Wild River
Dates/Times: Three Thursdays in March: 3/5, 3/12, 3/18 from 7:00 – 8:00pm, Melissa L. Sevigny, author of Brave the Wild River will give a 45-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute Q&A session on Thursday March 26, 7pm – 8pm, online.
Location: Hayes Room in Hubbard Library in Montpelier. Enter via School Street entrance.
Speaker(s): Melissa L. Sevigny author of Brave the Wild River
Book Group Description: Join Vermont River Conservancy for the third book in our Reading the River series, exploring stories and solutions for living with rivers that flood. Three Thursdays in March, join us in-person to discussing Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon. Read, connect with others, learn from history, and swap ideas for the future of our communities. Then cap things off by hearing from the author, Melissa L. Sevigny, via Zoom presentation and Q&A on Thursday, March 26th, from 7-8pm.
Stop by the Kellogg Hubbard Library in Montpelier to pick up a FREE book (limited quantities, first come, first served) starting February 15.
Can’t join the book group? We would still love for you to join us for the webinar! Register here.
Webinar Description: Hear from the author, Melissa L. Sevigny with a 45-minute presentation, followed by a short Q&A. Dive deeper into the riveting tale of two pioneering botanists and their historic boat trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
Speaker bio: Melissa L. Sevigny grew up in Arizona where she fell in love with the Sonoran Desert’s ecology, geology and dark desert skies. Her lyrical nonfiction and poetry explores the intersections of science, nature, and history. Sevigny is the author of three nonfiction books, most recently Brave the Wild River (W.W. Norton, 2023), which won a National Outdoor Book Award and Reading the West Award and was featured in The New York Times and People magazine.
See this link for more info on the author and book.
