Riparian Buffer by Heather Winn

Riparian Buffer

Heather Winn

Channelization is the practice of deepening and or widening a river, destroying its natural banks.

While this accounts for flooding, it affects the local flora and fauna, as well as the water quality.

Newton Ancarrow was a local Richmond boat ramp owner who, campaigned against the pollution of the James and against channelization.

Images in this zine are taken from his film The Raging James on the impact of channelization.

Ancarrow used his passion for wildflower photography to get people interested in protecting the James. What can one person’s passion do for the environment?

When I was a kid, I helped plant a riparian buffer along a local stream. A “riparian buffer” is a fancy way of saying trees along a body of moving water, which maintain its banks with their roots.

Change can begin with the roots- with the work of the individuals who hold the world together. If you care about the James, you can let the people in charge of the RVA Green 2050 Plan know.

you can find Richmond’s climate action plan at RVA.gov you can watch The Raging James at thejamesriverpark.org flower photography obtained from the Ancarrow digital archive at labs.vcu.edu/ ancarrow/