We invite you to join us for a costume installation and special staged reading of a short play exploring the journey of microplastic through the waterways of our region! “Poppy, a Plastic Play” was written by high school students in the Harbor School’s Eco-Theater program in collaboration with Daniella de Jesus @ladanidaniellalla , Megan Paradis Hanley @milesperhanley , composer treya lam @treyalam , and costume designer Hanhji Jang @hahnjij . The event is free to attend with no tickets required. We hope to see you at LMCC Arts Center on May 28 at 3pm! 🥤🌊
#futureriver #ecotheater #stagedreading #microplastics #studenttheatre
Image Description: Blue gradient background with illustrations of a pink straw and floating microplastics. Title reads “Poppy, a Plastic Play.” Image also includes and event description and logos for Future River, Harbor Seals, and LMCC.
We’re honored and grateful to be named among the grant recipients for the 2026 Creative Opportunity Fund! Many thanks to A.R.T./New York, NYSCA, and the Creative Opportunity Fund panelists for supporting the work that we do.
#futureriver #grant #ecotheater
Image Description: Orange background, white and blue text that reads “Proud Recipient of 2026 Creative Opportunity Fund. A statewide NYSCA regrant program.” Below the text are the logos of A.R.T./New York and NYSCA.
We are delighted to welcome Deepti Aravapalli (they/them) to the team as our new Communications Coordinator! Deepti is a designer, marketing professional, and playwright based in New York City. As an artist and learner, Deepti enjoys work that engages with queerness, systems of control, and environmental justice, especially through the lenses of satire and absurdism. With over eight years of experience in communication and design, Deepti brings an abundance of knowledge to bear, and we’re lucky to have them contributing to our community’s shared vision.
#welcome #futureriver #community
Image Description: Headshot of a person smiling against a white brick background with the phrase “Welcome”.
In the spirit of Spring, we gathered together with our core community on the last Sunday in March for a company orientation to celebrate the new year as Future River. Staff members, board members, and core members shared space and food and participated in a day of activities that allowed us to get to know one another, dig into our reimagined programming and mission, and to ideate the ways in which we might work together to bring that mission into reality.
#futureriver #community #teambonding
Image Description: A group picture of 12 smiling people standing in two rows in a brightly lit library.
Earlier this month we said goodbye to Sonja Hansen, our Social Media Lead since 2023. Sonja started working with us as an intern and swiftly shifted into a consultancy role, building our newsletters, researching and designing our Instagram series like Tangible Hope and Species Spotlight, supporting fundraising campaigns, and coordinating documentation. Sonja brought a steady, patient, positive presence and savvy skills to her work with us, and we are better off for her collaboration. Thank you, Sonja! We’ll miss you!
#futureriver #thankyou #teamupdate
Image Description:
Five headshots of people smiling at the camera taken from a Zoom call. Text reads “Farewell, Sonja” and “Thank you for three years as our social media lead.”
For this week’s Tangible Hope, we’re highlighting the boycotts against corporations who enable ICE operations. Local, national and international boycotts have ramped up since the beginning of 2026, pressuring companies to sever their ties with ICE. These efforts have already convinced certain businesses, like Avelo Airlines, to cancel their contracts with ICE.
In addition, these boycotts are inspiring more climate-friendly individual actions. Rather than pay for streaming subscriptions, some boycott participants have opted to rent DVD’s. Others have spoken about how the boycotts have led them to shop locally and return to hobbies.
The impact created through these boycotts proves the power of coordinated collective action and makes us hopeful for its climate justice applications. Check out our link in the bio to for the full list of boycotted corporations and join the pressure campaign.
#resistandunsubscribe #futureriver #tangiblehope
Image Description: A crowd of people wearing thick coats, sunglasses, hats, and bandanas hold up protest signs outside on a street.
Winter is a great time to spot Short-Eared Owls, natural-born performers of the Mahicantuck / Ka’nón:no (Hudson River) Valley! To lure predators away from their nest, short-eared owls hobble on the ground to give the appearance of having an injured wing. During courtship, males swoop over nests flapping their wings to show off for potential mates. And when short-eared owls feel threatened or excited, they raise the feather tufts on the top of their heads (see above image), perhaps to aid in camouflage.
Short-eared owls are vulnerable to habitat loss, killed by collisions, and suffer from persecution, poisoning, and predation. You can help protect them by sponsoring an owl with the Owl Research Institute using the link in our bio! And remember to stay on trails and drive slowly around owl habitats.
#shortearedowl #futureriver #owls
Image description: An owl roosts in a field in front of a blue sky.
We’re looking for a media-savvy communications lead to join our creative administrative ecosystem! This position will design, copy-write, and manage our social media, website, and newsletters, working with our spectacular new branding kit.
As a bioregional organization, we’d love to work with someone who lives in the Hudson Valley and is able to occasionally travel for in-person events in the HV and NYC. Video and photo skills are a plus! Visit the link in our bio to apply!
Know of someone who may be a good fit? Please share this post and help us get the word out.
#hiring #futureriver #greenjobs
Image description: Four headshots of people smiling at the camera, and a group selfie of people outside with a river and trees behind them.
Our first Tangible Hope of 2026 comes from the Tempestry Project and their partnership with Mid-Hudson libraries to create community climate art using local temperature data. Over 100 knitters across our bioregion collaborated to create Tempestries—scarves that use different colors to represent the daily high temperatures for a particular year and location.
We are inspired by this project’s ability to use climate data to support place-based storytelling. You can create your own Tempestry using your own materials or by supporting The Tempestry Project. Check the link in the bio to learn more!
Tangible Hope is one of Future River’s foundational tools. We define it as real progress towards climate and environmental justice that acknowledges loss while inspiring new possibilities. Tangible Hope can be found in all sectors of society, from science to policy to activism. It can be found in an individual, a community, or an idea. Tangible Hope is everywhere! We uplift examples of where Tangible Hope is already happening in our bioregion, and include the concept in our creative projects, crafting spaces and stories that activate people to imagine what’s possible instead of stopping at the problem.
Find out more on our website (link in bio).
Photo by The Tempestry Project
#futureriver #tangiblehope #tempestryproject
Image description: Four people wearing fleeces, jeans, and glasses look at red, yellow, green and orange knitted art pieces hanging on a white wall.
Widgeon Grass and Eel Grass are the only two species of seagrass found in the Mahicantuck / Ka’nón:no (Hudson River). They are a type of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV), which create densely populated habitats for fish and other small creatures. These aquatic plants serve as an indicator species, meaning their presence (or lack thereof) can tell scientists about the wider ecosystem’s health. Seagrasses are also instrumental in absorbing carbon from the atmosphere. Currently Eel Grass is more prominent, but Widgeon grass is more heat tolerant and may adapt better to rising sea temperatures.
The largest threat to seagrass is nutrient pollution, primarily nitrogen. Nutrient pollution occurs when an excess of nutrients from sources like nitrogen-based fertilizers run off into waterbodies. Seagrass habitats have been declining since the 1990’s. New York State legislation established a Seagrass Task Force in 2006, and the Seagrass Protection Act was passed in 2012. These consistent management efforts have improved the outlook for seagrass species, although more work is needed.
If you would like to get involved, you can report any seagrass you come across while fishing, boating, or swimming to the citizen science survey in our bio.
Our bioregion is teeming with life. In an effort to get to know our more-than-human neighbors and the issues they face, we’re honoring them through Species Spotlights. To learn more about how local ecology inspires and drives our creative programming, check out the link in our bio!
#futureriver #tangiblehope #seagrass
Image description: Light green grass surrounded by bubbles and water sways in the current.
LAST DAY TO DONATE to support our FIRST SEASON AS FUTURE RIVER on the last day of 2025! Happy New Year, friends! Thank you for being a part of our beloved community, and for any support you can give.
After months of collaboration with wonderful graphic designer Erin Mabee @erinpossibly , we are thrilled to introduce our shiny new logo. So much thought and intention went into the creation of this image, which brings together our spirit and values as well as the communities and kin we serve as we steward the river of the present and envision a river of the future.
We hope this new era of our organization will be a beacon during dark times. Together we face unparalleled threats, so together we will unite and CREATE! See you in 2026!
#futureriver #tangiblehope #happynewyear2026
As we celebrate the Winter Solstice, we’re welcoming brighter days, an expanding community, and our first season as Future River! We hope these words from Lanxing Fu @0chugachuga0 , our former co-director and now board member, bring you warmth and encouragement. Thank you for supporting us with a gift of any amount, or by spreading the word about our work to others who should know about us. Happy Solstice to all, and to all shorter nights! 🔥❄️🌲
DONATION LINK IN BIO
#futureriver #theaterforenvironmentaljustice #wintersolstice
Image description: A person with gold hoop earrings and their hair in a ponytail smiles at the camera. They are wearing a dark pink shirt and sit in front of a wall with leafy vines.
