Allison Geyer
Henrik Carlson, 9, explores the urban watershed of Madison's Starkweather Creek with a group of fourth and fifth graders from the Goodman Community Center.
A small flotilla of canoes and kayaks shoves off from the Olbrich Gardens boat launch on a Friday morning in July, each vessel containing curious children ready to discover the winding waters of Starkweather Creek.
The explorers are fourth- and fifth-graders from the Goodman Community Center, who team up with volunteer guides recruited by Friends of Starkweather Creek to supervise a journey into the urban watershed.
“This creek is a magical resource,” says Carl Landsness, who is on the board of the friends group. “The vast majority of people who never get out of their cars never get to experience this.”
Landsness organized the excursion, but perhaps organized is too strong a word — the youthful paddlers are the real leaders, forging ahead through the unfamiliar waters to investigate all the hidden ecosystem has to offer.
With the boats in the water, a brief lesson in paddling ensues — the students learn essentials like forward, reverse and the all-important j-stroke that corrects the canoe’s natural tendency to turn.
“Are there rapids?” asks Henrik Carlson, an incoming fifth-grader at Lowell Elementary.
“Well, I don’t think so,” says Dominic DeSano, an experienced paddler who volunteered his time and his canoe for the youth excursion. “But I think this is still going to be pretty exciting.”
Fed by the waters of Lake Monona, Starkweather Creek flows more than 20 miles through one of Madison’s most urbanized areas. The surrounding watershed is Madison’s largest, encompassing most of the city’s east side.
Once home to Native Americans, the watershed was quickly developed by European settlers. The wetlands were drained and the creek was straightened to meet the needs of large-scale farming operations; with urbanization came pollution, erosion and flooding.
Citizens concerned about the creek’s degradation organized to form Friends of Starkweather Creek 13 years ago, and since then, the advocacy group has worked with city officials on a number of restoration projects, including stream bank reconstruction and native plant reintroduction.
“It’s been a real community effort,” Landsness says.
The restoration has begun to transform the creek from a hazard to a treasure, but there’s still much to be done. The ecosystem remains a study in contrasts — stands of ancient oak trees sit across from heaps of automobile salvage at a repair shop; turtles, fish and waterfowl dodge piles of floating garbage.
It’s a space shared by Madison’s homeless and transients as well — paddlers bid good morning to one man enjoying a creekside coffee and come upon another sleeping soundly on a discarded couch under a bridge.
“It’s actually a pretty good setup he’s got there,” DeSano observes.
Canoes travel in single file as the creek narrows near Darbo Drive and Worthington Avenue, but a recent rainfall makes it possible to press on further east. Explorers paddle past residential neighborhoods, navigate dark tunnels under major roadways and emerge amid the commercial developments north of East Washington Avenue.
Someone spots a mulberry tree and shakes the branches — within moments, a cascade of red and black berries come tumbling into the canoes and the kids gobble them up.
“Hey, these are really good,” Carlson says, his hands soaked with juice. “I wonder if this stuff stains?”
Friends of Starkweather Creek
Founded: 2002
Total urban watershed area: 23.9 square miles
Creek length: 20 miles total; splits into a west and east branch at Sherry (O.B.) Park
Next paddle with the Friends: Saturday, Aug. 22, 10 am at Olbrich Park boat launch
