paddle with a purpose

paddle with a purpose

Paddle with a Purpose

Water is the Life Blood of all living entities, including this earth. This Casco Bay & Presumpscot River watershed paddling journey aims to raise water consciousness and support restoration of the watershed and beyond, by raising awareness and resources for the Friends of The Presumpscot River and Friends of Casco Bay non-profit organizations who serve as stewards for water quality and restoration.

it takes a village. we are the village.

Follow my solo journey paddling from Bethel to Casco Bay! Beginning on May 5, I will be paddling the Casco Bay & Presumpscot River watershed for about 85 miles, from Bethel to Portland, raising water awareness and resources. Our goal is to raise at least $5000, for Casco Bay and the Presumpscot River’s restoration and sustainability. I will be connecting with community leaders along the journey shoreline, sharing our common purpose in better caring for and restoring this precious natural resource. At the culmination of this expedition, all are invited to celebrate with community, organizations, leaders and friends on May 13, 5-7pm in Greater Portland! Specific location TBD~

This is a silly mage from my last solo journey in 2018~ paddling the length of the Androscoggin River- 176 miles from Errol, NH to Topsham, ME, raising $5000 for www.mainerivers.org. This image is following a lunch meeting in Auburn
with the mayor, community members and leaders with the Androscoggin Land Trust.
Their biggest point made was that we all live downstream. Awareness and concern for that is pivotal in restoring our waterways in a way that serves all, including plants, animals, fish and birds.

Your donation of any amount will directly support Friends of the Presumpscot River & Friends of Casco Bay’s work to protect, advocate & engage community to learn about & care for local waters. 

Every day I will capture the experience and share through images and writing.
Join the journey virtually by following the blog below!

Jen Deraspe Jen Deraspe

The Dream Team!

These amazing women are simply incredible. They’re so supportive and generous. They are truly helping me to live out a passion for rivers and an inspiration to bring more awareness and support for the Casco Bay and Presumpscot River watershed.

Sarah Lyman (Friends of Casco Bay) and Whitney Rollins Conway (Friends of the Presumpscot River) have stepped forward to support my journey’s success to solo canoe from the Western Maine mountains to the ocean this coming May. They are fun and passionate and intelligent and go-getters and I am grateful for them.

It would be remiss to not mention dear Pearl girl, my beloved cat. She’s my confidant and advisor in all the ways. She helped me design these stickers for the sides of the canoe – reminders of the simple truth of it, water is life. It’s sacred.

Let’s see if we can take better care of it. In doing that we care for all of life. I am on a mission to do that- with your help we will raise over $5000 to support these non-profits that help restore and protect the watershed.

More details coming soon!

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