Reba Shoup

For the past hundred years the river and its floodplain have been primarily used for agriculture and navigation, and has been corralled by levees to reduce flooding. It is time to give the river access to its floodplain and allow it to restore the habitat and species that once thrived along its banks.

Shoup’s proposal is for a new genre of conservation area that tests various models of weaving structures that interact with the river and its flood stages. The process of creating the structures will be a community event that reconnects people to the philosophy of making light touches to the land. Overtime, with cycles of flooding, the structures will develop with the ever-changing environment. Continual maintenance throughout the year will be needed monitor and update the structures. These actions can be celebrated through group events, small gatherings, and impromptu visits. The weaving methods use willow, rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea), rocks from existing wing dikes, and wood from the river and land - all sourced on site. The design intention of the weavings is to slow water the velocity and increase floodplain roughness which benefits the land by allowing sediment to fall, revitalize the soils, form temporary sandbars, and lessen the force of floodwaters. The goal of the conservation area is to bring humans onto the landscape in intentional sustainable ways and reconnect the river to the floodplain. Reforming these connections will bring the floodplain back to life and encourage species back to the ecosystem and heighten awareness to the significance of the river.