Mapping The Sawkill | How is the Sawkill Community gathering

On March 14, I participated in "How is the Sawkill?", the kickoff event for Mapping the Sawkill, a year-long series of free public events organized by the Woodstock Land Conservancy. The evening brought together around 100 community members to explore Woodstock's beloved waterway through an interdisciplinary series of presentations spanning ecological data, personal memory, mapping, and art. One of the clearest takeaways was that understanding the Sawkill means looking at it from many angles, not just as a waterway, but as a relationship shaped by place and community.

Over the years, I've been documenting the Sawkill Creek, and for this project I edited footage of the creek across all four seasons into four short film vignettes. From the quiet endurance of winter, when ice forms along the edges and the current continues beneath in stillness, to the intimacy of summer, when the water slows and settles into pools that reveal stones, plant life, and the subtle movements of an entire ecosystem. Each film is an invitation to pay closer attention to the rhythms of this waterway and the life it sustains.

The Mapping the Sawkill series continues throughout 2026 with hands-on workshops, including the Stream Stewards volunteer training program running May through September, which I'm co-facilitating with Beth Reichheld. Next up is "Playing the Sawkill," a percussion performance on June 20, followed by my fall exhibition at the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM). Follow @jenniferzackin for updates, and visit the Woodstock Land Conservancy for upcoming events in this series.