MCLA Green Living Seminar Series Concludes with Exploration of Rivers

Professor Nicolas Howe to discuss reimagining rivers as living, thinking beings with spiritual power.

Apr. 13, 2026 at 3:37pm

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An impressionistic, blurred image of a river flowing through a lush, green landscape, captured in a warm, dreamlike palette of colors, conveying a sense of the river's natural power and cultural significance.A thoughtful exploration of rivers as living, spiritual entities, not just hydrological systems to be engineered.North Adams Today

The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will host the final presentation of its 2025-26 Green Living Seminar Series on Wednesday, April 22. Professor Nicolas Howe of Williams College will present 'Thinking Like a River: What Restoration Restores,' exploring how practitioners, activists, and artists are reimagining rivers not as hydrological systems to be engineered, but as living, thinking beings with spiritual power, moral weight, and cultural identity.

Why it matters

The talk will examine the cultural dimensions of environmental thought and action, moving beyond just restoring the physical form or ecological integrity of a river to also considering its 'mind and spirit.' This aligns with a growing movement to recognize the inherent rights of nature and shift away from a purely utilitarian view of natural resources.

The details

Howe, an environmental studies professor, will draw on ethnographic fieldwork in river restoration communities in New England and the U.K. to discuss how the philosophy and anthropology of ecological restoration can restore not just the physical river, but also its cultural identity and spiritual significance.

  • The presentation will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.
  • The Green Living Seminar Series runs throughout the 2025-26 academic year at MCLA.

The players

Nicolas Howe

Professor of Environmental Studies at Williams College and author of 'Landscapes of the Secular: Law, Religion, and American Sacred Space' and 'Climate Change as Social Drama: Global Warming in the Public Sphere'.

MCLA

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, hosting the Green Living Seminar Series.

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What they’re saying

“Thinking Like a River: What Restoration Restores”

— Nicolas Howe, Professor of Environmental Studies

What’s next

The presentation will be recorded and made available at mcla.edu/greenliving for those unable to attend in person.

The takeaway

This talk reflects a growing movement to recognize the inherent rights of nature and shift away from a purely utilitarian view of natural resources like rivers. By reimagining rivers as living, thinking beings with spiritual power, the presentation explores a more holistic and culturally-informed approach to ecological restoration.