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Interviewees
Pearsall, Tricia
Interviewer
Bowden, Eric
Description
About Tricia, in her own words: "The James River Park and the James River and its banks have been a part of my Richmond life from the time I moved here in the late 1960s. We’d explore along the river in the Park, and I’d take my kids snorkeling and swimming in the River. Later, I guided river camps for kids, and led history hikes for all ages along the river. I now serve on the Historic Falls of the James Scenic River Advisory Committee and the Board of the James River Outdoor Coalition. As I approach my 8th decade, I remember when we excitedly explored by few, if any, paths, discovered and marveled at all James River Park natural lands and animals. Now I’m advocating furiously to protect the degradation of biomass and loss of habitat caused by too many paths or trails and over use. The river and the JRP park are RVA and must remain a priority in protection management and funding. I only hope tomorrow’s children get to experience the JRP as we have. Now retired, I have been an experiential education teacher and administrator at St. Catherine’s School, an adult ESL teacher at Richmond Public Schools, and a kayak and backpack instructor with Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation."
In this interview, Pearsall speaks about her childhood in North Carolina, attending Randolph Macon Women’s College, graduating with a chemistry degree, moving to Richmond to work for the American Tobacco Company, falling in love with backpacking and wilderness at Girl Scout camp in North Carolina, racing sailboats in Richmond, canoeing and kayaking, becoming involved with river protection through her father-in-law’s campaign against a Southside freeway, the state of the parks in the 1970s and 1980s, the Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972, the turn towards environmental conservation in the 1960s and 1970s including the Clean Water Act, the growth of state and federal parks, how humans disrupt wilderness, conservation versus accessibility, how to approach parks education, the origin of the Richmond Slave Trail, having a shared vision for parks management, how to stop overuse of trails, how race and immigration status can impact experiences of the parks, how park user diversity needs to be reflected in management, how Richmond should center the river and parks, and how we can be better stewards for the parks.
Topical Subject
James River (Va.); Outdoor recreation; Outdoor recreation for children; Outdoor recreation--Environmental aspects; Trails; Environmentalism; Parks; Parks--Maintenance; Education parks; Conservation; Conservation easements; Discrimination in municipal services; Girl Scouts; Hurricane Agnes, 1972; United States. Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966
City/Location
Richmond (Va.)
Genre
oral histories (literary genre)
Local Genre
oral history; sound recording; text
Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by Tricia Pearsall. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
James River Park System Oral History Project
Contributors
James River Park System
Source
Tricia Pearsall interview (2024-04-12), James River Park System Oral Histories, M 569, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
File Name
jrpsoh_pearsalltricia_interview.mp3
Disciplines
Environmental Education | Public History | Social History | United States History