A day by the river

Preserving, sharing and celebrating one of the city’s most beautiful assets is at the heart of what the Petaluma River Heritage Center hopes to do.

Though still a work in progress, the PRHC will make its home in the historic livery stable at Steamer Landing Park and become a place where people can learn about the river, connect with it for recreation and enjoy various educational programs and exhibits.

It’s an idea that the Friends of the Petaluma River organization has been working on for several years and a vision it wants to share with the public at a PRHC open house on Sunday, April 5.

“I’ve had the concept in mind for a heritage center since I was riverkeeper,” said David Yearsley, director of the nonprofit, FPR. “The idea was moved forward in 2004 with the idea of using Steamer Landing Park when the city moved the livery stable from D Street to the McNear Peninsula.”

At that time, a Petaluma Parks and Recreation committee intended to restore the stable for use as a heritage center, but the project fell by the wayside due to lack of funding. It was revived earlier this year by Petaluma Parks and Recreation, with the Friends of the Petaluma River taking the lead on the project in partnership with the city.

“We’ve been working to clean out the livery stable and have had a few work days so far,” said Yearsley. “We’ve got lots of restoration work to do.”

Yearsley said that the river heritage center will fit in “with our little necklace of gems we have around the downtown area.”

“We hope to establish facilities for visiting small boaters and motorized craft, have space for overnight camping and be able to have youth events here,” said Yearsley. “One of our primary goals is to create a place where children and people of all ages, can have free, unstructured time to explore nature.”

Yearsley added that they are looking to raise funds for the restoration of the livery stable and making it usable for the river heritage center.

“We’re going to be hosting an informational workshop soon to discuss the possibilities of the PRHC,” he said. “Anyone interested in attending can sign up for it during the open house or contact us through the Friends of the Petaluma River Web site.”

The river heritage center open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Steamer Landing Park on McNear Peninsula, at the end of Copeland Street. There will be food, entertainment and activities for all ages. Those attending will be able to view handcrafted wooden boats and see examples of shipbuilding techniques, including a model replica of the scow schooner Alma. Admission is free.

For more information, visit www.friendsofthepetalumariver. org or contact Yearsley at 763-7756.

(Contact Yovanna Bieberich at yovanna.bieberich@arguscourier. com)