This is Bird Note.

I'm Lillian Holden, an environmental educator, birder, and Illinois waterway paddling enthusiasts.

The African American Heritage Water Trail is seven miles along the Little Cayame River and the Calzag Channel.

The water trail flows through several southside Chicago neighborhoods and highlights over 180 years

worth of African American history. It includes sites such as Tom Farm, which served as a stop for freedom seekers navigating the underground railroad.

Then there's the Robbins Airport, a flight school founded by Cornelius Coffee and John

Robinson that trained pilots for the famous Tuskegee Airmen.

Finally, there is the Algeale Gardens community where the mother of environmental, Hazel Johnson,

Champion in Executive Order that protects communities of color

from environmental injustice.

The African American Heritage Water Trail details local history

and features ecological richness with abundant wildlife.

Wildlife like birds.

On a sunny day with a bright blue sky paddling along the water trail is ethereal.

Along the banks of the Little Chaimet River,

I've recounted Heron stoically perching,

kingfishers patrolling their territories,

and swallows whimsically gliding.

Black Americans have consistently had deep connections to the land severed.

Paddling along the water trail bridges inequities

and water recreation and is a voyage of the heart, spirit,

and soul.

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