Paddling in the park brings nature into focus

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The canoe wobbled slightly from side to side, prompting light shrieks of delight tinged with perhaps a note of alarm from children, as paddlers were settling on their seats for a ride along Van Cortlandt Park’s lake.

Keisa Helgerson — or “Captain Keisa,” as she introduced herself —reached from the embankment and held the boat with a steady hand: “A little wobbling is OK,” she said, reassuringly, stepping into the boat to take the steering position in the stern.

Ms. Helgerson hails from Minnesota and works for a Minneapolis-based non-profit group, Wilderness Inquiry, which seeks to connect urban dwellers with nature. Among the tours and adventures they organize around the world, Wilderness Inquiry crews visit cities around the country to offer canoe rides on local waterways.

Last week they were in Van Cortlandt Park — first, offering rides for school groups, followed then by a day of rides for local residents on Saturday. 

Four canoes, each seating about 10 people, cruised around the lake, as riders – some of whom had never been on a small boat before — worked their paddles through the water, snapped pictures and waved at other boats, while captains steered from the stern. 

Amelia Mathews, age 2, was one of the youngest paddlers, decked out in a life vest and operating a small paddle under the gaze of her big brother Noah – a seasoned seaman at a ripe age of 4. Noah and the oldest sister, 6-year-old Claire – as well as their parents, Sallee and Nathan Mathews – had been on a similar ride last year, but Amelia was venturing into the open water for the first time, Mr. Mathews said. 

Last year’s rides took place on a cool day, but the warm and sunny weather last Saturday, with highs in the mid-60s, meant people came in droves. By 1 p.m., about an hour after the rides began, some 150 people had signed up, said Christina Taylor, the executive director of Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, which hosted the event. 

Park rangers hold more canoe rides during the summer. Wilderness Inquiry crews arrive once a year, and the northwest Bronx, with its Van Cortlandt Park’s lake – the largest freshwater lake in New York City – was the site they chose for canoe rides for people from all over the city. 

Ms. Helgerson, the boat captain with a battery of navigation, water-rescue and first-aid tests and certificates on her resume to qualify her for the job, joined Wilderness Inquiry in spring and came to the Bronx for the first time this month, expecting to find bustling urban scenes. Instead, she saw a lake that looked “like a postcard,” she said. 

Coming from a native of the “land of 10,000 lakes,” which is Minnesota, the appraisal sounds like no small accolade. 

“To come and see a beautiful park like this is, wow, that’s a totally different perspective on New York City from what I would have thought,” she said. 

During the first two days of canoe rides, a pair of swans that live on Van Cortlandt Lake shared the waterway with the boats, Ms. Helgerson said. But by Saturday, they had moved to another part of the lake – apparently displeased at having all those boats taking over their lake, Ms. Taylor of Friends of Van Cortlandt Park quipped. 

Amid the lighthearted laughter of the day, one thing that Wilderness Inquiry takes seriously is the safety of the riders, who include small children along with adults who may never have handled a paddle in their lives. 

“We expect people to have never paddled before,” Ms. Helgerson said. “So, you kinda need to know what you’re doing. So, they have us go out on the [Mississippi] river, and everybody takes turns being in the stern, which is the steering position. And we have to prove that we can steer the boat, we can turn it around, we can keep going straight, and we can give instructions to the group in a way that’s productive.” 

Besides steering skills and strong muscles, having powerful vocal cords does not hurt, either: “Sometimes – especially with school groups – they like to chit-chat a lot, so you have to be able to shout over them,” Ms. Helgerson said. 

Has anything dramatic ever happened on any of her tours? “Not yet,” Ms. Helgerson said, laughing. “Trying to keep it that way.” 

Van Cortlandt Park, Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, Christina Taylor, Anna Dolgov

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