Mascaro Center hosts “Hidden Rivers” screening at Frick Fine Arts

The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation hosted a viewing party of the environmental documentary “Hidden Rivers” in the Frick Fine Arts Theater on Oct. 29. The event was held as a sector of the international Moving the Cities program, hosted by the Swanson School of Engineering. 

“Hidden Rivers,” conceptualized by Oregon-based non-profit Freshwater Illustrated, traverses the many waterways of Southern Appalachia. The film follows the “beauty and vulnerability of these ecosystems” while featuring shots of the luscious greenery and vivacious wildlife that hides in the crevices of these creeks and rivers. It chronicles the conservation work that is taking place to revitalize the dwindling numbers of its aquatic life — like minnows, mussels and sturgeons. The viewer follows the timeline of mussel rehabilitation facilities in Tennessee and North Carolina as they work to nurse the creatures back to health before releasing them in hopes of repopulation. Elementary school students take a field trip to the premises to learn about the importance of undersea life and eco-friendly practices. 

The narrative of “Hidden Rivers” emphasizes the symbiotic relationship between communities and their water sources, something that Pittsburgh, a city with three main rivers, is no stranger to. In the words of Casper Cox, an Appalachian snorkeler who was a prominently featured guest in the film, “We’re all downstream to someone.” 

Cox is also the author of a written companion piece to “Hidden Rivers,” titled, “Snorkeling the Hidden Rivers of Appalachia.” 

The Mascaro Center, a branch of Pitt Sustainability, is an interdisciplinary unit that emphasizes direct collaboration between the University and the Pittsburgh community. Savannah Denlinger, the academic sustainability programs manager of the Center, played a key role in selecting “Hidden Rivers” as the night’s featured screening, especially in supplement to the studies done by the “Moving the Cities” group. Denlinger, who was recommended the film by a Pitt colleague, intended the event to be an educational, social and fun break from the students’ research-heavy itinerary. 

“These are really big problems that we’re facing, maybe just realizing that one individual impact can go a big way, even if that’s just telling somebody about what the issue is or picking up trash that you see on the side of the river,” Denlinger said. 

The Center also wanted to highlight features of the Appalachian region, Gena Kovalic, co-director of the Mascaro Center, said. 

“We thought it gave a regional perspective and helped them to learn more about what happens in North America and Appalachia, and, so, gave them a perspective of where they were and help them to learn a little bit about our area,” Kovalic said. “And we just wanted to use it as a learning opportunity, but kind of in a lighthearted, easy way for them, and provide them with some downtime, because it was a pretty intense week for them.” 

The Mascaro Center was only one sub-branch of the Pittsburgh community that helped make the “Moving the Cities” program a reality — its primary backer being the Swanson School of Engineering. The event, which has served as a collaboration between institutions since 2019, was intended to be held at Unisinos University, in the Rio Grande do Sul area of Brazil. Due to the area’s severe flooding, Pitt’s Swanson School decided to step up as the host for the 2024 year. Alicia Olalde, the Director of the Swanson School of Engineering Global Experience Office, describes “Moving the Cities” as a program simulating real-life engineering teams. 

“When you’re part of an engineering firm … you never know who you’re gonna be working with,” Olade said. “You get assigned to a couple of different teams, they could be from other parts of the world … your boss assigns you a task to create X, and you’ve got two weeks to come up with an amazing design. This is very real-world, how things work.”

Similarly, participants in “Moving the Cities” are put in groups with students from different cultural backgrounds and are tasked to design a solution to a worldwide problem. Olalde was satisfied with the event.

“The profile of the city of Pittsburgh, as well as the University, was definitely raised,” Olade said.

October is recognized as “Campus Sustainability Month,” in which colleges and universities across the globe vow to spread awareness of environmental threats to propel students into collaboratively building a secure future. Regardless, conservationist events are offered year-round at Pitt. Via organizations like the Student Office of Sustainability and departments like the Mascaro Center, undergraduate students can attend events like Tree Tender Training or segments of the Hike & Talk series held in the upcoming weeks.