Grants to improve local waterways

WATERFORD >> Free educational field trips, improved museum exhibits, and expanded recreational experiences are a few of the projects that will get underway this year thanks to $32,000 in grant funding from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. Grant funds will leverage an additional $203,000 in private and public project funding raised by seven grant recipients.

Local Erie Canalway grant recipients include Rome Historical Society and the Village of Canastota.

“As we celebrate the bicentennial of construction of the Erie Canal, we are well aware that the investments we make today are building the future of the canal,” said Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. “We are grateful for the work of ca- nal communities and organizations across the state for the great work they do to advance preservation, education, and recreation along this historic waterway.”

Erie Canalway has awarded nearly $500,000 in small grants since 2007, which has leveraged an additional $1.85 million in project funding.

Rome Historical Society was awarded $5,300 to renovate its permanent canal exhibition in preparation for the Erie Canal Bicentennial. The exhibit is slated to open on July 4.

“We would like to thank the Erie Canalway Heritage Corridor for this generous award. With the Bicentennial of the Erie upon us, it is so important for our community and our nation to learn & understand the legacy of this Grand Canal. The exhibition, opening exactly 200 years after ground was broken here in Rome, will highlight how what started here in 1817 would ultimately come to change a nation,” said Arthur L. Simmons III, executive director of Rome Historical Society.

The Village of Canastota received $3,000 in support of Tour the Towpath, a 36-mile bike ride from Rome to DeWitt via the Old Erie Canal State Park. This year’s ride is being offered in conjunction with the 2017 World Canals Conference as a preconference trip. Grants were also awarded to: The City of Amsterdam, Corn Hill Navigation, Rochester Accessible Adventures, Rochester Museum & Science Center and the Town of Montezuma.

For more information on the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, visit www.eriecanalway.org.