Canoe to Work

Save the date: June 2, 2023

With the nature of our business and our outdoors-loving staff, it is no wonder that a group of motivated Burke-ers came up with the idea to commute to work via canoe.

In the spring of 2012, six individuals awoke in the wee hours of the morning, carpooled to a launch site, and hopped into kayaks and canoes on Fall Creek which would lead them to the White River and on to downtown Indianapolis.

This now annual event, while initially conceived as a team-building experience, has become near and dear to us as it promotes awareness of our waterways and offers a paddler’s view of their current condition. As the event has grown, so has our list of local partners who share our vision.

Celebrating Indiana’s waterway resources

Over the past 11 years, our numbers have grown to more than 50 canoers and kayakers.

Each year on the first Friday in June, weather and water-level permitting, we paddle our way to work while focusing on not falling into the water.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Either way, we all have a good time, get some exercise, and see the importance of improving and preserving these beautiful natural features that provide many benefits to our cities and towns.

It may not be a practical way to commute every day, but it reminds us that each and every one of us can make a difference.

canoes on the bank

“While it’s certainly not the fastest or easiest commute to work, it’s an incredible opportunity to reconnect, up close, with the river, wildlife habitat and built infrastructure.”

Sheila McKinley
Canoe to Work participant since 2012

“It’s a really great way to get out on the water and see the river from a different perspective and see how the projects that we’re doing affect the waterways that we live around.”

Olivia Hawbaker
Canoe to Work participant since 2016

Group canoeing on the river
Copyright © 2024 Christopher B. Burke Engineering, LLC. All rights reserved.
Indianapolis Web Design by TBH Creative