Adult Piping Plover with chick on Horseneck Beach by Amy Tripp
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Dear Members and Friends,
It is the third week of June, and like everyone else in the world, WRWA staffers are slowly coming back to work, and adjusting our schedules and routines so as to be as safe as possible. We have made every effort to reopen our site and programs in the most thoughtful and careful ways.
Water testing has begun, look for weekly updates on our website. Click
here
for the most recent results on water quality in the Westport River.
Our big pivot for this summer was to change all of our Summer Children’s Program to family-based learning workshops for up to six people from the same family. There are four workshops offered, and they will be scheduled at your convenience. The pressure on children to maintain social distance and to wear masks seemed to leach the fun out of the week-long programs; so we decided to wait until next summer. The Gay Gillespie Scholarships awarded this year will be honored then.
You will find more information in the short article below.
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Our two wonderful interns, Bailey and Malia dove right into hard work and have installed a pollinator garden in the back of the River Center, with the support of funds donated in honor of our dear friend Bonnie Stropp. She would have loved this! Come and see.
River Center
Open Saturday Hours
will require pre-registration. Please
email Bailey
directly if you would like to schedule a visit to our amazing Resource Room. You might want to bring something special to see on our projection microscope!
Dates for Summer Open Hours are:
July 11 & 25 August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29
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You can find a wonderful
underwater video
of life on the river bottom
here
, made by Mike Sullivan. Many thanks to him for sharing this one-of-a-kind view of what is going on beneath the water's surface in the harbor area in Westport!
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Your membership is more important than ever as we all strive to emerge intact from the terrible disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. Please contribute to our
membership drive
,
and if you have already renewed your membership, a BIG thank-you from all of us at the Watershed Alliance.
Sincerely,
Deborah
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Water Quality Monitoring Results Every Week
Throughout the Summer
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On board our boat is the Boat Captain's son, Cameron, assisting in water testing this summer, in keeping with the Governor's order that only family members are allowed together on boats for now.
Click here for
water quality monitoring
test results from various locations all along the River. We publish this data weekly on our web page, so you will know where it is safe to swim and engage in other activities.
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WRWA Offering Family Summer Programming
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After much thought and guidance from the Governor and the local BOH, we have decided to convert our traditional summer childrens’ programs to family workshops for up to six members of a family with our staff. These 2-hour programs will take place either at the River Center or at Baby Beach, and will be engaging and stimulating for everyone. Families can select from one of four topics and locations, to be scheduled in advance and on the day of their choosing. We will honor the scholarships for any children who received them this year for regular programs next summer.
This is the best way to offer families who would like to share with their children a high quality science based program, at a low cost.
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Commonwealth Corps Positions Open at WRWA
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The Westport River Watershed Alliance is seeking two full time Commonwealth Corps volunteers to serve as Environmental Educators. The Commonwealth Corps volunteers will deliver WRWA’s Watershed Education Programs to children in grades PreK-12, launch outreach programs and citizen science projects. Commonwealth Corps volunteers with the Westport River Watershed Alliance will serve 10.5 months in a full-time capacity. Applicants should be Massachusetts residents and have a desire to put their talents and ideas to use in the service of their communities and the Commonwealth.
The mission of the Commonwealth Corps is to engage Massachusetts residents of all ages and backgrounds in service to strengthen communities, address unmet community needs, and increase volunteerism. Members will serve in a stipended full-time capacity from August 2020 through June 2021. Benefits include a focus on member training and development, as well as a bi-weekly stipend, a completion award, an inspiring network of fellow members, and other supports.
Those interested in applying for the position should email a cover letter, resume and three references to Shelli Costa,
wep@wrwa.com.
For a full position description please visit our website:
www.westportwatershed.org.
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Your membership is vital to WRWA's continuing mission,
"Working together to protect and preserve the Westport River Watershed now and for future generations."
Or send your check to
WRWA
PO Box 3427
Westport, MA 02790
Thank you!
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Thank You to our 2020 Corporate Sponsors
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