WRWA River News - April 2022

Westport River Watershed Alliance

April 2022

Dear Members and Friends:

As springtime settles in, we are entering into our busiest and best time of year, with a lot of activities going on at WRWA.

We hope that everyone will observe Earth Day in some way. We will hold our spring electronics recycling on Wednesday, April 20, from 9 to 11 a.m. This has become a significant event, and we have collected over 35,000 pounds of old, unused electronic equipment over the years, thanks to our partner IndieCycle.

On Friday, May 13, at the Dedee Shattuck Gallery, we are holding an artist appreciation event from 4 - 5:30. We celebrate the extraordinary generosity of our local artists who share their expertise and creativity every year at our art auctions. Join us if you have donated or purchased a piece - email [email protected] to RSVP.

Coming up on May 14, we will be gathering for our annual spring clean up of the Cherry & Webb Conservation Area - volunteers are welcome!

WRWA will again be hosting several guided outdoor events in June for National Rivers Month. More information for WOW (Wonders of the Watershed) events will be coming up in our next issue of River News. We hope you will get outdoors and get active with WRWA in June.

We are happy to announce our artist for this year's summer concert at Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery will be the one and only Livingston Taylor on Saturday,

July 9 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Thanks for your continuing support for WRWA and all our programs and initiatives. It's time to renew your yearly membership with WRWA, so if you have not yet received a letter in your mailbox, you can donate online. Thanks for your membership and interest in following us through River News each month.

Sincerely,

Deborah

Electronics Recycling Will Be on April 20th

The Westport River Watershed Alliance will host the very popular Electronics Recycling collection day on Wednesday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Town Hall parking lot at 816 Main Road in Westport. WRWA partners with Indie Cycle twice a year to provide this service to the community. Indie Cycle accepts most electronic materials at no charge, with the exceptions listed below.

ITEMS ACCEPTED AT NO CHARGE: Computers, laptops, PDA's, cell phones, mice, keyboards, toner cartridges, CD/DVD players, radios, network equipment, wires, stereos, speakers, telephones, microwaves, small household appliances, and auto and marine batteries. Anything with a wire!

A $10 DISPOSAL FEE APPLIES: for all TVs & Monitors, some printers, mini-fridges, air conditioners, dehumidifiers and other coolant containing appliances, wooden box speakers.

NOT ACCEPTED: light bulbs, furniture or any hazardous materials such as paint, rechargeable and single use batteries, and broken TV tubes, smoke and CO detectors, thermometers/thermostats, electric organs, heating pads/blankets, VCR tapes/CD’s/floppy disks/DVD’s

WRWA has helped collect over 35,000 pounds of old electronics at their collection days since 2015.

Indie Cycle, LLC, has a zero landfill policy. They do not remarket any hard drives or data storage devices. All electronic materials are transferred to ORS a local, R2 certified recycler for processing. See their website at www.indiecycle.com for more information.

This event is open to residents of all neighboring towns, not just for those who live in Westport. For more information on this recycling event contact WRWA at [email protected] or call 508-636-3016.

Congratulations to Winners of Gay Gillespie

Summer Scholarships

WRWA hosted the annual essay contest for students in the Westport community schools, grades 1st-4th. Students were asked to write about the things in the Westport River that they were excited to learn about. Students who had exemplary essays were given a free week to attend WRWA’s summer science programs. This program is sponsored by the generous donations to the Gay Gillespie Summer Scholarship Fund.

Students had many questions about the ocean and the Westport River in their essays. They were curious about the animals, the sand, the salt in the water, the waves and about how to prevent pollution. All of the students, teachers and their families should be very proud of their creative work.

Seventy students’ submitted essays and the winners of this year’s essay contest are:

Grade 1: Rylan Farias, Thomas Walker

Grade 2: Zachary Bernier, Makallyn Costa, Autumn Bouchard

Grade 3: Malia Martinez, Leo Delgado

Grade 4: Evelise Goncalves, Callie Duclos, Lily Cipollini

Here is an excerpt from one of the winning essays from a second grader:

"I would like to learn about all sorts of creatures! I've been very interested in conservation. I'm trying to use less plastic and use better things for the environment. I would like to learn ways I can help animals and nature. I hope that I will learn a lot, make new friends, and I think it will be a blast!"

WRWA Annual Meeting Welcomes New Board Members

WRWA held its 2022 Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 27 at 11 a.m. This was a virtual meeting via Zoom, with a presentation by Wenley Ferguson, Save The Bay’s Director of Habitat Restoration. She gave an interesting talk, entitled Strategies to restore salt marshes impacted by accelerated sea level rise and legacy human impacts. The video of Wenley's lecture will be posted on our YouTube channel at:

www.westportwatershed.org.

We are happy to welcome these new members to the Board of Directors:

Joanne Leary
Paul Mooney
Gigi Priebe
Ken Short
Don Swift

The Westport River Watershed Alliance Annual Report for 2021 can be viewed at this link:

https://www.westportwatershed.org/wrwa2021/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021_-ARWEB.pdf

Join WRWA for Spring Beach Clean Up May 14

The Watershed Alliance is seeking volunteers to help with the annual spring beach cleanup at the Cherry & Webb conservation area. This year’s activity will take place on Saturday, May 14, from 10 a.m. to noon.

All participants are asked to register in advance, to allow WRWA to manage the number of volunteers.

Volunteers will gather at the Town Beach parking area on Cherry and Webb Lane. All ages are welcome, and gloves and bags will be provided.

Those interested in helping out can sign up by calling WRWA at 508-636-3016, or email [email protected].

And More About Trash!

Over the winter, our TerraCorps member Michaelah organized monthly cleanups of Horseneck Beach. Around 50 volunteers came to help out, collecting over 300 lbs. of trash from the public beach and surrounding areas.

Close to 150 volunteers picked up trash along the roads in our area as part of the Team COW (Clean Our Westport) Spring Trash Pick Up on April 9, and they filled a dumpster with litter that had been along the roads around Westport. WRWA is a partner agency and sponsor of Clean Our Westport.

Big thanks to Lees Market and Westport Fifth Graders

Each year, Westport Community Schools fifth graders help with dune restoration at the Cherry & Webb Conservation Area by planting dune grass as part of WRWA's Watershed Education Program. Lees Market very generously sends staff to participate in the activity, and provides colorful T-shirts for all the students.

Call for Photo Entries -

2023 WRWA Calendar Contest - Deadline is July 1

The Watershed Alliance is calling for entries for the annual photo contest for the 2023 calendar. We are accepting landscape and nature photos that show the unique beauty and diversity of the Westport River watershed (i.e. the river, streams, wildlife, plants, etc.). Photos from all seasons are being sought, limit 5 photos per person.

Pictures should be submitted as JPG's.
Image size should be no smaller than 10 x 8 inches (pixel dimensions 3000 x 2400).
Image resolution should be 300 dpi or greater, file size 1MB or greater.
Deadline for image submission is July 1, 2022.

Each image should be given a title by the artist and the name of the image file should match the image title. The artist should also include their name, so that they can be credited in the calendar. Image submissions can be emailed to [email protected].

By sending in your pictures you are allowing WRWA to use your pictures to inspire the appreciation and celebration of Westport’s beautiful estuary. WRWA is grateful for the talents of local photographers who share their wonderful photographs annually for the popular calendar, which also features charts of the tides throughout the year.

Our members will choose the winners on-line, as we did so successfully the last two years.

Speaker Series continues April 28 -

Videos of previous speakers online now

WRWA has been presenting a series of informative presentations by expert speakers this winter. The talks are Zoom events, allowing those interested to view online.

The three previous programs were recorded and can be viewed by visiting our video archive on our web page.

Upcoming this spring (See details below):

April 28 - Renee Montanaro is a Doctoral student from UMASS Dartmouth and will speak about her field of study, Asian Shore Crabs. This lecture will be live, in-person at the River Center, and also offered online via Zoom.

Contact WRWA at [email protected] to sign up or for more information.

Livingston Taylor to perform at WRWA Summer Concert July 9

Mark your calendars! Our 6th Annual Summer Concert at Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery will be happening on Saturday, July 9, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. We are so pleased to be hosting singer/songwriter Livingston Taylor to entertain us all with songs and stories. This will be a must-see concert with one of New England's premiere musicians.

More information contact [email protected].

To purchase tickets, call 508-636-3016 x 1002, or visit our web page,