Every year, MyRWA recognizes some of our great volunteers and partners for their efforts! Thank you to the people below for going above and beyond to protect and restore our watershed for everyone who lives here!
Ripple Award: Jada Simmons Ononeme, 4th grade teacher at the George Keverian School, Everett
The Ripple Award celebrates an individual whose work with us ripples out and impacts the broader community. The Ripple Award winner this year is Jada Simmons Ononeme, 4th grade teacher at the George Keverian School in Everett. The past two school years Jada and her students learned about the Mystic River and the problem of stormwater pollution. They examined storm drains, thought about storm drain infrastructure, and how a stormwater system is different from the sewer system. They brainstormed ideas for reducing pollution in stormwater and designed a different type of storm drain that could reduce pollution entering the river. And then they diagramed their ideas and built 3-D models. Finally, they shared what they had learned with others—creating PSA messages and talking about their learning with invited guests. Last year this all happened over zoom—no small feat for 4th graders. Starting at the end of October, we will be working together again introducing students to the river, the water quality issues related to stormwater, the engineering process, problem solving and design.
There are many challenges facing our watershed and beyond. We like to think that some of the people who will provide creative solutions to those problems are in 4th grade right now. Thank you, Jada, for taking the leap of faith to create and pilot this project. It has had a reach far beyond expectations.
Volunteer(s) of the Year: Iris and Jasmine Zhao
Iris and Jasmine came to four water chestnut removal events (and signed up for even more that had to be cancelled due to weather!), two bittersweet events, mural painting, and are always up for new volunteer opportunities. At these events, they are a HUGE help to MyRWA staff and are happy to do the less glamorous jobs of standing on shore to receive water chestnut baskets or combing through bittersweet piles to remove every last berry. We know that we can always rely on them and they give us great hope for the future of this watershed!
Municipal Partner: Ale Echandi, Inland Ecologist at Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR)
So much of MyRWA’s work, especially in our Greenways efforts, depend on having municipal partners who care as deeply about the work as we do. Ale is one such partner. She has spent the last eight years at DCR as a natural resources and trail specialist, prior to that she served as an ecological scientist at the BSC Group. This last year, Ale has gone above and beyond to help MyRWA advocate for and permit the first native meadow on the Mystic Reservation—which is now being planted at Blessing of the Bay Park. She has also been a partner in our invasive work at Torbert Macdonald Park, and even our on-the-water efforts with water chestnuts. We are excited to keep working with her in the coming years.
Water Quality Monitors
This year is the 21st year of our baseline monitoring project, and every month dozens of volunteers go out and collect water samples for us from 11 different water bodies. We are excellent at collecting data. But why do we do it? We do it to bring about change. And that happens through a variety of channels.
First, it brings media attention to the issue of water pollution. This year for the first time, the three great rivers of Boston Harbor—the Mystic, the Charles, and the Neponset—presented their Water Quality Report Cards pictured based on the model developed on the Mystic, and now followed by the other three rivers. And our press event at Deer Island with EPA got covered by both WBUR and the Boston Globe, telling a unified and important story across the region—that while the Clean Water Act has been a huge environment and economic boon, and the rivers are remarkably clean urban rivers in general, water pollution still remains a significant issue, especially on our tributaries.
It leads to enforcement of environmental laws. Baseline data on bacteria contamination has been part of the case used by US EPA to encourage and even force municipalities to find the sources of sewage contamination.
Baseline data was background historical data in our big Phosphorus study a few years ago which will lead directly to regulators demanding improvements in stormwater.
We have used our salinity data in an ongoing effort to chronicle and demonstrate the negative impact of road salt on aquatic ecosystems.
We have used dissolved oxygen and other data as background data to inform habitat assessments for herring runs and ecological restoration projects.
And though we thank all our monitors equally, we also have a tradition of calling out volunteers who reach 5-year milestones of service. This year, we have folks celebrating 5, 10, 15, and 20th anniversaries:
Karen Buck and Jack Beusmans have been with our Lower Mystic Baseline program essentially since the beginning of that survey 10 years ago. Katie Moore and Kimi Ceridon play an absolutely essential role of substitutes for the Upper Mystic Baseline program for 5 years and 10 years respectively. Moira Ashleigh has monitored the Aberjona River for 10 years, and is a passionate advocate for Horn Pond and habitat restoration.
Bob Knippen who has been a loyal member of the crew that monitors Alewife Brook for 15 years now. And Tracy Olson and her family have been monitoring on the Aberjona River for a heroic 20 years. Tracy has served in any number of roles for us including chair of our policy committee.
