MyRWA partners with Chelsea's AP Environmental Studies Class

Chelsea's AP Environmental Science class heads out on the Mystic River, October 2010.During the 2010-2011 school year MyRWA engaged students in Chelsea High School’s AP Environmental Studies class. The students learned about the Mystic River Watershed, water quality monitoring methods and concepts, and local ecology through this hands-on environmental education initiative. In fall 2010 the students examined water quality of Chelsea Creek and the Mystic River via a boat-based tour. For many of them, this was their first time on the Mystic and allowed them the opportunity to see their community, and the water that connects them, from a different perspective.

By spring 2011 the students were ready to investigate salt marshes - an important habitat in the Boston area and one that is historically significant. In June the students took a culminating field trip to Thompson Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands. Here, with guidance from the National Park Service, the students compared a restored and pristine salt marsh. The students measured plant diversity via a transect line study, analyzed dissolved oxygen levels in the marsh, and had a blast searching for crabs, snails, fish and other organisms in the salt marsh. They ended the field trip with a trip to Mill Creek to observe the salt marsh in Chelsea.

Students study the saltmarsh plants via a transect line.“Working with the Mystic River Watershed Association and the National Park Service was a wonderful boost to our AP Environmental Science Program. The students and I really benefited from these partnerships. Students were able to directly experience the occupations that are a part of Environmental Science. I hope that we can make the program even stronger next year through our continued cooperation,” stated Catherine Erickson, AP Environmental Science Instructor at Chelsea High School.

It is MyRWA’s hope that the students ended the school year with a better understanding and appreciation of the Mystic River Watershed and environmental studies.  Many thanks to Catherine, Dawn and David for making this project possible!

See photos of our trip to Thompson Island here.

This project is part of the Lower Mystic Initiative which is generously funded by The Boston Foundation.

WATER CHESTNUT PULLING EVENT REMOVED 550 BASKETS OF INVASIVES

On Saturday June 4, 2011 Groundwork Somerville, the Mystic River Watershed Association and the Friends of the Mystic River hosted a successful community event to remove invasive water chestnuts from the Mystic River.  Using canoes, kayaks, and small boats, nearly 50 volunteers pulled water chestnuts out of the water by hand and then deposited the harvested plants into a dump truck.

Credit goes to all the volunteers including the MWRA which assisted with trucks, boats and manpower to support the event.

This event was sponsored by Groundwork Somerville, the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Friends of the Mystic River, the Riverside Yacht Club, the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club, the Winter Hill Yacht Club, and the Medford Boat Club. 

If you missed this event and would like to join us for another water chestnut harvesting effort, please contact us at: contact@mysticriver.org.

Stay tuned for future community hand-pulling events!

Water Quality Monitoring Training June 8

Please join MyRWA on Wednesday, June 8th for a Citizen Scientist Training Workshop. This Workshop allows interested volunteers to learn about water quality monitoring methods and concepts. By completing this workshop, you’ll be prepared to join MyRWA’s Baseline Monitoring Program. The Baseline Monitoring Program requires a monthly commitment between 6am and 8am. No experience is necessary - all are welcome! You have to register for this event.

When: Wednesday, June 8, 6-8:30pm
Where: Cambridge Health Alliance conference room, 195 Canal Street Malden, MA

Space is limited! Please register today by emailing Beth@Mysticriver.org.

US EPA Announces Mystic River Report Card

Ken Moraff of the US EPA Reveals the Mystic River Report Card for 2010.During the 15th annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle on Sunday, May 15th, the US EPA announced the annual Mystic River Report Card. The Mystic River Watershed received a grade of "D-" for water quality conditions for the calendar year 2010.  The grade is based on bacterial contamination, and the monitoring data is collected by MyRWA’s trained water quality monitors as part of the Baseline Monitoring Program.  This grade indicates that water quality met swimming standards only 28 percent of the time, while boating standards were met 70 percent of the time.

Herring Run and Paddle Held May 15th

Over 250 people enjoyed the festivities as part of the 15th annual Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle on Sunday, May 15.  The 5k road race and three paddling races (3, 9, 12 mile) brought attention to the Mystic River and the migrating herring that call it home.  Highlights of the day included the first bike tour as part of the day’s activities, various children’s activities, the US EPA Mystic River Report Card announcement, and food provided by Bertucci’s of Medford, Whole Foods Market of Medford, Honest Tea, Stonyfield Farm and Balance Bar. Thanks to all who attended – we hope to see you again next year! All race proceeds benefit the Mystic River Watershed Association. Thank you to our many sponsors, supporters and volunteers for making this day a success! 

Race RESULTS available here. Congratulations to Michael Melnikov as this year’s Iron Herring winner!

Photos courtesy of Paul Marotta are available here.

June 4th: Water Chestnut Hand-pulling Event

On Saturday, June 4, from 8am until noon, Groundwork Somerville, the Mystic River Watershed Association and the Friends of the Mystic River will host a community event to remove invasive water chestnuts from the Mystic River. Using canoes, kayaks, and small boats, volunteers will pull water chestnuts out of the water by hand and then deposit the harvested plants at a designated shore site.  Volunteers who have canoes or kayaks are encouraged to bring their own. If you need a boat, Groundwork Somerville may be able to provide you with one (thanks to the generous cooperation of the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County).  We only have 20 canoes available for volunteers, so please register for this event as soon as possible.  Canoes are available on a first come, first served basis.

Volunteers should meet at 8:00 AM at the old DCR boat ramp adjacent to 75 South Street in Medford, MA.  A limited amount of parking is available on South Street; additional parking is available on nearby Curtis Street, Maple Ave, Touro Ave, and Manning Street. 

Or RSVP by email to jonathan@groundworksomerville.org.  In your RSVP, please indicate your full name, phone number, and email address, and whether you will need a canoe.  Subject line should read, “RSVP June 4 water chestnut event.”

Immediately following the hand-pulling event, lunch and refreshments will be available for volunteers at the put-in site. 

Please Note: We also need volunteers on the riverbank to help move harvested plants from boats to dump trucks. Boaters are required to use life preservers/personal flotation devices.

To learn more about the water chestnut removal effort on the Mystic River, please contact Brad Arndt at brad@groundworksomerville.org or (617) 455-1127.

This event is sponsored by Groundwork Somerville, the Mystic River Watershed Association, the Friends of the Mystic River, the Riverside Yacht Club, the Mystic Wellington Yacht Club, the Winter Hill Yacht Club, and the Medford Boat Club. 

MyRWA Seeks GIS Intern

Put your GIS skills to use!
Help the local Mystic River environment!

GIS Internship: Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) : The Mystic River Watershed Association
(MyRWA) is seeking an intern to work on an exciting project that explores the history and complex
contamination at sites along the Malden River. The intern will be asked to find a creative solution to
present the complex legacy of contamination in the area with a graphical representation that allows the
general public to understand. The final product will be an interactive map that allows MyRWA to advocate
for investment, protection and improvement for the environment in this area.

This internship is an unpaid internship but does offer the opportunity to work on an exciting project that
will allow a student to practice and build upon existing GIS skills. This internship opportunity is available
now. Please email patrick@mysticriver.org if you are interested in this opportunity.

Mystic Community Earth Day a Success

Organizations throughout the Mystic River Watershed came together to organize Earth Day related events on Saturday, April 30th, including clean-ups, trail clearings, and plantings.  This successful day allowed many volunteers to help revitalize their communities - thanks to all who participated!

Event details:

Volunteers remove litter near Assembly Square in Somerville.In Somerville, MyRWA and Groundwork Somerville had over 30 volunteers including those from the MWRA and DCR to help clean the banks of the Mystic - photos here! Unique items included a ski pole, coconuts, a car bumper and vampire teeth.

The Chelsea Cleanup drew over 100 people.

Chelsea saw between 100 – 125 volunteers throughout the day.  In addition to cleaning the Mill Creek and Island End River, we also cleaned various neighborhoods in Chelsea.

In Medford about 100 volunteers worked at five sites, removing more than 40 bags of trash, and 5 garden planters.  Fifty volunteers helped Friends of the Mystic River to clean up Riverbend Park, MacDonald Park, Condon Shell Park, and the river itself (two people in a boat). Altogether, the volunteers collected about 30 bags of trash and recyclables, plus 4 car tires, 3 car batteries, and 2 shopping carts.

In Medford Square, 37 volunteers collected trash on Riverside Ave, including the brick plaza, on Clippership Ave and the new Clippership Park, as well as in the intersection at the center of the Square. They also cleaned up and planted several concrete planters with pansies, alyssum, and hostas. And at the

Brooks School, teams of students, teachers, and other volunteers collected used and broken appliances from almost 100 cars. The donations from the collection will go to the Brooks School PTO. Also, on Friday (Arbor Day), DPW staff planted about a dozen young trees in Mystic Riverbend Park next to the river.  Staff and volunteers also cleared out a good deal of invasive growth, including bittersweet and wild rose. 

Malden's festivities included a drum circle.

In Malden, roughly 100 volunteers from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM removed trash, brush, and other debris from the Malden River Walk and future Northern Strand Community Trail areas along the Malden River.  In total, they filled about 40 trash bags, requiring two DPW dump trucks!  Interesting finds along the railroad tracks where the Northern Strand trail will be built included car parts, one large tire, plastic dinosaur toy, and ironically, a sign advertising junk removal services.  A group of Malden youth also painted signs for these riverfront trails and planted some native shrubs at the entrance of the Malden River Walk.

See additional photos here and here.

A youth team from NOAH at work for Earth Day.
On April 29th, a youth crew from NOAH cleaned up the Condor Street Urban Wild in East Boston, including impressive team work to remove this large tire from the beach. The event was organized by the Environmental Chelsea Creek Crew (E3C) and the East Boston Chelsea Creek Action Group.

Read about the cleanup here.

Movie Screening and Discussion Announced for May 9

Join Rep. Denise Provost, Somerville Climate Action and the Mystic River Watershed Association for a screening of two river related films and a discussion on the Mystic River!

We will be showing the Waters of Missi-tuk and The Work of 1000.

Monday, May 9th, 7–9pm

We'll begin with WATERS OF MISSI-TUK - a 27-minute documentary that takes a 400-year historical review of development of the Mystic River Watershed - followed by THE WORK OF 1000, about environmental visionary and citizen-activist Marion Stoddart, who helped turn the Nashua River from one
of the most polluted rivers in America into a clean, healthy environment for wildlife and people.

We will be joined by the filmmakers of Missi-Tuk, Bob Nesson and Chris Summerfield, and by Beth Meserve of Mystic River Watershed Association.

Location:
Sprout (near Davis Square)
339 Summer St, Somerville, MA

Sponsored by:
State Representative Denise Provost, the Mystic River Watershed Association, and Somerville Climate Action (somervilleclimateaction.org).

River Advocacy Alert

Hello friends,

This action alert came directly from Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and we thought it might be of interest.

The Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee unveiled its Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal last week, and the news was not good for the environmental agencies.  However, there is still time to weigh in with your representatives on Beacon Hill to urge the restoration of funding that will help rivers - but you must do this in the next two days, while the budget is still in play.  For environmental groups, please feel free to forward this email to your members. Please note that these budget amendments would save critically important existing programs - they will not add anything new.

Please call your representatives to ask them to support the following three budget amendments, all of which are high priorities for rivers:

• DCR’s Office of Water Resources, Amendment 756 (Rep. Dykema) (line-item 2800-0101). DCR's Office of Water Resources conducts and helps fund critical research on water resources in Massachusetts. This critically important program's responsibilities include water needs forecasting, developing the science on streamflow issues, flood hazard management, drought management, invasive species removal in lakes, ponds, and rivers, and supporting the Water Resources Commission. In the last several years, the program's funding was slashed from $1.8M to $475,000. This amendment would increase funding by $275,000.

• Amendment 566 (Rep. Gobi) would increase the main DEP administrative account (line-item 2200-0100) by $2.79 million. DEP is responsible for ensuring that our air and water are clean, that hazardous waste sites are cleaned up, that our environmental laws are enforced, and that businesses can get their permits in a timely fashion. A 30% cut in funding is severely compromising DEP’s ability to protect our resources and public health. No amount of efficiencies can make up for a 30% budget cut.

• Division of Ecological Restoration, Amendment 432 (Rep. Turner) (line-item 2300-0101) DER (formerly Riverways) staff coordinate more than 60 active restoration projects, including 25 dam removal and other infrastructure projects that protect drinking water, reduce flooding, improve stream flow, and restore habitat. DEP has leveraged $23 million in non-state funds since 2007 and a typical restoration project employs between five to fifteen people. This amendment would increase funding by $60,000.

If you know your representative's name, you can call the House switchboard and be put through: 617-722-2000. If not, locate the name and contact information of your state representative by visiting:  

http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php (Note: look for "Rep. In General Court")  

http://www.malegislature.gov/People/House

Sample Message 

• Give your name and town.

• Ask to speak to the Representative. If he or she is not available, ask to speak to a staff member. You can also send an email.

• Encourage them to support the above House budget amendments. Tell them you support these amendments and would like to see them accepted into the final House Budget.