Are you looking to get more involved with the Herring Monitoring Program?

Community outreach opportunity!

Volunteers are needed to assist in planning and staffing “open houses” at the dam. These events will be held in May during the afternoon/evening and on the weekends to allow the public to view the migrating herring from the fish ladder which is otherwise closed to the public. We are seeking a lead volunteer coordinator for this effort, as well as volunteers to staff the events for a minimum of one hour. Contact Beth at Beth@MysticRiver.org or 781-316-3438 to get involved and for more information.

Data Visualization Summer Internship

Another summer internship with MyRWA!

The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) seeks a Data Visualization Intern to assist in the exploration and display of environmental data.  

The Mystic River Watershed Association has developed a sophisticated MS Access Database with nearly all water quality data collected during the past 15 years for the watershed.  The challenge is to take this information and convert it into figures, maps and statistics that will assist the public to understand existing conditions.  The Data Visualization Intern will develop and analyze spatial data related to water quality, drainage basins, green infrastructure, sediment contamination and demographics within the Mystic River Watershed.  The intern must be able to work independently and as a team. This is a part-time position that requires a commitment of two to three days a week during the Monday through Friday work week.

An interest in data visualization, science and the environment is encouraged.  Experience with either R or D3 is preferred. But if you have other programming/skills/design experience- we welcome your creativity!
Exact dates can be flexible depending on the candidate. This is an unpaid position.

 Since 1972, the Mystic River Watershed Association has played a unique role in the whole of the watershed by its science, advocacy, and outreach efforts. The Mystic River Watershed Association is based in Arlington, MA and is accessible via several bus routes. The Mystic River Watershed Association is an equal opportunity employer.

If interested, please send your resume and cover letter to DataInternship@MysticRiver.org. No phone calls please. 

Deadline for application: April 1, 2013.

Friends of the Malden River Group Wants You!

Join us on Monday, March 18th from 6:00 to 7:30PM for a special meeting: The Malden River: What you need to know? What is the River’s Future?

Come hear from experts from the Mystic River Watershed Association and Alternatives for Community and Environment about the current conditions of The Malden River. We'll hear from other groups about their successes in reclaiming environmentally compromised waters.

EVENT DETAILS:
Monday, March 18th from 6:00 to 7:30PM
Malden Public Library, Maccario Meeting Room
36 Salem St., Malden - (use Park Street entrance)

For more information contact: Geobany Rodriguez at geobany@gmail.com or Bob Marra at rmarra@challiance.org; 617-591-6947.

Re-Launched: Herring Migration film Series highlights the Mystic

The Herring Migration Documentary is a series of 3 in-depth films by Illuminating Minds Media, focused on the natural history, latest science and conservation efforts surrounding the River Herring.  

Shot over a year and spanning tens of locations across Massachusetts and Maine, the series feature cutting edge science, rarely witnessed behavior and insightful analysis form a leading panel of herring experts. The 3rd film of the series depicts the historic return of herring to the Mystic Lakes for the first time since the American Civil War and its biological implications.

Can you support this project? Please make a donation on the Herring Migration Kickstarter page today!

Kindly consider spreading the word by sharing, tweeting and forwarding the link to potential backers in your network: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/imm/the-herring-migration-documentary-series-3-episode

Did you see today's Boston Globe?

MyRWA was very pleased to see the Mystic River featured on the front page of the Boston Globe on Feb. 18th. The article by Beth Daley, A steady flow of troubles for the long-foul Mystic: River draws scrutiny, but cleanup a complex challenge, details the plight of the Mystic and offers a comparison to nearby urban rivers. Please feel free to circulate the article, and your comments to the editor are encouraged and most welcome!

Read the Boston Globe article here.

Friends of the Malden River Group Wants You!

Join us on Thursday, February 28th, 6pm-8:45pm, for a special meeting: The Malden River: What you need to know? What is the River’s Future?

Come hear from experts from the Mystic River Watershed Association and Alternatives for Community and Environment about the current conditions of The Malden River. We'll hear from other groups about their successes in reclaiming environmentally compromised waters.

Thursday, February 28th, 6pm-8:45pm

Parlin Library, 410 Broadway, Everett

For more information contact: Geobany Rodriguez at geobany@gmail.com or Bob Marra at rmarra@challiance.org; 617-591-6947.

Volunteer to count fish!

On April 1st, MyRWA will launch the second year of the Herring Monitoring Program. Volunteers are needed to monitor the river herring as they pass through the Upper Mystic Lake dam in Medford. All training is provided and there is a minimum 10-minute per week commitment. Register today for the Saturday, March 16th, 10am - noon Herring Monitoring training. (And if you can't make it on 3/16 but would like to volunteer, please register and we will train you separately.)

Climate Change in the Mystic River Watershed Presentation Outlines Local Impacts and Actions

Climate Change in the Mystic River Watershed: Vulnerabilities & Adaptation Strategies 

MA Climate change impacts include warmer summersOver 50 people joined the Mystic River Watershed Association for a special presentation by Paul Kirshen, PhD, Research Professor at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space at the University of New Hampshire on February 11th. Dr. Kirshen outlined the impacts of Climate Change that one can expect to see in the Mystic River Watershed such as increased intense storms, flooding, CSOs and sea level rise. Dr. Kirshen stressed the importance of trying to control our greenhouse gas emissions today.

Dr. Kirshen recommeded the following resources for additional climate change information:

• The Boston Harbor Association's Preparing for the Rising Tide Report (Feb. 2013)

• Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (July 2007)

• Massachusetts Climate Change Adaptation Report by MA Energy and Environmental Affairs

About Paul Kirshen, PhD:

Dr. Kirshen is a Research Professor with 30 years experience in the management of complex, interdisciplinary research related to water resources and climate change and has much local experience in climate change adaptation. He has carried projects and research related to managing climate impacts in collaboration with stakeholders for over a decade. Presently he is carrying out vulnerability and adaptation research and projects in Exeter and Portsmouth NH, Boston and Cambridge MA, the eastern shore of Maryland and several other sites in New England. He is a Lead Author of Chapter 26, North America, of the Working Group II contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), 2014 and the 2013 US National Climate Assessment (coastal chapter). He received his ScB in Engineering from Brown University and his MS and PhD from MIT.

The Mystic River Watershed Association would like to thank Paul Kirshen for his presentation as well as Tufts University for hosting.

Summer 2013 Internships Available

The Mystic River Watershed Association is happy to offer internship opportunities for summer 2013:

1) Water Quality Monitoring Internship (Cyanobacteria) - 2 positions available - will gather data on Cyanobacteria populations and key water quality parameters from approximately ten water bodies to safeguard the public health of residents who live in the watershed.

2) Aquatic Invasive Management Internship (Water Chestnut) - assist in organizing an effort to remove the invasive species Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) from the Mystic River. Responsibilities include organizing and assisting group and community events and managing teams of volunteers to remove plants from the river by canoe.

3) Herring Habitat Monitoring Internship - 2 positions available - assist in a scientific study on habitat and river herring populations from May 6 through August 30.

Help coordinate community water chestnut removal events!For all positions, the exact dates can be flexible depending on the candidate. These are unpaid positions.

The Mystic River Watershed Association is based in Arlington, MA and is accessible via several bus routes.

The Mystic River Watershed Association is an equal opportunity employer.

We hope you'll consider joining our TEAM!

Suffolk Downs Supports Mystic River Water Quality Programs

EkOngKar Singh Khalsa, Executive Director - Mystic River Watershed Association and Chip Tuttle, Chief Operating Officer - Suffolk Downs, celebrate Suffolk Downs’ support of local water quality monitoring and improvement efforts. (Pictured above on the banks of the Mystic River at Mary O’Malley Park in Chelsea.

Sterling Suffolk Racecourse LLC (Suffolk Downs) delivers the first of three $165,000 annual payments in support of Mystic River water quality monitoring programs. The Mystic River Watershed Association’s ongoing monthly Baseline and Hot-Spot Monitoring Programs will be funded under an agreement recently endorsed by both parties. Suffolk’s provision of funding toward this project was undertaken in connection with the settlement of an enforcement action, United States v. Sterling Suffolk Racecourse, LLC, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act.