Looking Back: My Time with WAA

Today’s Blogger is Shalen!

Me kayaking down the North River

Wow, I marvel at how this year raced by: I can’t believe it’s December! December for me means frantically preparing for the semester’s finals, and it’s also a time for reflection on my accomplishments and experiences of the year. These past six months with WAA have been amazing, life changing ones, during which I learned an incredible amount about climate change, watershed recreation, dam restoration, marsh restoration, rain gardens, and much more. Most importantly, I met many of the incredible individuals who dedicate themselves to their organizations. I’ve visited seven watersheds (Neponset River, Jones River, North and South Rivers, Herring Ponds, Westport River, Back River, and Narragansett Bay) and their acompanying associations. Before beginning my time with WAA, I honestly did not know much about southeastern Massachusetts, other than about the famed Plimoth Plantation and Plymouth Rock.

Dorie and me at the Pawtuxet River, Narragansett Bay watershed

            I’m from Woburn on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and spend most of my time north of Boston, apart from my semesters at Stonehill College. To have the opportunity to spend so much time learning about and traveling to the southeastern Massachusetts watersheds has been an enriching and unique experience, to say the least. I’ve had completely new and fun experiences that I never otherwise would have had: I kayaked for the first time in the 2013 Wampanoag Paddle with the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, cruised down the Back River for a boating event organized by State Representative Murphy, and canoed part of the Jones River in Kingston. Working with Dorie, the WAA coordinator and outreach manager, and all of WAA’s amazing allies and members has only strengthened and reaffirmed my commitment to the environment, to sustinable living, and to fighting to make this world a safe and healthy one in which future generations of all beings can flourish. To learn more about each of these watershed associations, please visit WAA’s website here: http://watershedaction.org/.

Some of my most memorable trips were ones in which I saw children engaged and excited in learning about their local environments. Children are curious and inquisitive, and instilling in them a respect and love for the environment at an early age is crucial. The Westport River Watershed Alliance and Save the Bay—Narragansett Bay are two of the organizations that have classrooms in their headquarters. However, outreach and  education are very important to all of WAA’s member organizations, and many take their programs into the schools or out on the rivers!

Me at the 2013 Wampanoag Paddle, thanks to NSRWA

As a senior English major, I’m badgered about my plans after college, and many of my family members assume that since I’m an English major, I must want to teach. Until now, I thought teaching was out of the question (I’m not cut out for a career in a traditional education system), however, now I could see myself teaching in a different way. Would I be willing to share my experiences to encourage and educate others to get involved in saving our local ecosystems as well as the biosphere as a whole? Absolutely.Visiting Save the Bay at Narragansett Bay, and seeing their interactive labs, classrooms, and education vessels invigorated me in a way I was not expecting in this regard.

            I never imagined I would be able to help WAA and its member associations as much as I have in the past six months. I’m proud of my accomplishments and even more so that my work is improving WAA’s mission of outreach and education. While I already know the virtues and benefits of utilizing social media in 

Me in the Neponset River watershed

this digital age, I discovered the virtue of personal networking and face-to-face communication. Fostering personal relationships is the most important thing you can do in any field, but especially among environmental organizations. I had a taste of this networking in visiting both the Back River and Herring Ponds watersheds, especially.

One of the watershed issues that I’ve learned most about over the past year is how many obstacles river herring face in trying to spawn in local waterways. Many of WAA’s member watershed associations commit themselves to removing dams, installing fish ladders where needed, and restoring habitat so the herring have a clear path upstream. The largest fish ladder by far that I’ve seen in person is the Weymouth Herring Run in Jackson Square (in the Back River watershed), consisting of five fish ladders. The Jones River Watershed Association’s efforts contributed to the removal of the Wapping Road Dam in Kingston on the Jones River.

I am most proud of my contribution to WAA’s blog, which I effectively ran during the summer months of my internship.  I loved having the opportunity to visit our member associations, meet all these spectacular people, and write blog posts about my visits and experiences. Delving into a particular watershed, learning about its people, topography, issues, and successes was refreshing and made me realize how unique each watershed is. I enjoyed every moment of writing for WAA, and the Did You Know? articles were no exception. My favorite DYK article was actually my first one, concerning the controversy surrounding Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, MA, and the detriment caused by its open-cycled cooling system, which sucks in water from Cape Cod Bay and impinges thousands of fish in its system. I wrote about the need for closed-cycle cooling, because closed-cycle cooling would not emit warm, polluted water back into the bay. Instead of being discharged, the water used in CCC is recycled through the reactor. My interest in the subject did not stop when I published my article, but rather Pilgrim continues to be on my radar at every moment. My in-depth research on this article motivates me to continually stay informed.

I'm at the Weymouth Herring Run

Needless to say, my work with WAA has left me with a strong sense of purpose, a passion, and a reaffirmation that working in the environmental field is something I want to do after graduation. People have said that I would discover what I love in college, and thanks to WAA, I definitely have! 

Are you curious about my current work in social media with WAA? Click here to see our Facebook page and Twitter feed to see what I’ve been working on!