Little's Conservation Area Dedication

I had been meaning to post this entry to our blog a little closer to the time it actually happened but other projects and work demand my attention!

On June 24th 25 acres of conservation land near the North River was opened to the public. The new conservation land is named the John Little Conservation Area after one of its previous owners. This parcel is one that the NSRWA and partners in conservation have been looking at for some time because of its proximity to other conserved lands along the North River, its size, and its designation as Priority Habitat for Endangered Species by the state. The Marshfield Community Preservation Committee, Open Space Committee, Conservation Commission as well as the Wildlands Trust, the Marshfield voters and the NSRWA each played a role in seeing this parcel protected. The parcel was purchased using Community Preservation Act funds.

If you wish to visit this property for a walk (and I recommend it!) it is located off of Union Street between Oak Street and Corn Hill Lane--there is a small parking area and trails on the property. Enjoy!!

Nekton lessons

A week or so ago I was given the opportunity to hold a workshop on nekton identification for students and staff from the Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research (CSCR) and Derby Academy. Both organizations are helping the Mass. Wetland Restoration Program (now part of the Division of Ecological Restoration in Mass. Fish and Wildlife) monitor pre- and post-restoration salt marshes. (That's me in the navy blue polo shirt poking at something in my hand.)

Nekton are aquatic animals that can move on their own - the opposite of plankton, which is at the mercy of water currents. Nekton in wetland restoration sites typically includes fish like mummichogs, striped killifish, three-spined sticklebacks, and silversides and invertebrates like shrimp and crabs.

Fish and invertebrates were collected from fish traps at multiple restoration sites and brought in buckets to CSCR, where we all worked with dichotomous keys to identify what we had and improve our ability to distinguish similar species (like all the different kinds of killifish!) A dichotomous key helps identify things by asking pairs of questions that lead towards a correct identification. Perhaps our most interesting discovery of the day was a juvenile tomcod! Finding young estuarine fish in restoration sites is great evidence that restored wetlands will recover and start to support species that are representative of a healthy ecosystem.

Raingarden Article in Boston Globe Magazine

I was recently interviewed about rain gardens by Boston Globe Magazine.

If you want to check out some rain gardens on the South Shore, here's some info about the raingarden project we completed this past year.


Hanover Rain Garden