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Watershed Neighbor
You are invited to participate in a pilot program for residents who live within important parts of Scituate's water supply watershed. It's called the "Watershed Neighbor Project" and is partially funded by a grant from the Riverways Program, part of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Greetings "Watershed Neighbor" families, You are invited to participate in a pilot program for residents who live within important parts of Scituate's water supply watershed. It's called the "Watershed Neighbor Project" and is partially funded by a grant from the Riverways Program, part of the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The First Herring Brook Watershed Initiative and the Maxwell Conservation Trust are sponsoring this project with assistance from the North and South Rivers Watershed Association, the Trustees of Reservations and local officials.
To make this project relevant to your home and immediate neighborhood we've divided the watershed into smaller watersheds or "sub-basins". Take a moment and try to locate your neighborhood on the aerial photo or map on this web page. We hope you and your families will join us as we learn about streams, wetlands, vernal pools, ponds, trails, and other interesting features of your section of the watershed. We will offer several lectures, nature walks for families, a science project in the field for students led by scientists, and several nature programs for very young pre-school and kindergarten age children. A calendar of events with descriptions will be placed on this website soon. Informational articles with a calendar of events will be posted in the Scituate Mariner, in Town Hall, and the library.
What is a watershed? A watershed is simply the land area that drains from high points toward certain streams, ponds and wetlands. In Scituate, First Herring Brook, along with it's network of ponds, streams, and nearby wells are key components of our watershed. These water bodies interact and are influenced by many factors. This area supplies approximately eighty percent of Scituate's drinking water. It is too overwhelming and costly to expect Town officials alone to provide the level of care needed to maintain and improve the quality of our water. It is important that we all become involved as stewards of our resources. By working together and sharing ideas through this project the entire Town will benefit. A great way to begin is to focus on individual sub-basin watershed neighborhoods.
For the past three years First Herring Brook Watershed Initiative has been studying water bodies such as swamps, streams, ponds, and wetlands in the watershed. These efforts have been funded by state grants, created by local volunteers and assisted by Comprehensive Environmental Incorporated. Important new documents resulting from this study are the FHBWI "First Herring Brook Watershed Report" and a Surface Water Supply Protection Plan. They are described on a brochure we created called "A Plan to Protect Scituate's Surface Water Supply". This will be sent to all watershed neighbors. We've also been providing community nature walks such as the "Swamp Romp" and "Biodiversity Days" as well as sponsoring Gates Environmental Club and scout activities.
The brochure will also describe some of FHBWI Stream Team's findings. As you can see on the aerial photo or the map (on this website) the watershed covers a large part of Scituate. Some areas are remote and buffered by dense vegetation and protected land. However many areas are impacted by storm water that carries dirt, fertilizers, animal waste, oils, salt, trash, and other nasty substances directly into the water supply. Land that used to buffer and filter water before entering water bodies is rapidly being altered from development. Although our surface water is treated and filtered before delivery to homes it is important to keep our waters as clean as possible.
The watershed also contains some broad natural areas that provide habitat for many species of wildlife. We will provide you with information about these places in Scituate and the plants and animals that share the watershed with us as well as potential trail sites and old cart paths that lace through these areas.
Overall we hope to make this project fun as we share ideas and
present information to you and your families. We will suggest
activities that you can try at home or with neighbors. We may even try
a few contests to make it more interesting. Prizes and certificates
could be awarded at events. First Herring Brook Watershed Initiative
and the Maxwell Conservation Trust are full of people like you who
appreciate the beauty and environmental treasures within this Town and
want to preserve them for our families and community. We are looking
forward to meeting you soon!
