Have you ever seen a field full of fireflies?  Have you watched the fireworks over Great Herring Pond on the 4^th of July? Did you get to see the 17-boat parade on Great Herring Pond celebrating our nation’s birthday? Have you signed up for a Herring Ponds Watershed Association boat tour?

Geri and I had a great time with 8 others learning about fireflies from Blake Dinius, Plymouth County Entomologist. Did you know that fireflies come in three different colors? I had fun with the committee of 2 grandchildren planning and executing the decoration of our boat for the parade and listening to the toads trying to outdo the fireworks noise the following night. I got to do the ”patter” for the most recent boat tour for the first time and met some lovely people. The events are fun. 

Melissa Ferretti, Herring Ponds Tribal Chairwoman and a HPWA Board Member gave an educational talk recently about Wampanoag tribal customs, culture. and recent success in obtaining state recognition.

We hope you enjoyed the Annual Potluck Picnic at the Weston Beach. A big thank you to Brenda Weston for allowing us to use this great lake front area. There was lots of food, games, boat rides and congeniality. I enjoyed meeting you all! 

Come to our General Meeting on August 20 at 7:00 PM at the Little Red Schoolhouse to elect Members of our Board of Directors and hear what Kevin Canty, chair of the Plymouth Select Board, has to say about his vision for Plymouth’s future. He is a lifelong resident of Plymouth and is very interested in water issues. Come hear him and ask questions! The chairs of our committees will provide updates on our activities and listen to your suggestions. We’ll have refreshments and time to socialize.

Board members Trish, Theresa, Donna, Tess, and Geri have done a great job building community with educational, fun events.

We are also keeping tabs on watershed water quality.  We are monitoring the beaches during the summer months for E. coli.  We have a trained staff of observers (thanks Chris, Joe, and Evie) who report early signs of cyanobacteria. Geri has taken water samples every 2 weeks to follow the progression of the phycocyanin, a marker for cyanobacteria, at 4 sites on Great Herring Pond. We have been in contact with staff at the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Town of Bourne about the low water level in GHP. More about this later in the Water Quality Committee report.

Thank you for your membership donations! Kudos to Theresa – this year’s fundraising has been the best ever. Membership dollars enable us to offer our community these activities and more. If you haven’t sent in your membership, it is never too late. Please also consider donating to our Land Acquisition Fund. This money will be used to leverage a larger Town of Plymouth contribution to buy land in our watershed and maintain it as open space, reducing pond pollution.

We need your help in other ways. Consider volunteering for one of our active committees. If you like looking at data, get involved with our Water Quality Committee. Our active Social Committee always needs new ideas and a few hours help with activities. Membership could use help writing thank you notes and contacting new residents. Legal and fiduciary talent will be welcomed as we chart our future course. Come learn new skills from our talented Board of Directors.

I would like to meet more of our members, and I am planning on setting up a monthly “Ask DON” Zoom where you can ask questions, make suggestions, and give advice. The first one will be Thursday evening, August 14 from 7-8 PM. The Zoom information is below:

Don Williams is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Don Williams’ Zoom Meeting
Time: Aug 14, 2025 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89167692664?pwd=dYbaxWIoEIqqs9kc3n2WFMBDpFHoL4.1
Meeting ID: 891 6769 2664
Passcode: 589681