by Don Williams, President, HPWA

The Herring Ponds Watershed Association has always been known for our efforts to promote water quality within our watershed.  With the addition of Trish O’Brien and Lynn Oertel to our Board of Directors, we began in earnest to also build community.  Lest there be any doubt in our capabilities in the latter area, they were put to rest on September 27 by a magnificent effort led by Trish and Lynn that attracted nearly 100 participants and raised $10,000 for the Land Acquisition Fund.  The Fund will be used to leverage Town of Plymouth contributions to purchase land in our watershed for conservation.  We know that septic tanks are a major source of phosphorus that is the cause of our cyanobacteria blooms; conservation land limits the spread of septic tanks and provides additional places for walking and enjoying nature.

Thanks to all of you who attended and made this event such a success.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting many of our donors to whom I write annual thank-you letters.  The energy in the room was palpable; we were all there to ensure that many generations would be able to enjoy our beautiful watershed as much as we have.  While I am very proud of the work done by our hard-working, achievement-oriented Board of Directors, I am equally proud of and humbled by the continuing support of our members and friends.

It was also noteworthy that our guest of honor, State Senator Dylan Fernandes, spoke to everyone in his speech about how HPWA has been a regional water quality trend setter. Plymouth Select Board Member Bill Keohan expressed similar sentiments personally to our Board Members.

Don’t forget to visit the Owl Nest Box Building Workshop on Saturday, October 24th.  Details are in an accompanying article but it bears repeating that last year’s event was great fun for all ages and this year’s workshop will have real owls to see.

As we head to the less busy fall/winter season, the Water Quality Committee will be working hard to find a way to permanently remove cyanobacteria advisories from Great Herring Pond and to continue to find ways to bring our community together by planning new events and presentations.