In Lowell, several partners are working together to restore a riverbank abutting the Concord River Greenway in Massachusetts to improve habitat and restore anadromous fish to the Sudbury Assabet-Concord River watershed while engaging local youth and adults through educational programs and a volunteer stewardship and monitoring program.
Lowell Community Days
On Saturday, July 15 and Saturday, September 16 the Eastern Massachusetts NWR Complex in collaboration with the Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and Mass Audubon, helped put together a Family Community Day. This event was held at Muldoon Park in Lowell, which is an Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership City (one of only 29 in the U.S). Park Rangers Sasha Azeez and Wilson Acuna served as archery instructors for the event, introducing and encouraging the sport to new participants.
Blanding’s Turtles Go Back to School
Blanding’s turtle nests that were protected at Oxbow NWR in Massachusetts finally finished hatching in September this year. 61 nests were protected from predators with wire cages during the summer, and 444 hatchlings were collected from these nests. Of the 444 live hatchlings, 244 were released back to Oxbow NWR to continue supporting that very important population, 60 were released at Assabet River NWR to support that new and growing population, and 140 were set aside for headstarting in local schools. Headstarted turtles will be kept in a warm environment and fed throughout the winter, allowing them to grow and benefit from increased survival next spring due to their larger size. New England cottontail in transit to release site.
Refuge Hosts Networking Event!
Assabet River NWR was proud to host the fall networking event titled “Archery, Angling, and Apples at Assabet” for the Massachusetts Professionals of Color in the Environment (POCIE) in September. POCIE is a professional group for those who identify as a Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color working in the environmental field. They promote integrating justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into the environmental sector through cross-sector partnerships and integrative strategy development. The refuge team provided archery instruction at the Visitor Center and fishing instruction, in partnership with MassWildlife, was provided on Puffer Pond. Through a generous grant to the group, a catered meal provided opportunities for connections and fellowship. Afterwards, the group went apple picking at the nearby apple orchard.
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