The river responds

16 Jul, 2011 Author: Glorianna Davenport

In the future, Living Observatory will provide adynamic view into a changing landscape.  For now, we rely on limited observation, common sense, experience.  On Wednesday, July 13, we attended Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences annual Summer Fest. We began by touring the Holmes Farm with Kit and Jenn who explained the renovations that are in process on the bogs and in the community gardens. We then heard about several of the Center’s initiatives in sustainability.Throughout the afternoon and evening, the tent was graced with a few short showers, pale harbingers of the thunde storm that let loose later that evening and into the morning hours. By the time it stopped,  3 inches of rainfall had been recorded at Plymouth Airport while Tidmarsh recorded only 0.8 inches. However 0.8 inches combined with the 3.0 inches that fell on Tidmarsh on July 8 and 9thhave swelled the river thatmeanders through the former impoundment to a third again the width it was on July 4. While I long for a more complete model of what took place on the ground, this image combined with the rainfall data reminds us us of the river's potential to dynamically respond tolarge fluctuations of precipitation and ground water levels.

Site Walk June 18, 2011

22 Jun, 2011 Author: glorianna

On June 18th, 2011, Tidmarsh Farms co-hosted a walking tour of the Restoration site with Manomet Center for Conservation Science. Engaged, curious and resilient, the group set off around 10 AM.  Over the course of 2 hours, the site provided a canvas on which to highlight a range of perspectives that the partners bring to the restoration effort.

Our first stop was the concrete spillway in the earthen berm that for the last 90 years was used to impound water in the reservoir.  Now drained, this location offers a marvelous view of the meandering headwaters of Beaver Dam Brook. Here, Alex Hackman of Division for Ecological Restoration and Brian Graber of American Rivers framed some of the goals for the integrated restoration of the site and reviewed the merits of dam removal will bring to the river system.

As we stopped to survey the bloom on one of our former bogs, Eric Walberg of Manomet Center provided some insights into Climate Change Adaptation. The 1.30 inches of rain that site had received 1.30 inches the night before provided a clear foil for this discussion. Later in the tour, I spent a few minutes introducing the goals and potential of the Living Observatory. Given our recent memories of the Eel River project, the conversations of the day underscored not only how far we have come, but also how far we still have to go.

Lessons from the Eel River

22 Jun, 2011 Author: glorianna

As spring gives way to summer, Tidmarsh Farms anticipates working with our partners on restoration design decisions. In this effort, we are lucky to reference the Eel River Headwaters Restoration Project in which many of our partners participated. Initiated by the Town of Plymouth under the leadership of David Gould and Kim Michaelis, this project was dedicated and received the Coastal America Partnership Award on June 17th, 2011. Following the ceremony we were able to tour the site with Alex Hackman of Division of Ecological Restoration as our guide. Verdant andquite healthy, the site beckoned us. While still very evident, the logs that criss-cross the stream are increasingly masked by the abundant and diverse native plant species. At one point in the tour, Alex paused to grab a river stone and described how a small river rock could house a myriad of river creatures. This was a cue for someone to pull out a protable field microscope; alas, no one had such a device in their back pocket.