The Abbey Brook Experience
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Each Tuesday, from June 20th through July 29th, ReGreen Springfield sponsored a series of educational seminars in the Abbey Brook Watershed. These workshops were organized by UMass Summer Scholars, Tara McElhinney and Jack Mulcahy. These weekly events had their own theme ranging from ‘invasive species’ to ‘birds, bees, & bats’. There were numerous guest speakers who assisted with the educational aspects of the experience.
Assistant City Forester, Alex Sherman, led multiple workshops, including a workshop on trees. He lead another seminar on invasive plant species found at Abbey Brook. Alex’s wealth of knowledge on the brook and the field of forestry was much appreciated by the attendees and staff. Scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff participated in one event. They went into detail on their fight against the illegal wildlife trade using confiscated pelts, skins, and bones, as a hands on way of showing a variety of illegal products sold around the country. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife team took a group of youth out into Abbey Brook to discuss the condition of the watershed. They also gave the participants first hand scientific experience by teaching them how to test the water quality of the Brook using advanced analysis equipment.
The Renaissance Expeditionary High School was very accommodating to ReGreen staff, and those attending the workshops. Not only did they allow a few of their classes to attend these events, but they also allowed those attending their workshops to use their facilities, and even cool down, on several hot days. We greatly appreciate the hospitality they showed and look forward to the future of our partnership with Renaissance and the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Abbey Brook.
Our goal for these events was to educate curious citizens of Springfield on many aspects of the watershed. Hopefully these workshops inspired interest in Abbey Brook, which will in turn bring attention and raise awareness of the environmental conservation effort of the Abbey Brook Watershed.