The River Current ~ April 14, 2010 ~ Issue 111

The e-newsletter of the Charles River Watershed Association
...bringing our backyard river to your door...

 

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In this issue

• Brown bag lunch rescheduled
• Upcoming events
• TreeBay

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1) Brown bag lunch rescheduled

Tomorrow's brown bag lunch with Sara Cohen of MA Department of Conservation and Recreation has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 29, at 12:30pm at CRWA's office. She will present on results of a DCR study to address critical low flow conditions in the Ipswich River Watershed through low-impact development (LID) and water conservation. We apologize for the inconvenience, and hope to see you in two weeks! For the latest information about CRWA events, visit our website. 

2) Other upcoming events

FRIDAY, APRIL 23
MIT Sustainability Summit
Mind the Gap: Communicate and Collaborate For a Sustainable World. CRWA Executive Director Bob Zimmerman will be part of a breakout session. Click here to register or for more information.

SATURDAY, APRIL 24
11th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup
9am to 12pm at sites all along the Charles River. More than 3,000 volunteers will pick up litter along the banks of the Charles River and other streams and ponds in the watershed, at one of the country's largest one-day cleanups. Volunteers are still needed in Newton, Needham and areas around Milford and Franklin. Click here for details.

SUNDAY, APRIL 25
28th Run of the Charles Canoe & Kayak Race
Come join us in celebrating the Charles! We are seeking canoe and kayak racers and volunteers for this year's race. Or come and watch the action at the free Finish Line Festival. Click here for more information.

SATURDAY, MAY 1
Water: Systems, Science and Society symposium
Hosted by the interdisciplinary graduate water program at Tufts University. CRWA Watershed Scientist Julie Wood will be presenting. Click here for more information or to register.

3) TreeBay

 

How much is your environment worth to you?  A group of environmental organizations has been working on a unique advocacy tool for the MA environmental budget this year, and we are "selling off" Massachusetts' environment and its natural resources, one piece at a time.

The environmental programs in Massachusetts have seen a 44% drop in funding over the last decade (when adjusted for inflation). This means that fewer people are on the ground maintaining our parks, monitoring our water quality, regulating polluting facilities, and enforcing our environmental laws. TreeBay, an online mock auction website, is auctioning off the natural resources the state can no longer afford to maintain or protect.

Place a bid on the items in TreeBay to send a message to your State Legislator.  We hope Treebay will help create a buzz about the Environmental Budget for FY2011. The site will be live through the remainder of the budget season, roughly 3 months. Auction items will be continually posted. Keep coming back!