Through the generosity of members like you, the Pond Education Team converted many of the pond field trip experiences and live lessons into virtual equivalents last year creating the Virtual Pond Education Curriculum for children. (Click here to see this amazingly creative program on the new BPC YouTube Channel! In 2022 we are looking forward to returning to live field trips for both 2nd and 5th grade students for observation, exploration, and hands-on research experiences. The Pond Ed Team constantly updates the curriculum through dialogue with teachers to provide an engaging experience for Brewster school children. Volunteers are also hard at work creating a new puppet show stage for the live presentation of the famous Pond Polly puppet show. ![]() Your $75 donation will help purchase new pond books and ensure curriculum updates for both grade level programs in Brewster school classrooms as well as materials for the hula hoop research stations on field trips. ![]() Your $150 donation will purchase arts and craft supplies for creating new signs, posters, and other educational display materials, and building macroinvertebrates models. ![]() Your $200 donation will help the building of the new live puppet theatre stage and its accessories. The puppets and the puppet theater will be used to produce an updated live pond health puppet show for the students, voiced by BPC volunteers. ![]() Your $400 donation will help fund bus transportation to and from the ponds for a pond field trips - the culmination of the Pond Education Curriculum for Brewster School Children. Thanks to generous supporters, the 2020 appeal has raised almost $16,000 to date towards our goal of $71,000 in support of the Pond Education and other BPC programs.
Please renew your membership or join us TODAY. It's easy--just press the button below or visit: brewsterponds.org/join--donate 2022 is an important year for the Brewster Ponds Coalition as we move ahead with advocacy for nutrient reductions into Brewster's groundwater, pond remediation projects and our core Citizens Science and Pond Education programs. Please join us in this critical work. How You Can Help Now ![]() Your $400 contribution helps fund bus transportation for a pond field trip - the culmination of the annual Pond Education Curriculm for Brewster School Children. ![]() Your $125 contribution funds one cyanobacteria test plus equipment. ![]() Your $225 donation funds one cyanobacteria aerosol test plus equipment. Thanks to generous supporters, the 2022 appeal has already raised $12,000 towards a goal of $71,000.
Please renew your membership. It's easy--just press the button below or visit: brewsterponds.org to donate. Pictured from L to R: Charlie Beggs (Harwich,) Amy Woods (Brewster,) Phil Kirby (Barnstable,) Nelly Lyons (Centerville,) Pam Rogers (Brewster,) Lindsay DiBona (Brewster,) Gravity Goldberg (Orleans.) It was a chilly 59 degrees on Halloween Day morning when the swimmers met at 8:45 at Sheep Pond, Brewster to get into their sausage casings (wetsuits) and ready for a 9:00 AM water start. They all wore safety buoys so people can see them and are also somewhat of an aid for a tired swimmer. BPC Communication Team member and open water swim competitor, Pam Rogers, who swam that day writes..." The wind is usually calm at the start in the sparkling cove near the boat ramp. It often is choppy around the left corner with wind and or a current. Yes, most people don’t realize there can be a “push” of water current or wind and waves from one end to the other. We often swim the left shoreline, and at a quarter mile there is a place we all know as “the branch.” Lots of times we regroup there. Around that corner is where the water surface can become choppy. Another 300 yards further down the left shore is what we call the “sandbar.” There are a couple of sunken boats there and if you aren’t careful and stay out from the shore, you can actually run aground and have to walk! We agreed that the most memorable part of the swim was that it was remarkable to see the trees and sky reflected in the water as we stroked along." Individuals in the group swam distances varying from 1300 yards (almost a mile) to 2400 yards, depending on the swimmers’ cold tolerances and swim goals for the day. Amy Woods is training for Ironman Arizona in late November. Pam Rogers will have an open water race in Florida December 4th, Lindsay and Gravity compete in adventure races where they swim, run, swim again, run again, (they both competed in Casco Bay, Maine and the Cape Cod SOS race). Phil, Nelly, and Charlie are Cape Cod triathletes. People swim at their own pace; however, we are mindful of each other’s safety and keep each other in sight during the swim and stops to chat.
These sturdy swimmers are part of the New England Endurance Events (NEEE) Mermaids and Mermen group. Race training as well as fitness swimming at Sheep Pond and other Cape ponds and bays, the group was started by Kathleen Walker who is a triathlete and co-owner of NEEE. For more information about NEEE and to learn how to join the group which swims weekly at Sheep Pond contact Kathleen Walker at [email protected] For a short video of the Halloween Day Swim Click Here. A water sample was collected at Cliff Pond on Monday, November 1st at the swimming beach off Flax Pond Road. Laboratory analysis showed cyanobacteria levels of 2,800 cells/ml, below the MDPH guideline level of 70,000 cells/ml. Microcystin toxin level was <1 ppb.
MDPH requires two rounds of samples below the guideline level, one week apart, to recommend rescinding an advisory. As these are the second round of low results, the advisory can be lifted. Things took a turn on the morning of October 17th for our final Eco-Paddle Fun-Raiser of the season. Winds along the shore of Cape Cod Bay kicked up to over 15 mph - a bit challenging and risky even for experienced paddlers to traverse Paines Creek. It took quick thinking by the experienced guides of SupFari Adventures and a flexible group of BPC paddlers to make the decision to transport the kayaks to the more protected Sesuit Harbor and marsh. As you can see (above) that turned out to be a great idea and everyone enjoyed the beautiful morning.
See how a band of women are cleaning up Cape Cod ponds with a smile in this Monte Ladner film.
They will gladly come to any pond for free! Click here to view. MA Department of Public Health issues Cliff Pond Advisory
On October 13, based on the MA Department of Public Health's recommendation, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has issued a cyanobacteria advisory for Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park. The DCR will be posting signage at access points to the water.The MA DPH will be coordinating with DCR to monitor and evaluate the bloom conditions, including laboratory testing once the bloom starts to dissipate. We will include you on any updates. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact BPC. We continue to monitor Cliff Pond along with seventeen other ponds in town in partnership with the Association for the Preservation of Cape Cod (apcc.org/our-work/science/community-science/cyanobacteria/). Our sampling season ends at the end of October. We will continue to monitor Cliff Pond and any other pond that shows a HIGH cyanobacteria biomass or bloom until the results are LOW. Please look here for timely notification of potentially harmful algal blooms. For additional additional information, please visit www.mass.gov/guides/cyanobacterial-harmful-algal-blooms-cyanohabs-water . If you have any questions about our program or results, please email: Marty Burke - [email protected] Paines & Quivett Creek Eco-Paddle FUN-RAISER Sunday, October 17 9 AM - 12 Noon Discover the wonders of Brewster’s most iconic tidal flow creek during this very special eco-paddle. Each spring hundreds of thousands of alewife and blueback herring enter this estuary and rise through the Stony Brook run into Brewster’s freshwater ponds. This paddle presents a rare opportunity to paddle at high tide into this meandering river and the peaceful innermost reaches of the marsh.
$75 per person Non-Refundable Pre-registration required Cape Codder
Brewster will close on the transaction by Nov. 30Donna Tunney Wicked Local BREWSTER – Town residents on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of acquiring two parcels of land, some 120 acres in all, formerly operating as the Cape Cod Sea Camps. According to the town clerk's office, the vote tally for the Long Pond parcel was 2,877 in favor and 395 opposed. For the Route 6A parcel 2,846 voters approved the purchase and 414 voted against. It was the last public action needed before the town takes ownership of the parcels, following special town meeting approval of the purchases on Sept. 26. The town just prior to the late September meeting signed a purchase and sale agreement with the Sea Camps owners, the Delahanty family. The transaction is expected to close by Nov. 30. The town had agreed to pay a total of $26 million for both parcels in an effort to prevent commercial development of the iconic camp that for decades offered facilities and programs for children and young adults. The camps ceased operation in fall of 2020. See more here. Bay Beach Parcel Long Pond Parcel The first vote to acquire the two Brewster Sea Camp properties passed overwhelmingly on Sunday, September 26th. However, this purchase, which requires a debt exclusion, needs one final approval at a special election on October 5.
You may vote in person at The Brewster Baptist Church, 1848 Main Street Brewster. Polls will be open from 7am until 8pm. If you have any questions please call 508-896-4506. The Board of The Brewster Ponds Coalition unanimously supports the acquisition of these two parcels. |
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