SWIMNEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Safer Waters in Massachusetts (SWIM) Next Meeting:

Date: Monday, May 13, 2010
Time: 7 PM
Location: Northeastern University Marine Science Center
East Point, 430 Nahant Road, Nahant, MA

Agenda:

Volunteers are needed for the following activities:  

*          To help with Northeastern's beach cleanup, a Coastsweep project, to be held in conjunction with the Marine Science Center's Open House on Saturday, September 18th from 10 am to 3 pm. (Cleanup begins at 9 am.) 

*          To help staff a SWIM table at Northeastern's Open House. 

*          To participate in Coastsweep, the international beach cleanup.  Participants all over the world collect marine debris and record what they find. This information is then used to help reduce future marine debris problems. The Massachusetts State Coastsweep kickoff will take place at the Nahant Beach Reservation at 9 am on Saturday, September 25 at the Halfway House on the Causeway.

*          SWIM needs a press liaison to write articles for the Nahant Harbor Review (deadline the 15th of each month) and keep the Lynn Item and the Boston Globe informed.

*          The SWIM web page needs updating. See http://www.nahant.org/swim.

*          Help! is needed with communications and with the care and feeding of the SWIM email list.

*          SWIM has been the environmental watchdog of Nahant for 25 years.  Help SWIM stay aware of -- and solve -- environmental problems that face this community.

If you can help in any way or if you would like to help formulate SWIM's plans for the coming season, please come to the SWIM meeting. Everyone who cares about the environment is invited.  

If you cannot come to the SWIM meeting Monday but want to participate in Northeastern's Coastsweep cleanup in Nahant on Sept. 18, contact Carole McCauley at the Marine Science Center: 781-581-7370, x321c.mccauley@neu.edu. To attend the Coastsweep kickoff on Sept. 25 or join the cleanup of Lynn and Nahant Beach, see http://www.coastsweep.umb.edu/kickoff_details.html.

All are invited.

For more information: 781-581-0075 or nahantswim@verizon.net. 

COASTSWEEP 2010

COASTSWEEP, the state-wide beach cleanup sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston, will kick off its 23rd year on Saturday, September 25 at Nahant Beach Reservation. A special thanks will be extended to the hundreds of volunteers who have participated in an Adopt-a-Beach activity this year.

Thousands of volunteers throughout Massachusetts turn out each year for this event, which is part of an international campaign organized by The Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC. Participants all over the world collect marine debris and record what they find. This information is then used to help reduce future marine debris problems.

Cleanups are being scheduled throughout eastern Massachusetts in September and October, including one at the Marine Science Center as part of our Annual Open House on September 18th from 10am to 3pm. To participate or organize a cleanup, go to the COASTSWEEP website (www.coastsweep.umb.edu) or checkout COASTSWEEP on Facebook!

Festivities kickoff at 9:30 a.m. We are asking folks to get there at 9:00 to register and have a cup of coffee and a donut. A light lunch will also be provided afterwards.

For More Info Contact:

Carole McCauley
Outreach Program Coordinator
Northeastern University Marine Science Center
430 Nahant Road
Nahant, MA 01908
(781) 581-7370, x321
c.mccauley@neu.edu
www.marinescience.neu.edu

ARCHIVE: EVENTS

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Green Pharmacy: Strategies for Reducing Our Pharmacological Footprint
Lecture at 7:00 PM, light refreshments will be served at 6:30 PM
Presented by Nicholas Anastas, PhD
Founder and President, Poseidon's Trident

The presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment has recently received increasing attention in both the popular and scientific press. Improved analytical detection techniques have led to the identification of prescription and "over-the-counter" (OTC) drugs, fragrances, personal care products, and compounds that can adversely impact the endocrine system, The consequences of these compounds on the environment and the potential impact on human health have not yet been fully investigated. This talk will present the drivers and barriers to reduce the environmental load of PPCPs to the environment through the application of Green Pharmacy.

Friday, April 16th, 2010 - Annual Riser Lecture - in it's 25th year!
Food Webs and Conservation: Misleading Cartoons of Reality or Useful Guides to a Complex and Interactive Nature?
Lecture at 4:30 PM, reception and dinner to follow at the Nahant Country Club*
Presented by Robert Paine, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Zoology - University of Washington

"Respond to this Crawl to Action! It promises to be a real bawl!"

The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, partnering with Seventh Generation, has launched the Million Baby Crawl, a whimsical, virtual rally in which cyber babies descend on Washington, D.C. to make a stink about all the toxic chemicals invading their bodies.

Click here for all the details!

ARCHIVE: MAY 2009
Protecting Nahant from the Ravages of Oil Spills
Report on the North Shore Geographic Response Plans
By Susan Maguire

On May 14th, Susan Maguire represented Safer Waters in Massachusetts (SWIM) at a meeting with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in Gloucester, MA.  The purpose of the meeting was to learn about the DEP Geographic Response Plans (GRP), and to begin the work on a GRP for Nahant.  The GRP is a consensus plan developed before an oil spill.  In the case of a spill, the DEP will quickly develop a four-page plan with maps and tables and send it to the local officials in the affected site.

The meeting was conducted by Ben Bryant of NUKA Research Planning Group LLC.  The goal of the GRP initiative is to identify North Shore sites (Nahant is a site), and work with the site communities to: create and implement plans in coastal areas away from oil spills, set up response trailers with equipment, and train first responders (usually fire department personnel) in the use of the equipment.  The criteria for implementing a plan are: 1) sensitivity: salt marshes are the most sensitive, 2) probability: from ships, marinas, and tankers on highways near coastal areas, and 3) feasibility: coastal habitat and strength of currents.

Ben reviewed the 27 North Shore sites (which may become 30), gave an overview of the GRP initiative, conducted a Q&A session, and then divided participants into small groups for a workshop.  During the workshop representatives of each site were given maps of their locales and were asked to label them for 11 criteria such as fish, birds, threatened species, human use, and coastal habitat.

Susan returned from the meeting with maps and criteria charts and met with Polly Bradley to discuss next steps.   They organized a series of meetings with the following individuals to move the Nahant GRP forward:

1)  Mark Cullinan, Town Administrator, to review the Gloucester meeting and the GRP, and to discuss next steps

2)  John Benson and Linda Pivacek, from the Open Space Committee, to more precisely label the Nahant map

4)  Marine Science Center Director, Dr. Geoffrey Trussell and Professor of Biology, Joseph Ayers, (both affiliated with Northeastern University) to discuss sensitive areas and ocean current maps

5)  James Ward, Nahant Harbormaster, to review the GRP and discuss next steps

6)  Mark Cullinan, James Ward, Fire Chief Robert Ward, Ben Bryant, Linda Pivacek, and the head of the DEP in MA to discuss the GRP for Nahant, and then conduct a site visit by boat around Nahant to further refine the labeling of the Nahant map and our GRP

James Ward conducted a boat tour of Nahant for Ben, the DEP representative, Linda, and Susan.  The goal was to have a first-hand look at our coastline in order to determine the locations of birds, seals, shellfish beds, and eel grass, and to pinpoint locations where GRP tactics might be implemented and equipment deployed. 

The meeting and boat trip were very productive.  NUKA and the DEP understand who we are, how precious our island is, and how they can help us maintain the pristine nature of our coastline. 

Time line:  Draft GRPs will be ready for a review meeting in August.  Local teams will approve the Plan in September, and the Plans become official in November.

 If you have any questions about this plan please contact Mark Cullinan, Robert Ward or Polly Bradley.   Additional information about the North Shore Geographic Response Plan (GRP) project, and about GRPs in general, is available through the project website: Click Here

ARCHIVE: ADDITIONAL NOTES
For an archive of news about SWIM from 2004 through 2010, see the Nahant Harbor Review http://www.nahant.com. To access the Harbor Review Current Issue and Archive, click on ENTER HERE. 

For an archive of news in the Lynn Daily Item, see www.itemlive.com and search for "Safer Waters in Massachusetts".

 

ARCHIVE: OCTOBER 2009
Subject: Award for Polly Bradley
From: Joan LeBlanc
Date: October 27, 2009 10:11:42 AM EDT

Dear Friends of SWIM,
I'm writing to let you know that the Saugus River Watershed Council will present Polly Bradley with a River Stewardship Award at it's annual meeting on November 17th, 6:30 p.m. at the Hilltop on Route 1 in Saugus. Polly was selected as a recipient this year because of her outstanding efforts in working to designate the Lower North Shore Area as a No Discharge Area for boater waste. I hope you will consider joining us at the annual meeting to thank Polly for all her hard work.

CONGRATULATIONS POLLY!

Joan LeBlanc
Executive Director
Saugus River Watershed Council