Blackstone Public Paddle & River Celebration
Join the last four miles of our 60 mile journey! Paddle with us from Festival Pier to Gano Park on Sunday, September 15. Free, registration required.
Blackstone CSO Webinar
Combined Sewer Overflow, Oh no!: An Introduction to CSO and What it Means for the Blackstone River
This webinar will explore what CSO is, how it relates to floodplains, where it occurs on the Blackstone River, and what that means for our shared resource. Learn what communities are doing to address CSO and what resources are available for communities and residents.
Speakers:
Stefanie Covino, Executive Director, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative
Caleigh McLaren, Restoration Manager, Blackstone Watershed Collaborative
Kathryn Kelly, Principal Environmental Engineer/CSO Program Manager, Narragansett Bay Commission
Katherine Lange, Policy Director, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Alisha Taha, Documentary Author: New England’s Unseen Environmental Threat: Combined Sewer Overflows
Culvert Assessment Trainings
Update: Our training is now full. Thank you for your interest.
The Blackstone Watershed Collaborative is offering NAACC Culvert Assessment Certification in Sutton and Douglas, MA this summer 2024. Please note that this certification requires a 1.5 hour online training on your own, plus three days of field work with a certified coordinator.
Training dates:
8/5/24
8/7/24
8/9/24
8/12/24
8/14/24
8/16/24
8/19/24
Can’t make these days work, but still want to get certified? Let us know! We can work with your schedule (including evenings and weekdays).
Contact the Collaborative’s Restoration Coordinator, Caleigh McLaren cmclaren@clarku.edu, for more information.
Envisioning the Future of the Lower Blackstone River
Tell us what you want to see along the lower Blackstone River! Is it ice cream shops, public art, green space, bikeways, community gardens? Bring your ideas and we’ll bring the snacks!
Help shape the future of the Lower Blackstone River!
July 25th, 2024, 6:00-7:30pm
Pawtucket Family YMCA
20 Summer Street, Pawtucket RI, 02860
Free, all are welcome, snacks provided
Fish Parade
All are welcome to join in this community parade on Sunday, May 19th at Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. (Rain or shine!)
Led by our partners, the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc, we are working to create a stronger voice for the Blackstone River, or Mishkittakooksepe/ Kittacuck. This community event will bring diverse partners together to learn about and show their support for the need to create fish passage over the lower four dams in Rhode Island and bring back migratory fish such as the herring.
Join us at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park 67 Roosevelt Avenue Pawtucket, RI 02860.
Parking is available across the street from the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Site (Slater Mill) and there will be signs to direct you.
Tabling space available for community groups & organizations
Learn more about migratory fish and the need to create passage here.
Agenda
1PM: Family-friendly activities & tabling by organizations in your community
2PM: Drumming, dancing, and speakers
3PM: Parading herring around Pawtucket (1mile)
Don’t forget to enter the Best Fish contest! The best fish themed art / costume will win a prize.
Participating Partners:
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
Blackstone River Watershed Coalition/Friends of the Blackstone
Save the Bay
Registration encouraged but not required!
Fish Parade Wine and Craft Night
Join us at Sycamore Landing for a Fish Parade Wine and Craft Night!
Help us make crafts for our upcoming Spring Migration Fish Parade! Including:
Giant Paper Fish
Fish Wands
Bike Floats
All ages are welcome! BYOB. If you plan to bring alcohol, please bring an ID with you.
Blackstone Watershed Coalition’s Annual Water Quality Monitoring Summit
Join the Blackstone River Coalition (BRC) and their monitoring volunteers at this free event to learn about the latest water quality in the Blackstone Watershed. BRC samples at 75 sites throughout the mainstem and tributaries of the river in both MA and RI.
This event will provide a comprehensive overview of the data, including areas of concern and others of celebration.
Growing Solar, Protecting Nature public presentations - Worcester
Please join Mass Audubon’s Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, Michelle Manion, and Dr. Jonathan Thompson from Harvard Forest for a discussion on important research and recommendations for how Massachusetts can responsibly meet its solar energy goals.
Massachusetts needs to build more solar energy to clean up our dirty power grid. But that energy shouldn't come at the expense of forests, farmlands, and biodiverse habitats -- natural and working lands absorb one tenth of Massachusetts' greenhouse gas emissions each year.
To protect nature and expand solar energy, Mass Audubon teamed up with researchers at Harvard Forest to conduct a statewide study that proves we can build most of the solar we need on rooftops, parking lots, and already developed lands-with the right policy changes
Dam Removal & Ecological Restoration 101 Training
This program seeks to advance the quality and quantity of dam removal and ecological restoration in Massachusetts by providing an overview of the issue and solutions to existing & potential practitioners.
Join us for a full-day, in-person training in Worcester, MA on October 26, 2023 from 9am-4:30pm. The training will offer a practical 101 introduction of the complicated topic of dam removal. The first half of the day will feature speakers on logistics, public buy-in, permitting, and funding. The second half of the day will be dedicated to a charrette to use what we’ve learned. Each person will be given a stakeholder goal and small groups will try to come to an agreement on next steps.
Audience:
Dam removal & ecological restoration practitioners, or potential practitioners. This includes local champions, watershed groups, consultants, state/fed agencies, and others who provide technical assistance around this topic, are or want to be project managers, and those who influence decision makers around this topic. We want to make “cheerleaders” for dam removal and ecological restoration that can work together through future groups and calls.
Click here for the Agenda
Fall Intertribal Gathering
Join this inter-tribal gathering hosted by the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc
We'll have drumming, dancing, and speakers focused on the importance of bringing migratory fish like the herring back to Kittacuck - the Blackstone River.
Migratory fish have been blocked from this river since the 1700s, but it’s time to change that! Advocates are working to build fish passage to restore herring back to their original habitat, but we need your support! Let's come together and be the voice of Kittacuck. Learn more about fish passage and Kittacuck here: https://www.blackstonecollaborative.org/kittacuck
Upper Blackstone Clean Water - wastewater treatment facility tour
UPDATE: CANCELED
Due to low registration numbers, we will postpone our tour of Upper Blackstone Clean Water until Spring 2024.
Where does your water go after you use it? It gets cleaned and sent back to the Blackstone!
Join Upper Blackstone Clean Water and the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative on this tour of our local wastewater treatment facility.
This tour lasts about two hours. Please wear closed toe, sturdy shoes.
Worcester CSO Facility Tour
Tour of the Worcester Combined Sewer Overflow facility
Registration Required
Learn more about the recent combined sewer overflow notifications and what it really means for treatment and water quality in this tour with the Worcester DPW Staff.
To sign up for CSO notifications, please go to: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/xMgoygz
Culvert Assessment Trainings
The Blackstone Watershed Collaborative and the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission are offering NAACC Culvert Assessment Certification in Northbridge, MA this summer 2023. Please note that this certification requires a 1.5 hour online training on your own, plus three days of field work with a certified coordinator.
Training dates:
8/22/23
8/29/23
8/31/23
9/5/23
9/7/23
9/8/23
9/11/23
Fish Passage Community Parade
All are welcome to join in this community parade on Sunday, May 21st at Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. (Rain or shine!)
Led by our partners, the Narragansett Indian Tribe and the Hassanamisco Band of Nipmuc, we are working to create a stronger voice for the Blackstone River, or Kittacuck. This community event will bring diverse partners together to learn about and show their support for the need to create fish passage over the lower four dams in Rhode Island and bring back migratory fish such as the herring.
Register to march in the parade or just show up! Join us at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park 65 Roosevelt Avenue Pawtucket, RI 02860.
Tabling space available for community groups & organizations: sign up here!
Learn more about migratory fish and the need to create passage here.
Rain or shine. In the event of inclement weather, we will meet across the street at the Visitor’s Center (175 Main St)
Agenda
1pm: We will begin with a blessing, tribal drumming, and dancing while also having fish coloring, screen printing, and face painting and exploring community tables.
1:30pm: Speaking portion will begin, including Mayor Grebian,
2pm: Transition to the parade, and moving the gathering from the field to the parking lot. The tribes will lead, followed by everyone else without a particular order, and all are welcome to join at any time.
3pm: We will have completed our parade route (Roosevelt, Exchange, Main, Roosevelt) to finish back at Slater Mill and will continue with drumming, dancing, and crafts.
4pm: Break down
Participating Partners:
Blackstone River Coalition
Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
Blackstone River Watershed Coalition/Friends of the Blackstone
Groundwork Rhode Island
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Northern Rhode Island Forest School
RI Resource Recovery
Save the Bay
Upper Blackstone Clean Water
Mass ECAN 2023 Conference: Watershed-Based Climate Collaboratives
Save the Date! The annual Mass ECAN Conference will be held at Clark University’s Tilton Hall on Wednesday, May 3rd. This gathering of ecosystem and climate adaptation practitioners will explore watershed-scale climate collaboratives as a way to enhance climate resilience throughout the state. Learn more and register at massecan.org
Blackstone River Coalition's Annual Water Quality Monitoring Summit
Join the Blackstone River Coalition (BRC) and their monitoring volunteers at this free event to learn about the latest water quality in the Blackstone Watershed. BRC samples at 75 sites throughout the mainstem and tributaries of the river in both MA and RI.
This event will provide a comprehensive overview of the data, including areas of concern and others of celebration.
Lobby for the Rivers Day with Mass Rivers Alliance
Join Mass Rivers Alliance for their annual Lobby for the Rivers Day on March 15 at the Boston Statehouse. No experience necessary! Register at massriversalliance.org/lobbyday2023
Intertribal gathering: Be the Voice of Kittacuck and Bring Herring Back to the Blackstone River
Be the voice of Kittacuck! Let’s bring herring back to the Blackstone River.
Join us for an Intertribal gathering hosted by the Narragansett Tribe in collaboration with Friends of the Blackstone. Featuring High Tide Drum, Jeffery Pegram from the Long Island Shinnecock Tribe, speakers from the Narragansett and Nipmuc tribes, as well as local river advocates.
MUSIC + SPEAKERS + ACTIVITIES
WHEN: Sunday, October 30th 2022
TIME: 1-3 pm
WHERE: Old Slater Mill (67 Roosevelt Ave Pawtucket, RI)
In case of inclement weather, event will be at the Visitor Center across the street at 175 Main St.
Making Local Regulations Climate Resilient
Is Your Community Climate Resilient? Bylaws and Best Practices: How-to Training
Thursday, October 27
Training:
Learn how your bylaws and regulations might be unintentionally holding you back from making your community more climate-resilient. This hands-on, in-person workshop will help planners learn why and how using nature-based solutions can help avoid costs, meet permit requirements, and improve climate resiliency due to flooding, drought, and other impacts.
Learn how to use this excel-based tool to review bylaws and regulations from the experts that developed it and share examples and experiences with colleagues.
This in-person workshop will be held in Middleboro, MA with diverse speakers from Mass Audubon, EPA, regional planning agency SRPEDD, the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative, Cape Cod Commission, and the Mass Rivers Alliance.
Eligibility:
This training is open to municipal officials or staff, professional consultants, regional planning agency staff, state or federal agency staff, watershed organization staff, or others who are making a commitment to utilize this training to support the use of the bylaw review tool in at least one community within the next year.
Participants from Massachusetts and Rhode Island are eligible. There are reserved spaces available for SNEP communities. Please note that capacity is set at 40 registrants, and will be selected on a first come, first serve basis if you met the eligibility requirements. Participation is free to eligible participants.
Registration (required):
Creating Practitioners for the Blackstone Watershed: Bridging Academia to Community Partnerships for Climate Resilience
Free & open to the public. Light refreshments provided.
Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA
Lurie Conference Room
In this interactive roundtable session, you’ll learn about the top community goals for improve climate resilience and water quality in the Blackstone Watershed and engage with practitioners and researchers from multiple local universities to determine best ways to have your academic work provide on-the-ground community benefits.
Share your projects, build connections with the Blackstone Collaborative as on-campus resource, and forge relationships with outside institutions. The goal is to have conversations that help us grow as practitioners and build partnerships that help create healthy, climate-resilient communities right here in the Blackstone Valley. From enhancing fish passage, replacing culverts, improving equitable access, building nature based solutions, improving local zoning, or integrated indigenous voices - we want to work on it all and welcome your input.
This session is open to all and will be facilitated by Stefanie Covino, Program Manager of the Blackstone Watershed Collaborative at the Marsh Institute.
To learn more about the existing goals and how your work or your students’ might be help progress them, see blackstonecollaborative.org/report.
Worcester CSO Facility Tour
Tour of the Worcester Combined Sewer Overflow facility
Registration required: https://forms.gle/1doXRvBLPFBoUicY7
Learn more about the recent combined sewer overflow notifications and what it really means for treatment and water quality in this tour with Worcester DPW Staff.
To sign up for notifications, please go to: https://www.worcesterma.gov/water-sewer/sewer-system
Integrated (Water) Planning for Communities in Southern New England - virtual workshop
• Learn about how integrated planning can help communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island achieve compliance with existing planning requirements and Clean Water Act obligations
• Hear how integrated planning informs Clean Water Act compliance in New Bedford, MA
• Engage in a breakout activity that will assist the participants in understanding their local government’s wholistic Clean Water Act and planning requirements
• Ask questions and network with peers, state staff, and integrated planning experts
Zap the Blackstone Revival Celebration
11:00am - 5:00pm on September 10, 2022
Old Slater Mill, 67 Roosevelt Ave, Pawtucket, RI
Join us in celebrating the work that has been done over the last 50 years and reinvigorate the environmental movement of the 1970’s. More information coming soon!
Check the event website for updates here.
ZAP 50 Clean-up/Green-up
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the largest one-day regional environmental cleanup in U.S. history, ZAP the Blackstone is organizing community cleanups throughout the Blackstone Watershed. Volunteers are needed to join existing cleanups and organize events with their own communities.
Join us in recreating the efforts of thousands of volunteers in caring for the Blackstone!
Learn more about the event and register to join a cleanup here.
Blackstone Commons Expedition Celebration
All are welcome to celebrate the success of the Blackstone River Commons Expedition!
This celebration is generously hosted by Narragansett Brewing. We will feature a screening of the short film Kittacuck Speaks and the Rhode Island School of Design will bring a mobile letter press.
Several speakers will make commemorative remarks, including RI Senator Jack Reed, EPA Regional Administrator David Cash, RI Dept of Environmental Management Terry Gray, and Narragansett Bay Estuary Program Executive Director Mike Gerel.
From 5-7pm, the folk/bluegrass group Hollow Turtle will perform live.
View the Facebook event here.
The Blackstone River Commons Group will paddle 60 miles over 4 days from Worcester, MA to Providence, RI, to bring attention to the challenges the Blackstone River faces and our opportunities for action. Learn more about the expedition here.
Blackstone Commons Public Paddle
Join the Blackstone River Commons Group on the final stretch of the 2022 Blackstone Expedition! Paddlers are invited to join the last four miles of the 4 day, 60 mile expedition raising awareness about the opportunities to improve the Blackstone River. 32 spots are available in canoes generously provided by Friends of the Blackstone, or feel free to bring your own watercraft!
Deadline extended: All participants must register by Saturday, August 13 at noon. (Register here)
This will be a moderate paddle of 4 miles from 1:30 - 3:30pm, from Festival Pier Boat Launch in Pawtucket to Gano Park Boat Launch in Providence.
If you plan to bring your own boat, please drop it off with our volunteers at Festival Pier between 11:15 and 11:50 before dropping off your car at Narragansett Brewery. A shuttle back to the put-in at Festival Pier is provided.
If you need a boat, there are 32 spots available in canoes, provided by Friends of the Blackstone, 2 paddlers per canoe. Please let us know through the registration form if you would like to request a canoe spot. Canoe seats are first-come, first-served, and submitting the form does not guarantee you a spot. We will confirm availability with all participants requesting a canoe spot by email.
All participants: Meet at Narragansett Brewery for check-in no later than 12:15. At 12:30, a shuttle will bring all paddlers to Festival Pier to start the paddle. We will take out at Gano Park Boat Launch and portage the boats 0.3 mi along a pedestrian path back to the parking lot at Narragansett Brewery. All are invited to a public celebration of the Blackstone River Commons Expedition hosted by Narragansett Brewery at 4pm!
Boat drop-off: 11:15 - 11:50am, Festival Pier Boat Launch, 50 Tim Healey Way, Pawtucket, RI
Vehicle drop-off and check-in: 12:00, Narragansett Brewery, 271 Tockwotton St, Providence, RI.
Registration is required for this free event, with insurance coverage generously provided by Friends of the Blackstone through the American Canoe Association. All paddlers are required to wear a Personal Flotation Device and sign a waiver. We will have waivers available at check-in, but please feel free to print your own to speed up check-in! Download the waiver here.
Questions? Contact Katie Liming, kliming@clarku.edu
Blackstone Family RiverFest
Free Community Event!
Come out to River Bend Farm and Visitor Center in Uxbridge, MA to celebrate community, fun, and the Blackstone River! In partnership with the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Collaborative, the Rhode Island School of Design, Save the Bay, and other partners are hosting a family-friendly festival to raise awareness about the Blackstone River.
Connect with local community groups, enjoy live music, food, games, and arts and crafts, and learn about issues facing the Blackstone River and what you can do to help.
This is a family-friendly festival! Feel free to bring personal kayaks, canoes, fishing poles, and an appetite!
Free admission, view the Facebook event here.
Event update: We will no longer have craft beer at this event. We look forward to celebrating with you!
ZAP Film Viewing & Overview of 50th
Join us at the Museum of Work & Culture in Woonsocket to view the original ZAP film and learn how YOU can get involved in its 50th anniversary this summer!
Tuesday, July 26th 4-5pm
42 S Main St, Woonsocket, RI 02895
RSVP to mowc@rihs.org
Third Saturdays April-July: Blackstone Days
Join us in exploring and learning about our watershed during Blackstone Days - third Saturdays April - July!
In support and celebration of the 50th anniversary of ZAP the Blackstone and the Clean Water Act in 1972, the Collaborative will be working with our partners to make the third Saturday of the month from April-July to be Blackstone Days!
July 16 – Riverzedge Arts 20th Anniversary Summer Block Party
12pm - 5pm at Riverzedge Arts, 196 2nd Ave, Woonsocket, RI 02895
Riverzedge Arts is celebrating their 20th anniversary with FREE food, music, games, and MORE! Sponsored by their partners at Keller North America, the 20th Anniversary Summer Block Party features face painting, community art, carnival games, prizes, and the chance to print your very own t-shirt from 12pm to 5pm!
Refreshments to be provided by Gourmet Bae Catering, New England Lemonade, and the alumni-owned Jade's Flour Shop!
Join us beneath the big top for the biggest, most spectacular, most incredible outdoor event of the year! NO TICKETS REQUIRED!
For more information, view the event on Facebook here.
Invasive Species Removal: Water Chestnut Pull
Want to have fun and help improve water quality at the same time? Grab a friend and join the Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone in removing the aquatic invasive water chestnut plant from the Valley Falls Marsh.
Canoes, PFDs, and gloves will be provided, or feel free to bring your own. This event will take place on June 25 and June 26 from 9am - 4pm on both days. Volunteers are invited to come for the entire duration or just a few hours!
Parking will be at 30 Meeting Street, Cumberland, RI 02864.
Learn more about water chestnuts and how they damage the ecosystem here: http://www.dem.ri.gov/.../quality/surface-water/aisplant.php