On Thursday, June 15, the Bridgewater community’s goals regarding the removal of the High Street Dam and the replacement of the High Street Bridge were discussed and viewed with Debra Haaland, the United States Secretary of the Interior. She spoke with agency representatives about the town’s impactful conservation efforts for the environment.

From the FB post "Bridgewater received over $8 million in funding for the project through our partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Division of Ecological Restoration, and other state and federal partners.  

The Secretary's visit was in recognition of the Town of Bridgewater's 'transformational efforts to advance nature based solutions, restoring rivers and opening up miles of stream for fish passage'.

Story Credit: Angel Benjamin, Brown University, BuzzAround Writing Intern

Photo & Story Source: Town of Bridgewater, MA FB

The Taunton River Stewardship Council (TRSC) is seeking contractors with environmental planning and tree work experience to address several locations of instream wood within the Taunton River Watershed. This long-term project will focus on the communities of Halifax, Bridgewater, Middleboro, Raynham, Taunton, Dighton, Berkley,

Freetown, Somerset, and Fall River. Our first project for your consideration is the Town River in Bridgewater, MA.

" ... several areas along the Town River that is inundated with channel spanning wood that prevents safe recreational passage and may impair fish passage. We acknowledge that instream wood is ultimately a benefit for the river ecosystem, providing habitat, bank stability, and river-channel stability. We also recognize that recreation and fish passage are important values within the Taunton River system. This fragile

balance is why we are seeking proposals from qualified consultants to help us evaluate and assess these areas of channel spanning wood.

The Taunton River and its tributaries were federally designated by Congress as Wild and Scenic in 2009. With this formal designation, a local coordinating body called the Taunton River Stewardship Council (TRSC) was empowered

with the responsibility to manage, protect, and enhance the Taunton River & tributaries. The TRSC is guided by a formal Taunton River Stewardship Plan, which identifies the major tenets on which the River was designated:

Ecology & Biodiversity, Estuary, Fisheries, History & Archaeology, Agriculture, Recreation, and Scenery. The TRSC is comprised of members from local municipalities and nonprofit entities that agree to promote long-term protection

of the Taunton River and tributaries. The TRSC also receives technical and financial resources from the National Park Service, the federal agency that administers Wild and Scenic Rivers in New England.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our needs and approach. You may also forward this to others who may be a good fit.

Sincerely,

Gloria Bancroft

Coordinator, Taunton River Stewardship Council

c/o TRWA P.O. Box 1116

Taunton, MA 02780

Ph: 508-828-1101

Marybeth from Maha Yoga Center will be offering a free yoga class for families and kids ages 8+! Space is limited, so sign up ASAP! Make sure you register each individual that will be attending. Please bring your own yoga mat. If the event is full before you register, don't worry! There will be free classes every Saturday in July so keep your eye out for another!

For more information or to register visit BW Public Library Website

For more information visit BW Public Library Website

Video Courtesy of BTV

The Craftpreneur and Fire for Effect Foundation Inc are hosting a dog friendly event! There will be tons of dog-friendly vendors and opportunities for dogs to make friends and play together! Meet local shelters, vets, register your pet, and grab a new leash & bandana while supporting local businesses & veterans. All dogs are welcome, but PLEASE be aware of your pet's needs! If your pup has a tendency to be overwhelmed or reactive around other animals, this may not be the place for them. All dogs must be leashed, so everyone can enjoy the outdoor space at this event.

For more information visit Bark in the Park FB

Beginning June 26th, the Bridgewater Public Library will be running a summer reading opportunity where the amount you read could result in winning cool prizes! There will be two age brackets which will be ages 0-12 and 13+. Using Beanstack, readers can track reading minutes to earn badges and the chance to win prizes. All types of books count. If you read 2+ hours in one week, you will be entered in a weekly drawing for a bag of books. There will also be a weekly word hidden in the children's room, which will result in additional ticket entries when entering the keyword in Beanstack. Prize winners will be notified Tuesday, August 15. Prize winners will have 10 business days to pick up the prize before another winner is chosen. Get your read on this summer and win some prizes! For more information contact the Bridgewater Public Library at 508-697-3331.

Discover and paint with watercolors at the Bridgewater Senior Center. Participants will create a serene mountain landscape, learn about atmospheric perspective, and how to create a sense of the depth in their painting. During the activity, participants will produce 2 to 3 smaller watercolor paintings as a means for practice and building confidence with developing paintings wet on wet and wet on dry.

To RSVP, call (508) - 697 - 0929.

The Bridgewater Music Alley Season is kicking off right! There is a vast lineup for this year! Concerts will be held at Black Hat Brew Works due to construction at Music Alley.

Each week, there will be one or several performers, as well as a food truck. Food will also be served at Black Hat Brew Works during the events. Be sure to stop by for free live music.

A big thank you to Bridgewater State University for sponsoring, and Black Hat Brew Works for helping make this year's events possible!

For more information about this year's lineup, visit BW Music Alley website.

 in front of Walgreens parking lot in Bridgewater Center. All are welcome to join!

Climate Can-Do: Hydration in the Heat and Refillable Water Bottles

Summer is finally here! Warmer weather, more time outside, and an increase in physical activity…all of which lead to us being thirstier. Drinking enough water throughout the day is always important – our bodies are 50% to 70% water (Mayo Clinic) – and with the hot weather in the coming months, it is especially crucial to avoid dehydration. However, our hydration doesn’t need to come at the expense of our environment. According to Ban the Bottle, Americans throw away 35 billion plastic bottles every year. Additionally, only 5% of our plastics (Greenpeace) get recycled; the rest end up in trash heaps, or are litter and many end up in the ocean.

Refillable water bottles make a real difference close to home; in our drinking water; in our rivers; and right down to the ocean. By switching to refillables instead of buying single-use bottles, you are: cutting down on oil usage needed to manufacture the plastic water bottles; decreasing CO2 put out into the atmosphere through production; reducing landfill waste (University of Colorado Boulder); and decreasing the likelihood of nanoplastics in our tap. You’re also saving money and time by not buying a plastic water bottle every time you’re out and about -$1.25 may not seem like much, but it definitely adds up! If tap water isn’t for you, a filtered water dispenser and a reusable water bottle will soon pay for themselves as you consider the cost of bottled water. Most importantly: Refillable water bottles can decrease pollution in our oceans – the same ones we love to swim in over the summer. It’s an important Climate Can Do to reduce personal plastic waste; opt for refillable bottles instead of single-use plastic ones so we and our environment can flourish! 

Do you want to write a story (book, series, or screenplay) but don’t know how to start? Come attend this 3 hour writing workshop for 18+ in the Judith Gabriel Room at the Bridgewater Public Library.

Participants will learn how to come up with ideas that inspire them to write, and they will leave the workshop with at least 3 unique story ideas they can choose to expand and work on. Chris Vigneau, a local Bridgewater teacher, cartoonist, and writer, will be teaching the class. Participants are encouraged to bring a list of their top 5 stories to class for discussion. The class is limited to 10 people so please register for a spot.

To learn more or register, visit the Bridgewater Public Library website.

The Keith Parsonage was built in 1662 to house the town’s first minister, Rev. James Keith. During King Philip’s War, the town voted to use the parsonage as a garrison house for the protection of the town’s inhabitants.

Today, the home contains many examples of life in Colonial America including a hearth with a bee-hive oven and hand-hewn beams.

The parsonage is now owned by the Old Bridgewater Historical Society and several of the society’s board of directors will be there on July 9th to conduct tours. 

For more info: admin@oldbridgewater.org

On Friday, June 9th, The Murder Mystery Company held an event at the Bridgewater Public Library! All ages were welcome to this blast from the past murder mystery performance. Participants were encouraged to wear their 80s attire and were broken up into two teams to try to solve the murder mystery they were presented with. Everyone's outfits looked amazing, and the night was full of fun!

Thank you to Mike Shea's Coffee Roasting and Roche Brother's Supermarkets for donating to help put this event together. We look forward to seeing more events like these at our Public Library!

Story by Meghan Lotti, BuzzAround Writing Intern, Bridgewater State University

Source and photos from Bridgewater Public Library FB

from Duval's Pharmacy Whitman Center

Prizes@buzzaround.info

Prize Box Rules 

 On June 28, 2023, before 2p, we will randomly pick a winner from the correct answers.

Copyright 2023 Buzz Around Bridgewater. You have our permission to share and copy this issue in its entirety as much as you like. If you take it in part, please give credit. ("Buzz Around Bridgewater 6/25/23")