Users of the Perryville Trace in Webster will note the familiar trailhead sign is back. The sign was vandalized during the summer, but was rebuilt by Charles Perzanoski and replaced with the help of Charles, Ed Bazinet, and Mike Branniff. The sign had gone undamaged for three years. Let's wish it a long second life.
A summary report of our 2011 TROLL Water Quality Monitoring Report is now available. Results for the watershed will be published in the coming months by The Last Green Valley. Many thanks to all our volunteers who make this work possible.
On November 15, the French River Connection received an unsolicited donation of $500 from IPG Photonics in Oxford. IPG has helped us in the past, most recently in 2009, and it is gratifying that riverside commercial enterprises are supportive of our work. IPG Photonics is the world's leading provider of high power fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers that are revolutionizing performance and utility in an array of materials processing, telecommunications, medical and other advanced applications. Many thanks to IPG for their generosity.
On November 12, French River Connection members Jean Hixson and Marvin and Helen Kesner spent the morning preparing French River Park for winter. Before the morning was over, they had filled twelve construction bags with leaves, twigs, and flower stems. There will be other work days in the spring to shape up the Park for summer. Thanks to these members for their hard work.
November 5 marked the last day of water quality monitoring for 2011. Temperatures below freezing posed a challenge early in the day, but the team from the Shepherd Hill Environment Club persevered, collecting high quality data as usual from 15 sites. Here, Stephanie St. George and Kendra Faldetta sample Potash Brook in Dudley. We have now collected seven year's worth of data on the French River and its tributaries. Thanks to all our volunteers (approximately sixty!) who have participated over the years.
With the new school year, once again we have Shepherd Hill Environment Club students filling out our TROLL teams. It's always a pleasure to work with these fine young people and their adviser, Judy Nawrocki. Here, Ben White and Molly Helock collect data in at Old Mill Brook in OxfordThis has been an unusual year on the river. Generally, August data would be taken with the river and tributaries barely flowing. This year they were near flood stage.
At last the day arrived, bright and sunny, and with plenty of water for a duck race. The day was enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, and our volunteers did a fantastic job. Hats off to them. You can view a slideshow of the day here.
