 The Three Nancys (left to right - Ortiz, Condon, and Leland) assemble Cyano Aerosol equipment The BPC 2021 season of cyanobacteria pond monitoring and testing was record breaking on multiple fronts: number of ponds tested; samples collected; and number of volunteer citizen scientists participating -- who make this program possible! The program tested 18 ponds in our regular biweekly rotation, from May through October. Additionally, we tested four more ponds at the request of concerned members. From these ponds, our dedicated 50 person team of Citizen Scientists collected more than 300 samples for toxin analysis. We published results biweekly to: our members; the Town of Brewster Departments of Health and Natural Resources; and to the local pond association leaders. On the infrequent occasions when test results showed a HIGH cyanobacteria count, we immediately advised Town of Brewster officials. The success and expansion of our program is a credit to a community of BPC donors who know that their participation in citizen science initiatives benefits the town, our friends and neighbors, and the environment. The work contributes directly to scientific research, we provide scientists with large, diverse, usable data sets, and provide town officials with important information. Being a member of the team can be a catalyst for personal change and is both a social and fun activity! We will continue to rely on your help and support in 2022. Our plan for next year is to expand the pond cyanobacteria monitoring program, and to continue our airborne toxin research at the Mill Ponds. Your membership involvement is the key to getting things done! How can you help? Your $125 donation replenishes cyanobacteria testing and analysis supplies—like water collection bottles, plastic hoses vials, collection tote bags, and microscope slides—throughout the testing season.  Your $250 donation equips the Citizen Scientist program with laboratory collection and analysis equipment including aerosol collection devices.  Your $500 donation goes towards the cost of cyanoscope, fluorometer, and anatoxin kit purchases. Thanks to our supporters' generosity, the 2022 appeal has raised $24,000 to date towards a goal of $71,000, in support of Citizen Science and other BPC programs. Please renew your membership. It's easy—just press the button below or visit: brewsterponds.org Thank you! Your support makes a difference for Brewster’s Ponds!
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 Our "hats-off" to BPC member Susan Bauer! See this WBZ TV news piece about how the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage take care of this problem in Cape Cod ponds.
 John Keith, BPC Board Vice President, and an environmental engineer talks with Stony Brook School students about pond health. 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  The 2022 Board of the Brewster Ponds Coalition 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.  Dolichospermum circinalis Your $125 contribution funds one cyanobacteria test plus equipment.  Dolichospermum circinalis 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 kathleen@neeevents.com 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 - marty.burke@brewsterponds.org  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 |
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