Join us for the TRWA Annual Meeting with Guest Speaker Freddie Wilkinson.
Saturday November 2nd, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Bristol County Agricultural High School Student Commons Building, 135 Center Street, Dighton.
All welcome. Free, with $10 suggested donation.
To register, email director@savethetaunton.org or call 508-828-1101
AGENDA:
4-5pm General Business Meeting (see details below)
5-6pm Guest Speaker Freddie Wilkinson
Author of the upcoming National Geographic book “Canoe Story”, Freddie Wilkinson will share his team’s 1,500+ mile canoe journey over 113 days using Native American routes. The team began at the Penobscot River in ME and traveled the ancient waterways of NY and MA, including the entire Taunton River, as well as RI, before returning to their starting point in ME.
Per Freddie: Canoe Story is more than an adventure. It explores the living history of North America’s greatest invention. The mission, called “The Great Circle”, is a 1,500 mile circumnavigation of the Northeast to rediscover the ancient waterways and recover the forgotten history of the region. The Great Circle is a subtly complex route, relying on indigenous knowledge to avoid exposed segments of coastline, rather than simply following the straightest line on the map. It’s likely been decades — or even centuries — since some sections of these waterways were last paddled. An unforgettable cast of indigenous paddlers, historians, activists, and educators not only co-led the expedition, but helped narrate a ground-breaking re-imagining of American history.
Freddie Wilkinson is an author, professional alpine climber, and mountain guide. He is the recipient of several honors, including the American Alpine Club’s Robert Hicks Bates, H. Adams Carter Literacy, and Lyman Spitzer Awards, the Mugs Stump Award, the McNeill-Nott Award, and a grant from the National Geographic Expeditions Council. In addition to having his writing published nationwide in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, National Geographic, Men’s Journal, and more, Wilkinson is the author of One Mountain Thousand Summits and the writer and co-director of the documentaries The Old Breed and The Sanctity of Space. As a climber, he has made numerous first ascents of steep, technical routes in the mountains of Alaska, Patagonia, Asia and Antarctica. In 2012, he and two partners were awarded the prestigious Piolet d’Or for making the first ascent of Saser Kangri II — at 24,665 feet, then the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world — in alpine style.
(Above photo credit: southampton press)
General Business Meeting Agenda:
- Welcome and President’s Report
- Treasurer’s Report
- Nomination and Re-election of Board of Directors and Officers
- 2024 Program Recaps: Bruce Spooner Education Center & Water Quality Monitoring
- Diamondback Terrapin Population Study Results by Jessie Power, Project Technician
- Volunteer Recognition Awards
Election:
The following board members are up for re-election (two-year term): Brian Bastarache, Joseph Callahan, Bradford Gonyer, Richard Shafer, Stephen Silva
The following TRWA member has been nominated for the 2025 Board of Directors: Bart Devine
The following Officer nominations have been made for the 2025 Board of Directors: President: Joseph Callahan, Vice President: Sally Spooner, Clerk/Secretary: Stephen Silva, Treasurer: Richard Shafer
2025 TRWA Tide Calendars:
Limited copies of the 2025 TRWA Tide Calendar will be available for $15, featuring the work of local photographers who captured the beauty of the Taunton River Watershed and its wildlife.
The meeting is hosted by the Environmental Conservation Department and will be held in the Student Commons Building, 2nd Floor. Light refreshments will be served.
This is an in person meeting, all are welcome.
The Student Commons Building is on the north side of Center Street. Parking is located to the rear of the building . The building is fully accessible from all entrances.
