Join us for the TRWA Annual Meeting 

Guest Speakers– The Great Canoe Loop Team:

Neil Benedict, Ryan Ranco, &  Fred Wilkinson

 Bristol County Agricultural High School Student Commons Building, 135 Center Street, Dighton

All welcome. Free, with $10 suggested donation

Registration

AGENDA:

4-5pm General Business Meeting (see details below)

5-6pm Guest Speakers

Members of the The Great Canoe Loop team will share a multi-media presentation depicting their 1,800 mile paddle route circumnavigating the Northeast, including the entire 40 mile Taunton River, over 116 days. The Loop has existed for thousands of years as a series of shared waterways and portage paths connecting communities throughout the region. East to West, the Loop stretches from the Penobscot River by Old Town Maine to the mouth of the Oswego River on Lake Ontario. North to South, it reaches from St. Lawrence River near Quebec City to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor.

The Loop was paddled in 2023 by Neil Benedict (Oneida Nation), Ryan Ranco (Penobscot Nation), and Fred Wilkinson (National Geographic journalist). They began and ended at the North End of Indian Island on Penobscot Territory, next to present day Old Town, Maine.

Freddie is currently writing a book”Canoe Story”due out in 2025. 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 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.  In addition to having his writing published nationwide in the New York Times, the Huffington Post, National Geographic, 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.

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 members have been nominated for the 2025 Board of Directors:  Bart Devine & Melissa Ramondetta

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

Nominations may be accepted from the floor. If interested in joining our Board, email Gloria Bancroft at director@savethetaunton.org.

2025 TRWA Tide Calendars are now available! 

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.  Winning entries can be found at https://savethetaunton.org/2024/10/09/announcing-the-winners-of-our-2025-tide-calendar-contest/

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.

Email director@savethetaunton or call 508-828-1101 with any questions.