BMHS Green Team monitoring Barrington River

The youth group has made three excursions to the waterway, cleaning a portion of the West Branch under the overpass where there are concerns about the fish habitat.

Leader Helen Goreham says the team waded into the river and removed quite a few pieces of metal left over from bridge construction.

“We felt it endangered the kiack and other fish travelling upstream,” she said, adding that the Barrington River is the largest source of fresh water flowing into the Barrington Bay estuary.

The team is monitoring the temperature and pH of the river on a monthly basis when possible. Their last results found the river acidic.

Representatives from the group attended the Gulf of Maine Institute (GOMI) conference held on Brier Island from May 23-25 where they were involved in whale watching and wool processing. They also explored plant and animal life along the coastline.

“From our GOMI session on Brier Island and at GOMI in New Hampshire last summer, we learned to study the micro-invertebrates and small animal life to help determine the water quality,” said Goreham.

Study of the river will continue into next fall, with some junior high students joining the project.

The team will also be placing a BMHS geo-cache with a travel bug at the river site to travel across Canada.

On June 24, Amy Weston, Nova Scotia Salmon Association program manager for the Adopt-A-Stream Program, which is providing funding to the Tusket River chapter of Trout Unlimited for its project with the Tri-County School Board, will be meeting at BMHS.

Weston, along with Bill Curry from the school board, will be visiting the river with the team to plan restoration work for the fall. The team is also working alongside the Barrington River Stewardship Association to promote the health and well being and to maintain an active stewardship - of the Barrington River system and its surrounding watershed.