Join the team that continues to clear the Freer Town and Light House Parks Beaches of the menacing weeds.
We start cutting in early June and finish cutting sometime in August after the weeds have gone to seed. We typically cut every day 3 hours each side of the high tide.
We train volunteers, however it is suggested that they enough flexibility to climb from a row boat onto our boat “Chester” and to be able to move around once aboard. Other than that, we teach the skills required to cut. We determine someone’s level of comfort and skill levels and try to pair people accordingly (less skilled with more skilled). We send out two people together so they can help remind each other of the protocols and support each other on the tasks.
All volunteers are asked to review a training package in advance of going on Chester. A training session is typically held to review this package in the spring, but if someone misses that session, it’s a self study module. The second phase of training is to send people out with an experienced cutter. We do this type of pairing till the individual is knowledgeable and comfortable. Typically we always send two people out on a boat together for safety.
We only ask people to volunteer for what they are able to do. Some people cut weekly, some people cut multiple times each week, some cut once a season. Every little bit helps. A cutting slot revolves around high tide and can be 2-3 hours either side of high tide. Most people cut around 3-4 hours per session, but there are no rules on how long you have to go out. People sign up, get paired up, and meeting times are set at either Lighthouse Park or Freer Town Beach. The volunteers carry a row boat to the water, row out to Chester and then commence cutting.
Get out on the river and enjoy nature and the water! It’s always cooler on the water then on land and it feels amazing to see our progress and see people able to use the beaches.
It’s easy to forget how weed-choked the beaches used to be, especially by Freer town Beach. Here’s what it looked like by Freer Town Beach in 1993 and it got worse than this in subsequent years when the weeds were being cleared by hand!!
Email Carol Tomassetti to volunteer