WESTMINSTER-The Westminster Conservation Commission, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), and the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District (WCNRCD) invite everyone to join them for a birding event Friday, Oct. 3, from 8 to 10 a.m. at SEVCA, 91 Buck Drive.
This event celebrates a collaborative project between the three groups to protect and restore water quality in the adjacent Henwood Hill Marsh.
Windham NRCD will be working with SEVCA to complete an initial site assessment and analysis activities to identify potential practices which may include: planting native vegetation, restoring wetland areas through plantings and earthwork, and installing green stormwater infrastructure such as permeable pavers at the SEVCA site.
The final set of practices will be developed in consultation with SEVCA and the results of engineering studies.
The area is well known as a haven for both resident and migrating birds. Helping to identify birds in the area will be WCNRCD Executive Director Cory Ross, and SEVCA Weatherization Director Victor Baisley.
Ross says he taught band and choir for 11 years in Michigan, before his passion for the environment and conservation issues led him to further his education. He has worked on a variety of research projects, including banding migrating birds in Northern Ontario, helping to study the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on the declining saltmarsh sparrow population in Connecticut, and studying the fire ecology of the black-backed woodpecker in Oregon.
He has worked for the WCNRCD since 2019, and he is a board member for the Southeastern Vermont Audubon Society.
Baisley earned a degree in zoology from the University of Maine and has built a career that bridges field biology and building science. His experience includes conducting bat surveys along the Maine coast, researching the links between small mammals and water quality in the Catskills, and managing a research field station in the Maya Mountains of Belize.
He joined SEVCA in 2012 and now directs its weatherization program, which focuses on reducing home energy consumption and costs and improving health and safety. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, playing hockey, and watching birds.
Attendees are encouraged to bring binoculars, wear waterproof footgear, and long pants to avoid poison ivy and ticks. Participants must register for this event by emailing the Westminster Conservation Commission at westminstervtconservation@gmail.com. The event will be held rain or shine, but heavy rain may cancel. Registrants will be contacted in case of cancellation.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.