FAR has been working with the Cambridge Friends School as they observe and test at the new storm water wetlands at Alewife Reservation this fall and winter. Here are some of their comments to our visit to their classroom recently with our slide show shown to BBN School and their presentations to us resulting from water quality testing, potential impacts to birds and animals, and from observations.

"Thank you for visiting and meeting our class. From your visit we learned a lot about the Friends of Alewife Reservation and the Alewife Reservation itself. - Cale"

"Thank you for visiting the Cambridge Friends School and presenting about the Alewife Reservation. I enjoyed the slideshow, especially the part about the animals that live in the reservation. One the inclement Boston weather comes to a halt, I hope that we will be able to see more of these unique species of animals at the Alewife Reservation. -Anonymous"

"Thank you for much for the praise and congrats. We have worked very hard to find all this data and to write essays and present on our findings. We were so excited to present what we had to you so it means a lot for you to write back. -Tomas"

"Thank you for coming to CFS to give a presentation and listen to ours. It was helpful to see pictures of the reservation as you talked about it. - Miriam"

"I am really glad to hear that you were impressed with our knowledge. The group and I really like being able to leave the school and explore nature. Though it can get really crazy with the weather."

"Thanks for coming in to meet with us and teach us about Alewife. I was wondering if you could teach us about the water pollution and how it affects the water. -Anonymous"

"I really enjoyed that you cherished our information. For a while and sometimes today, I thought that the work we are doing was unnecessary but its really interesting how our testing skills impact the community on a large scale. I'm glad we could have representatives from Alewife Brook come and teach and also learn on the community impact! - Danny"

"Thank you so much for coming to our school. Your letter is very kind and we are glad to be doing this kind of work for you. Although some days (when it's freezing) we are grumpy, but I'm sure that as move forward and spring comes, that we get a lot more done and see more animals. So as it gets warmer we will discover more things. - Lila"

"It is helpful to know and be aware of the fact that our work is appreciated. When the work we are doing at times feels detached, it is harder to continually understand the meaning of our work. I appreciate this visit very much, and am extremely grateful for your time. - Erin"

"Thank you for listening to us. We hope to go when the weather is warmer so we can complete the tests in the field. Do you know when the construction is going to finish?" - Jason

"Thank you for that email, Christine. I didn't know that you would find our presentations so interesting! I'm glad that you noticed my knowledge about salinity affecting the water. I'm glad that our data findings could be of use to you. Signing off, Adam"

"Thank you for visiting us on Thursday. We all enjoyed sharing the information that we found and also we enjoyed all the info that we received from you. - Mia"

"Thank you for your letter. I think it's really cool that we're going to be in your newsletter. I was part of the group that found the dead muskrat, and I was wondering how you think it died. Is it good because it means something else killed it, like a larger mammal, and that larger mammal is doing well? Or is it bad because it got poisoned somehow? If it was poisoned, maybe something bad is in the water (or could get in), and we should monitor that. - Naima"

"I am the bacteria and pH specialist for my group [Purple Group 4] and I wanted to know about what legal rights FAR has. More specifically, what regulations can FAR put in place to protect all of the bodies of water? This is important, because contractors haven't been very caring of the sites and I know this because of a recent test result. This was my first test of coliform bacteria and it came back positive. I also happened to look at other sites' tests and those were also positive. - Ahlam"

"I was very excited to share my knowledge of plants and animals at the Alewife Reservation and help out my community. I enjoyed your presentation because it taught me even more about my topic of chosen study and well being of life at the Reservation. Ever since I was a little girl, I have taken trips to Alewife Reservation and taken walks, carefully observing the types of animals and trees that lived at the Reservation. It is heartwarming to me to know that I am aiding my community and and helping it to become more aware of how and where we live and get our clean, anti-bacterial water. I have always thought about how and where we get our drinking water because this is crucial to our health. I feel strongly that you are helping to make this world a better place, and I am so thankful to know and feel that I am a part of helping this world. In peace, Sofia."

Youth demonstrate field trip work at Alewife Reservation to FAR visitors

Youth demonstrate PH results to FAR visitors

Youth give presentations on water quality testing at Alewife Reservation to FAR