The HELP Program

The Housatonic Environmental Literacy Program is a collaborative project between Mass Audubon (MAS) and the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA). This program is funded through 2010 as a restoration project awarded by the Trustees from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from an initial round of projects funded by a settlement with General Electric.

As two of the environmental education leaders in Berkshire County, Mass Audubon’s Berkshire Wildlife Sanctuaries and the Housatonic Valley Association have created this program that builds upon our organizations’ combined strengths and extensive experience to establish a positive relationship between future river stewards and their Housatonic River watershed.  Our aim is to give people back their river—to connect them with it emotionally as well as physically, and to foster an understanding and appreciation that leads naturally to stewardship.  Students must feel that they own the river.  The school students of today will be the stewards, directly and indirectly, of the river and its watershed tomorrow. 

The HELP program offers a multi-tiered educational program to the people of the Housatonic Watershed by providing educational programs at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and by offering free public canoeing programs as well. Additionally, MAS and HVA have developed a Housatonic River Curriculum that will be made available to educators in the watershed in both a printed form as well as online.

At the elementary level, we are offering four river-related lessons to each of the elementary schools in the Housatonic River watershed.  These lessons provide an introduction to the history of rivers in general, and a look at the Housatonic River specifically by studying maps and learning about watersheds.  Students also learn how storm drains are the number one source of pollution to our rivers and lakes today, and how we can prevent that pollution. In some situations, we are able to take the students outside to attach decals next to the storm drains around their school to inform their neighbors that the storm drains lead to the river and not to the wastewater treatment plant.  Other schools create posters about how to take care of the river and display them in their local libraries for the public to see.

At the middle school level, we have up to fourteen lessons that go into further depth on the topics covered in the fourth grade program.  In addition, it also includes lessons about the artists who have been inspired by the Housatonic River, the natural history in the Housatonic watershed, the water quality in the river and how to measure it, and the industrial history of the area and the role rivers played in our local history.  Our river restoration lessons look at the PCB contamination of the river and the status of the ongoing clean up of those PCBs, as well as other ways our river continues to be polluted by the everyday activities of our citizens.  At the end of the year the students all go on a canoe trip on the Housatonic River.  The canoe trips on the river are integral to the program’s success and a highlight of the year for many. 

The high school component consists of funding for each of the seven public high schools in the watershed to have the funding necessary to set up an Envirothon Team as an after-school club.  The EOEA’s Envirothon program is a successful program that actively involves high school students in their local environment, learning about their community’s natural and cultural resources while building knowledge and skills in the sciences and government. 

Envirothon is a national program in which teams of five students compete at the state level on environmental topics.  The goals of the EOEA-sponsored Massachusetts Envirothon are “to increase understanding of:  the effect individual actions have on environmental problems, either positive or negative current environmental issues; available resource materials; agencies and organizations available to assist in environmental matters; and career opportunities in the environmental field.”  (from their website:  http://www.maenvirothon.org/)  We feel this is an excellent extension of the HELP goals into the high school arena, since it is more student-focused and appeals to this age group.

And finally, to help the adults in the community become more familiar with the river and its issues, we also have free canoe trips on the river in the summers.  Free paddle trips were offered in the summer of 2008, 2009, and will be again in 2010.  No experience is necessary; HELP employees will provide the training and equipment necessary to have a delightful experience on the river.  For more information, please see News & Events.

H.E.L.P. STAFF

Full Year Staff
Gayle Tardif-Raser is Berkshire Sanctuaries’ Education Coordinator and HELP Program Coordinator.
Carolyn Sibner is a HELP Educator and also helps coordinate HELP program activities.  She was previously employed by HVA as a water quality manager and HELP Coordinator.
Lynne Roberson, Ron Woodland and Marie Raftery are HELP Educators.
Dennis Regan is the HELP Program Coordinator for HVA.

Summer Staff
Hannah Sherman is a student at Roger Williams University.
Nat Erb-Satullo has a B.S. from Swarthmore, a M.S. from Oxford, and is a PHD candidate at Harvard.
Tim Liponis is a student at St. Lawrence University.
Abby Wood is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and teaches in the Central Berkshire Schools.
Johanna Coons is a student at MCLA.
Aimee Gelinas is a naturalist and drummer with a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts.
Daniel Lloyd is a student at Berkshire Community College.
Max Dolan is a student at Emmanuel College.
Rachael Wilson is a student at Springfield Technical College.
Caitlin Hammond is a student at Berkshire Community College.
Luke Lepine is a student at Berkshire Community College.

Free Summer Canoe Programs Again in 2010!

Mass Audubon and Housatonic Valley Association are announcing a series of free summer canoe programs on the Housatonic River.

Schedule of Trips

Canoe trips during the week are approximately two hours long, and on Sunday they are three hours long. All necessary equipment is provided.

Accommodations can be made for paddlers with special needs.

All adult participants will receive a copy of Mass Audubon's Paddlers Guide to New England.

The trip is appropriate for children ages 5 and up. Please call 413-637-0320 to make a reservation as space is limited. Locations will be given when reservations are made.