The town is receiving $10 million in federal funding to help construct a “nature-like fishway” on Town Brook that will bypass Jenney Grist Mill, making it possible for people to walk along the waterway and observe migrating fish without getting their feet wet. The existing path, from Jenney Pond through Brewster Gardens, is eroded in […]
Author Archives: Porter Hoagland - Independent Correspondent
Porter Hoagland writes on environmental and natural resource matters that affect Plymouth.
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Select Board OK’s a plan to stave off disaster
Plymouth’s Select Board has voted to approve a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan for the town, an aspirational outline for how it will cope with rising sea levels and other environmental changes in coming years. Developed over the last year by the Town’s Climate Action/Net Zero Committee, or CANZ, the plan provides an initial – […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
The herring are running their own marathon in Plymouth
It’s time to celebrate the town’s amazing – and complex – relationship with herring. In 1889, William Root Bliss author of “The Colonial Times on Buzzard’s Bay,” wrote about the annual herring runs of the Plymouth Colony: In early spring alewives came into the rivers, and for a while formed the staple of trade and […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
A local author’s young-adult book puts Plymouth at the center of global climate action
A Plymouth author’s young-adult book about taking action on climate and air quality has been attracting global accolades. Chris Casavant’s “The Greatest Cause of Mia Dubois” won the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book award in the category of Current Events. (It also was a finalist in the category of Science/Nature/Environment.) Search the term “climate action,” […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
Some good news for Plymouth’s environment? It looks that way.
As Plymouth’s Battle of the Nips rages on, here is a brief report from the recent hometown fall cleanup. It’s based solely on personal experience, and therefore not too scientific, but it seems to me like some features of Plymouth’s natural environment just might be improving. That’s good news for Plymouth Harbor and its tributaries. […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
Climate change puts Plymouth at increasing risk, and we can’t ignore it
We’re now at the forefront of a revolution in how we use energy. It’s being driven by the need to “decarbonize” to slow climate changes and by rapid technological advances in the generation of electricity. We’ve considered “net zero” in this space recently, but it’s important to spend more time with the concept to begin […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
State’s new climate initiative is of vital importance to Plymouth
On Tuesday, the state announced an initiative to focus on responding to the coastal effects of climate change, especially flooding and coastal erosion. Massachusetts has 1,500 miles of coastline, spanning 78 cities and towns. A fair section of that is part of Plymouth. The state has predicted that, on average, damages to coastal structures may […]
Posted inOn Land & Sea
Can Plymouth play the global warming zero-sum game?
We all know by now that the average world temperature taken at the surface of the earth has been increasing since the expansion of the industrial growth that occurred in the late 19th century. Its consequences are more than concerning. But what can be done on the local level to tackle this problem? In 2021, […]