Hardy folks of the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, on the trail at the Fish Hatchery in N.Attleboro
Last weekend we had a kickoff meeting for our newest project. And since the project is an effort to document and share the trails and canoe put-ins of the Ten Mile River watershed, our meeting was held outdoors. No matter that the temperature hovered in the teens. The volunteers of this water conservation group are a hardy lot, and cheerfully headed out with me on the trail at the Fish Hatchery on Bungay Road in North Attleboro.
I’d already been before, and the president of the watershed group, Ben, and I agreed that this trail was a good introductory walk to help members get a better idea of what we hope to accomplish, and provided an opportunity for them to ask questions as well.
Small bridge over Bungay Brook
The just under one mile loop trail provided some nice variety within a short distance.
Pond view. The Bungay Brook is dammed to provide water for the fish hatchery
Pond views, changes in elevation, stairs up and down steep slopes (with railings)
Watershed council members stop on the bridge to pose for a picture
and a small bridge over the free-flowing Bungay Brook.
Rather than take the bridge over the brook, some members with better balance took the more challenging method across the water… And yes, everyone got back safe and dry!
At the end of our walk we went inside to the Hatchery office building, where we met up with Kerstin Cody of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who gave us a short history of the hatchery, then took us on a guided tour of the hatchery fish tanks.
There is a lot more to do to make this book project a reality, but this first trip together was a first step. Volunteers will spread out throughout the towns of the watershed, take photos, and report back their findings. I will take their information and collate it all into the book template I’ve used for the other two Easy Walks in Massachusetts trail guides. This newest book offers some challenges since it will cross state lines, venturing into Rhode Island. But as we know, rivers are unperturbed by boundaries, and thus, we will go where the river takes us–including the towns of Attleboro, N. Attleboro, Plainville, Seekonk, (all in Massachusetts) as well as E. Providence and Pawtucket, in Rhode Island.
I’m excited to learn more about this area, and will report here as we document the Ten Mile River and the special places within its boundaries. Stay tuned, so you can travel with us on this latest adventure!
Marjorie Turner Hollman
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.
Marjorie Turner Hollman 