Author Archives: Marjorie

Make Your Own Storybook Walk with Teens–Milford Youth Center

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Greating ready to head out at the MilfordYouth Center

We have been hosting Make Your Own Storybook walks since last January, and I keep being surprised at how much fun participants have, regardless of their age or ability. We have had grandparents, babes in arms, (well, backpack carriers), little ones who have not yet learned to read, and school age children as well. We  have had adults of varying abilities, parents juggling several children, and my buddies who are visually impaired (or VIPs–Visually Impaired Person as they prefer to be referred to).

In the midst of all this variety, and having offered the program at different locations, I hadn’t quite realized the common theme; if there is a dead or dying fish on the scene, it’s going to end up in many if not most of the stories that are shared that day. Continue reading

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Grant Follow up: Sharing the Joy

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Checking in at New Hope with Marcia Szymanski, Director

When I started working with the non-profit organization Ten Mile River Watershed Council to help them create a new Easy Walks book with me, I searched for grants to help support our efforts. A  lot of grant making entities are not interested in helping fund the creation of books. Yup, expressly so–not interested. Each organization has specific requirements. No problem. I finally turned to grants I was familiar with and reached out to the towns in MA included in the book we were working on. In the end, everything is local, as we know. Continue reading

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Celebrating the New Book!

Easy_Walks_and_Paddl_Cover_for_KindleAfter all the hard work of writing a book (or in this case, writing portions and editing the whole), many might think the work is done. But no, if you want a book to be read, used, and enjoyed, people have to know it exists. And as they say, “It takes a village.” Continue reading

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Watching the tide roll in at Mt. Desert Island

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Sunrise on Somes Sound

Part of having a positive experience at the ocean (at least for me) is having a place to rest when I need to. We have been lucky enough to find places near the water where I can hang out, watch birds, look for seals (!) and pay attention to the tides. When I’d rested, we set off for amazing outdoor places quite nearby, most of which are within Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, and its environs. Continue reading

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Easy Walks in Familiar Places–Franklin Sculpture Park, and High Street Trail, Bellingham

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A gaggle of ducklings skitter about in the water at Franklin’s sculpture park

What a pleasure to introduce friends to lovely local spots around the corner from where I live. Despite having visited both spots many times in the past, surprises awaited at both locations. Continue reading

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Make Your Own Story–Rain, Rain, Go Away!

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We were prepared for rain! (Photo, Carol Dandrade)

The threatening clouds kept blowing by, allowing for sunshine to sneak through, but we were mostly prepared. Our “Looking for Spring,” Make your own storybook hike at Riverbend farm was on, regardless of the weather. My partner for this event, Kathryn Parent, was well-prepared. “Here are some umbrellas and ponchos,” she said, laying the items on the table in the visitor center classroom. She admitted, “The umbrellas are from our ‘Lost and Found’ box.” As it turned out, they weren’t needed, but we were prepared! Continue reading

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Video–Looking Ahead to Another “Make Your Own Storybook” walk

Here’s a video my friend Liz Harkins created in her work with Milford TV, the community cable channel in Milford, MA. Liz not only paired me up with the folks from the Milford Youth Center, she facilitated the taping, along the banks of the Upper Charles River in Milford, of this 13 minute video about the upcoming “Make Your Own Storybook” walk, planned for May with the Milford Youth Center participants.  https://youtu.be/BdTcRaahlqc

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History of the Blackstone Gorge

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The Blackstone River rushes through the Gorge after heavy rains

The spring group walk promised to provide some history about the Blackstone Gorge. While I have often visited the gorge over the past thirty years I’ve been aware of it, I have never been well-versed in its past. For indeed, the gorge has a past, not just geologic, but a man-made past as well. Continue reading

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Making Friends Along the Trail

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Liz Harkins with Mike Spurling, her crack camera crew, stop for just a moment so I could get their picture

I met Liz last year when we were publicizing the Massachusetts Walking Tour, which came through Milford on its tour of the Blackstone Valley and nearby towns. She works for the Milford Cable TV station and conducted an interview with the folks of the Walking Tour, and with me as well.

She got really excited when she learned about the Easy Walks in Massachusetts trail books I author. We kept talking about doing some kind of video taping along the trail to help publicize my books and to help viewers understand what a gift we have right in our own backyards in this area. Continue reading

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Bats boxes at Riverbend Farm

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Getting bat boxes ready at Riverbend Farm

It was an afternoon program during school vacation, and several families showed up to Riverbend Farm to learn about bats.  We saw no live bats (it was a daytime program, plus a little early for the bats to start coming out) but in fact, we were learning about bats, not getting up close and personal with the critters.

Amanda Melinchuk, Bat Research Monitor with Massachusetts Division of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) brought a slideshow of Myths and Facts, to help educate us about bats in general, and local bats in particular, and also to increase understanding about the challenges bats face. Continue reading

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