Walk in the Woods with US Fish and Wildlife
Summary of walk with Kimberly Hayes 12 February
The following article appeared in the 2/14/01 edition of N&MIS News, published by N&MIS Human Resources and Communications.
Lauren Parmelee and Colleen McGrath visit Raytheon
Join The Girl Scouts on a Trailwalk
WRNI (National Public Radio in Rhode Island)
REWHC at the Portsmouth Historical Society!
Action - the Key to Employee Involvement
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On Monday, 12 February, Kimberly Hayes of the US Fish and Wildlife Service will be onsite to discuss REWHC collaboration and view the site. This is an open event to all employees and REWHC team-members who are able to rearrange their work schedules. We'll be meeting in the lobby of building 1 "Nimitz" at 1PM and the walk will follow a brief introduction. Duration is planned for 2 hours.
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 06:03 pm:
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We got off to a late start down the trails but with a bonus, a Newport Daily News reporter and photographer joined us. The eight of us struck out in the arctic-like conditions. Harry took the lead and introduced us to the "Emerging Forest", the theme of our interpretive trail. As we walked down this beautifully sculpted trail, we stopped at various signs depicting trees, their history and use. I chimed in with a few historical tidbits on the stockwell and the town farm site. Pointing out the deer tracks in the now-frozen ground, Harry described the wealth of tracks on the trail seen after the last snowstorm. Skunk, fox, rabbit and deer tracks crisscrossed the snow. The reason for all these tracks is the amount of food for wildlife packed into our tidy acres. "Our forest is a supermarket for the animals" Harry summarized as we traversed the trail. We found the jawbone of some small carnivore just off the trail complete with several molars. Maybe a fox? Very educational. We discussed with Kimberly collaborating on Earthday festivities. and bid farewell to both her and our news reporter.
Don't know when article will appear. If anyone subscribes to the Newport Daily News, please keep a lookout, save a copy for me, and I'll scan the article onto our site. Pictures coming soon!
By Heather A. McKenna (Mckennh) on Thursday, February 15, 2001 - 03:34 pm:
U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE REP PAYS A VISIT TO REWHC! On Monday, February
12, the Raytheon Employees Wildlife Habitat Committee (REWHC) led Kimberly
Hayes, Volunteer Coordinator of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, on an
interpretive hike down the Woodland Wander Trail on the Portsmouth campus.
Along the way, trail guide (and N&MIS engineer!) Harry Mutter pointed out
various trees, animal tracks, and seedbeds. Bill Saslow, Web master of the
REWHC Web site (and also a N&MIS engineer!) pointed out various historical
tidbits about the site and its previous inhabitants. Kimberly's response to her
tour -- utter amazement that a group of volunteers was able to do so much in
just a little over a year's time! For a closer look at REWHC's accomplishments,
visit its Web site at . REWHC is currently operating only
on the N&MIS Portsmouth campus, but there is great potential for chapters in
other N&MIS locations as well! For information on starting a REWHC chapter,
contact Beth Ripa at 401.842.2350.
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 08:01 pm:
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Lauren Parmelee, education director at the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and Colleen McGrath, board member of Ballard Park, visited Raytheon today with the mission of examining our trails and signs for ideas for Ballard park in Newport. Ballard Park is 13 acres in size, formed from a turn of the century quarry, and is across from Rogers High School in Newport. The weather was sunny and cool, as I explained our trail concept and how lucky we were to have the volunteer efforts of Trail Steward, Harry Mutter. I attempted to explain the features of the trail which funnel water from the trails and the signage and specimens which make the trail so much fun. Colleen has a real challenge, being close to a High School, with vandalism and making trail markers sustainable and not part of occasional bonfires the park experiences. They were especially impressed with the specimen jars, attached to the signs, as a way of engaging visitors. While they probably wouldn't be able to leave jars on the trails, they may consider creating a "goody-bag" of specimens to bring with them and share during guided walks. I explained the three guided walks we share with employees and outside groups: Stone walls, Emerging Forest, and Portsmouth Asylum. After walking the Woodland Wander and discussing theme and signage, we continued onto the Poor Farm Ramble. I explained the interpretive theme in progress for the new trail and explained how trails were plotted based on geological and historic features for interpretive storytelling. We continued through the meadow fields, discussing our wildlife surveys and wildlife management plan tenets. We discussed having our groups collaborate for joint walks in the near future.
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Tuesday, April 29, 2003 - 02:14 pm:
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The scouts will be joining us as we sow wildflowers in the meadow and take to the trails this afternoon (4/29) from 3:45 to 4:45 or so. We will be leaving from the Nimitz Lobby at 3:45 sharp. Outside team-mates welcome as well, but I I need to know your intentions by 3PM to arrange security. I can be reached at 842-3461. Sorry for the late notice.
Bill
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Wednesday, January 7, 2004 - 10:05 pm:
Visits Portsmouth Campus For Upcoming Show!
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Over the holiday break, I received an e-mail from Jim Moses, producer of "Focus Rhode Island" for WRNI (National Public Radio in RI). He expressed interested in producing a segment about our project on the Portsmouth Asylum. He had found our website while searching the internet for Poor Farms.
After consulting Carolyn Beaudry, our corporate communications point of contact, I contacted Mr. Moses and set up an interview and trailwalk which was held on 1/7/04. Deborah Becker, the show's host asked a series of questions which were answered by Brenda Bibb and I. Audio was recorded on a mini-disk player over the hour and a half including a visit to the Poor Farm Site down the Poor Farm Ramble trail. Kevin Petit was on-hand to take photos.
Over the next couple of days the audio will be edited to approximately 10 minutes and will air on AM 1290 with the following schedule:
Friday, 9 January: Between 3PM and 4PM
Saturday, 10 January: Between 6PM and 7PM
Sunday, 11 January: Between 8PM and 9PM
They will also be placing the audio on their website: http://www.wrni.org/ along with a link to our website. It'll be interesting to see how many hits the show will attract. Their listenership varies from 25,000 to 50,000.
Current page counters are:
9387 Visitors - REWHC Welcome Page,
2266 Visitors - Portsmouth Asylum Page.
We will be receiving a CD with the show's audio and a copy of the Real Audio file for our website.
Stay Tuned!
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Thursday, November 4, 2004 - 09:07 am:
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Mark your calendars for November 8th at the Portsmouth Historical Society. Commencing at 7:30PM, Bill Saslow will be presenting "Poor Intentions: Work and Punishment at the Portsmouth Asylum".
The Portsmouth Asylum was a working farm, where inmates were chained, flogged, and left in a dungeon for days and weeks at a time. A Poor House for the Town of Portsmouth during the 19th century, the Portsmouth Asylum was a catlyst for social welfare legislation in Rhode Island.
Bill's presentation is an evolving one, with more details added as they are found. Members of the Portsmouth Historic Society have been given homework to consult their memories and records for additional information in advance of the meeting. There is likely to be a lively Q&A session at its conclusion.
His presentation was well-received at the Raytheon Naval Integration Center in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and at the Portsmouth Free Library.
Refreshments will be served at the event's conclusion.
By William P. Saslow (Sasloww) on Thursday, November 4, 2004 - 10:24 am:
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Mark your calendars for 10 November, East Bay conference room, Providence building, noon.
In preparation for the Wildlife Habitat Council's Symposium in mid-November, Brenda and I would like to share our presentation with fellow employees and the REWHC team.
At the symposium, we will be participating in a session called "Human Dimensions: Employee Morale".
The abstract follows:
Competing interests, in the workplace, provide challenges to a wildlife group in keeping a stable volunteer base and exacting change. Interaction with employees, both at planned activities and through the internet, is very important to keep employees engaged with our wildlife management efforts and provide a source of new wildlife team members for sustainment.
Our wildlife group is all volunteers. We are a hard-core group of eight or ten members, and a larger group that is involved in specific projects. About 100 are on our website�s electronic bulletin board, staying engaged with group activities. Our site population varies considerably, and we are always looking for ideas to get people involved and keep them engaged. For us, the key seems to be activity. Some of our activities reflect habitat projects such as our nest-box monitoring and our plantings for wildlife. Other projects reflect the needs of our community partners and fellow employees such as volunteering at a local Harvest Fair and trail walks for employees, their families, and scouting groups. Indoor activities include lunch-time talks, videos, and similar events. Special events such as Earth Day have led to Saturday family events and collaborations with community partners on cleanups.
This presentation will describe the types of activities and communications which were successful for us and how our website has kept the group cohesive.