For millennia, migratory fish species numbering in the millions performed a dance of renewal in the Ipswich River watershed. Herring, a catch-all species name which includes bluebacks, alewifes, and shad, leave the ocean and swim up the Ipswich River to spawn in ponds while American eel swim downstream to spawn in the Sargasso Sea. These migrations created a beneficial ripple effect for species throughout the area, including the people. Today, that dance is down to only a few performers as a result of barriers-to-flow like dams, outdated culverts, and overgrown streams which prevent fish species like herring from returning to their spawning habitats. Happily, there are many people hard at work in a myriad of approaches to restore river connectivity and bring back the dance of migration.
To create awareness of these restoration efforts and renew the Ipswich River community’s feeling of interconnection with nature, artist and Co-Artistic Director of Fort Point Theater Channel Anne Loyer has partnered with the Ipswich River Watershed Association to create the Ocean of Rivers Project. “This dance of species happens unseen around us,” says Loyer, “This project will use art to make visible the interconnections of nature and humans, and weave the human story into the fabric of other species.“ The project is supported in part by grants from the Boxford, Ipswich, and Topsfield Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. The scope of the project includes a series of walks, presentations, workshops, paddles and performances at which attendees will learn about ongoing restoration projects to improve river connectivity and the migratory species that this work will benefit. The events run from March through June and are offered free of charge, thanks to support from Mass Audubon, Boxford Trails Association/Boxford Open Land Trust (BTA/BOLT), and the Middleton and Topsfield Stream Teams.
At project workshops, participants will build puppets of herring and eel from natural and up-cycled materials. Instructions for basic puppets will be made available online and at all project events, as well as distributed to local libraries and schools. The culmination of the project will be a live performance in downtown Ipswich during the town’s Local Color festival. The public is invited to join trained dancers and puppeteers in a performance that embodies the natural flow of nature and the interweaving of our human stories with the fabric of other species.
Restoring river connectivity and preserving the ecological functions and biodiversity of the Ipswich River is part of our mission. Thanks to a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), we are working with Trout Unlimited Nor’east Chapter and municipal partners to restore the Howlett Brook watershed. A subwatershed of the Ipswich, this area has potential as herring habitat. Other restoration projects highlighted by Ocean of Rivers include herring habitat assessments and efforts to remove dams for species like American shad. With the assistance of the MA Division of Marine Fisheries, we plan to stock the river with herring this spring, and the restoration efforts highlighted by the Ocean of Rivers project will be crucial to ensuring these herring are able to return to the river in subsequent years.
The Ocean of Rivers project is part of a suite of a calendar of events all over the globe that celebrate World Fish Migration Day (WFMD). More information about WFMD can be found at worldfishmigrationday.com. To learn more about the Ocean of Rivers project, including event information and registration, please visit ipswichriver.org/ocean-of-rivers