We are thrilled to welcome Ken MacNulty of Lynnfield as our new board president. Read Ken’s introductory message below.
I’ve been involved with IRWA for about 10 years – including about 5 as a Board member. I live in Lynnfield, so I believe that makes me the first IRWA President from the Upper Watershed! I believe this is a great time to be part of the Ipswich River Watershed Association. IRWA currently enjoys a solid foundation of successes, strong and capable leadership, a talented and committed staff, and a strong and engaged board providing thoughtful guidance and informed direction. We’re supported by a broad range of very active and engaged volunteers and key alliances across the region. After all, it takes a village of such alliances & partnerships to protect a river.
Last year we completed our 3-year Strategic Plan – not an overhaul of our prior strategic plan, but a refinement and enhancement based on past achievements and our evolving aspirations. While our finances are on a sound footing, we remain short of our being able to satisfactorily address all our key goals, objectives, and projects.
We also face some real challenges, among them: careless and poorly conceived new developments which threaten current water supplies. Our local municipalities are focused on growth as the only way to satisfy the ever more costly demands of running local government. And when it comes to water, there remains a degree of complacency and resistance to change among many of the key players in the region.
This is especially concerning in the face of climate change. Across much of our watershed, our residents have a low awareness of and indifference to the critical water issues we face. As a staff member recently asked: has water become our “invisible utility”? Then there’s a spreading form of what I call “environmental affluenza” among homeowners as exemplified by, “ I don’t care what it costs to keep my lawn green – I’ll just pay it.” And there’s the all-important question of how to make Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) an integral and ongoing part of our daily work.
Still, as I look ahead, I’m very optimistic about this organization and the prospects for our river. We have a strong organization and continue to build on our sound relationships with other key non-profits, state and local governments, and businesses across the watershed. And thanks to a tailwind of recent federal funding, our prospects for securing future funding look good.As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, many of our assumptions of daily life and the “usual ways of getting things done” have been significantly altered. I wonder if perhaps this disruption will be an opportunity for those across our watershed to re-think their old assumptions about water availability and water quality. We may now be heading into the Ipswich River Watershed Association’s most transformational period.