Hello! My name is Ally Krohg and I live in Hamilton, Massachusetts. I am going into my junior year at Lafayette College, where I study Environmental Science and minor in Indigenous Studies. I’m thrilled to have had the chance to serve as the River Ambassador at IRWA this summer. The opportunity to contribute to environmental education and conservation efforts along the Ipswich River has been an amazing experience.
Every day has brought something new, which has made for a great summer! I’ve been involved in various education trips both in the classroom and on the river. I also had the opportunity to explore plant identification. It was exciting to bring it to action by pulling Perennial pepperweed, Oriental bittersweet, Multiflora rose, and Burning bush and planting Smooth cordgrass by a recently upgraded culvert in the watershed.
Another highlight was visiting the Massachusetts State House and meeting with Senator Bruce Tarr to express my support for Bill H.3998. I have also enjoyed learning about membership and outreach through events and online programming. I got to help compose the volunteer handbook so people can easily learn how to get involved with all the exciting things IRWA does!
Throughout the course of this summer, I have been working on two big projects. The first is a personal project where I have focused on Indigenous Environmental Justice and the second project is assessing all the kiosk and launch sites on the Ipswich River with the restoration and outreach teams. I am currently working to combine each of my projects to update IRWA’s land acknowledgement and share it at each of the kiosks along the Ipswich River and on our website. Lastly, I am also compiling educational activities to share information about the Pawtucket people who were here on the Agawam River, before the colonists came and named it the Ipswich River.
Overall, it has been exciting and inspiring being able to apply the information I have learned at school to my work at IRWA. I have enjoyed exploring the river and all the hard work IRWA employees and volunteers have put into it over the course of the summer. It has been such a pleasure, thank you all for a lovely summer:)