“In the wilderness is the preservation of the world.”

The marker at the beginning of the Hiller Trail quotes a passage from Thoreau, probably one of Mother Nature’s most well-known protectors. On this October Saturday afternoon, many more kindred spirits gathered together for a guided walk through Mattapoisett Land Trust properties adjacent to Route 6.

About 50 adults, two youngsters, and five leashed four-footed pals trekked across Route 6 from the Quaker Meetinghouse parking lot to enter Land Trust holdings.

The two-hour tour featured the blueberry patch that was saved from a fatal stronghold by encroaching woodlands and rehabilitated by volunteers and the local Boy Scout troop. Gary Johnson, president of the Land Trust, said that in three to five years, the public will benefit from the work taking place now on the blueberry bushes, which had not seen the light of day from many years prior to the land trust acquiring the property.

Taking the Hiller trail deep into the nearly 300 acres currently held by the Trust, the group picked their way along well-cut trails dotted with moss-covered rocks and dry wildflowers. Stopping at the former Able Grace property, which is now part of the Trust holdings, a vernal pond was visited. The pond is aptly named Grace Pond. Johnson explained what a vernal pond was and the type of wildlife that thrives therein.

Paul Osenkowski, active and passionate member of the Land Trust team, said that the trails are intended to be viable for walkers and hikers but discouraging to motorized vehicles such as ATVs.

The tour stopped at a wooden bridge that was built by Eagle Scout Bryan Buckley, who achieved Eagle status in part due to this building project.

Luana Josvold, clerk for the Land Trust said, “We are surprised at how many people came out today!” She went on to say that having the opportunity to show people the Land Trust property reinforces that these places are open to the public and have been preserved for the public to enjoy. Josvold also noted that protecting lands in the watershed area is another goal of the Trust.

The Trust is looking at other parcels that might be added to the current holdings in this area to expand the trails and natural spaces for public enjoyment.

By Marilou Newell

On October 2, the Southeastern Regional Student Advisory Council held their first meeting of the year at Bridgewater-Raynham High School. The council consists of close to 70 student representatives from high schools in southeastern Massachusetts. As one of Old Rochester Regional’s two representatives, I had the pleasure of attending last week’s meeting.

SERSAC’s first conference focused on the topic of digital learning. The State Student Advisory Council delegates reviewed what they had been working on at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education over the summer. At SSAC, it had been decided that the students would work toward improving digital learning in Massachusetts throughout the year. This goal was carried to the SERSAC conference.

One of SERSAC’s main goals for October is to promote the “speed testing” program organized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Speed testing is a simple online program that quickly tests the technological capabilities of a school’s internet. One merely needs to visit www.schoolspeedtest.org, fill out a brief survey, and then allow the speed test program to do a series of uploads and downloads. This tests the school’s Internet speed and sends the information directly to the DESE.

The DESE asks that all schools take 10 to 20 tests per day throughout the month of October. The testing should be done in different parts of the school in order to provide more accurate data. It requires very little effort on the school’s part, but provides valuable information to the DESE. They’re looking to see where there is a need for technological improvement in Massachusetts.

Each school’s representative at SERSAC will bring this information back to their school principals and district committees in order to promote the speed testing process. While the speed testing is SERSAC’s focus in October, the students will have long term goals as well that will be worked on throughout the year. These goals will be facilitated by smaller workgroups.

The student representatives broke into workgroups based on their topic of interest. All topics are related to digital learning. Topics include cell phone policy, internet policy, policy modification, infrastructure improvement, assistance for teachers, resources, digital communication, and awareness. Students will work in these groups at each of SERSAC’s bimonthly meetings. SERSAC will meet again at Bridgewater-Raynham High School on December 4.

In other news, about 40 Old Rochester Regional seniors received the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship last Friday. This scholarship is awarded to students who scored “advanced” and “proficient” on the grade 10 MCAS tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Students must also have a combined score from these two MCAS tests that place them in the top 25 percent of their graduating class. The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship provides free tuition for up to eight semesters at any Massachusetts state university.

When it comes to ORR’s students, education doesn’t stop once the weekend begins. Last Saturday, ORR’s AFS club volunteered at Fairhaven’s Manjiro Festival. Students enjoyed learning about the Japanese culture celebrated by the festival. AFS club members also helped set up booths, sold baked goods and coffee for donations, and spread the word about the AFS program.

By Renae Reints