To celebrate Earth Day and OARS’ 40th anniversary, they are bringing the Wild & Scenic Film Festival to Concord, where 3 remarkable rivers meet and America’s roots run deep. In partnership with friends and local organizations, they are hosting five days of community-focused events in and around Concord Center from April 22 – 26. Their aim is to provide as many free and family-friendly events as possible. Some events require ticket purchase or advance registration due to venue capacity: their annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival Screenings, Wild & Scenic: A Conversation with Julia Blatt and Barb Moran, Wildlife Photography Exhibit Opening Reception, and Wetlands Talk & Walk.
OARS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit watershed organization located in Concord, MA. Established by concerned citizens in 1986 as the Organization for the Assabet River (OAR), OAR served the 177,000 residents of the 178-square-mile, 21-town Assabet River watershed. A 1998 capacity-building grant from the Commonwealth enabled OAR to hire its first professional executive director, and the organization has grown steadily since then. OARS currently has five staff (part-time), an active 11-member board, and many active volunteers. In April 2011, OAR members voted overwhelmingly to add the Sudbury and Concord rivers to its mission and change the name to OARS.
In the decades since their founding, OARS has guided, advocated for, and monitored the transformation of their 3 rivers from clogged watercourses with foul-smelling biomass to the scenic rivers we all know and love today. The SuAsCo rivers and their tributaries now provide natural beauty and water resources as they pass through the 399-square-mile watershed and its 33 towns and three cities within easy reach of greater Boston.
As a small organization serving a large area, they accomplish their mission through strategically targeted, science-based advocacy and education.
OARS works with their watershed communities, local, state, and federal agencies, and other stakeholders through collaboration, partnership, and advocacy to make the rivers healthy enough for swimming and fishing, as state and federal standards require. OARS is a member of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Wild & Scenic River Stewardship Council, the SuAsCo Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA), the Merrimack Restoration Partnership, and Mass Rivers Alliance, among others, and facilitates the SuAsCo Climate Resiliency Coalition.
OARS conducts rigorous water quality sampling and data analysis to identify durable solutions. Data are collected by trained community scientists and analyzed, reported, and shared with the public by the OARS team.
They identify and invest in nature-based solutions and natural green infrastructure to reduce pollution, restore natural hydrology, and create free-flowing conditions. These efforts provide clean and cool water for humans and wildlife, reduce damage from droughts and floods, and build resilience to climate change by treating stormwater runoff before it enters the SuAsCo Rivers and watershed.
OARS advocates for stronger and more effective policies, laws, regulations, and permits to improve the water quality and resilience of the SuAsCo watershed ecosystem based on science and stakeholder engagement. They also offer educational programs, lectures, workshops, and community events for kids and adults to raise awareness of the natural beauty and diversity of the rivers and the causes and solutions to pollution.
Finally, OARS encourages recreational use of the rivers and their shorelines by providing maps, signage, access, and recreational events open to all. They also manage invasive aquatic plants and support other stewardship efforts to keep the rivers clear and open for recreation.
Grace Bellavance, the Community Engagement Coordinator, Advancement TerraCorps Service Member, for OARS says, “Hosting an On-Tour Event brings attention to key environmental topics that impact our watershed. Through the films, diverse voices present a variety of approaches to conservation and activism, allowing audience members to connect to these topics from many different angles and perspectives.”
“We love getting our community together in person each year to celebrate the rivers we love,” continues Grace. “Seeing what films our community reacts to—which ones make them laugh, which make them cry, even which ones make them angry—is always a fun aspect of putting on this event!”
