The Watershed

In 1996 a group of neighbors around Oyster Pond came together to form the Oyster Pond Environmental Trust. Since then OPET has seen many changes and we thank all of our generous donors for their past support. In the past three years in particular, OPET’s activities have dramatically increased. We are much more proactive, taking on projects of a wide and diverse nature to protect Oyster Pond and its watershed.

All of these projects have cost money, but our major annual expenses are in these categories:

• OPET now has an Executive Assistant, Wendi Buesseler, to monitor activities that impact the pond and to produce our newsletter. Many of our activities could only happen because we now have this representative. Wendi attends Town committee meetings, interacts regularly with Town employees, samples the pond every month and maintains the opening to Trunk River, to name a few of her responsibilities. Having a representative allows us to complete many projects and provides a presence in Town Hall that gives OPET a "seat at the table" in Falmouth’s environmental issues.

• We have expanded the work started by the Pond Watchers and are now sampling the pond for oxygen levels, temperature, salinity and nutrients every month, year round.
  
• We donate money to Spohr Gardens and they in turn, give us storage space, allowing us to centralize our records and equipment. We work closely with this fellow non-profit and Oyster Pond neighbor to the point where we share a trustee on each other’s boards.
  
• And of course, organizations such as ours require liability insurance.

For the past two years, our expenditures have exceeded our income. The OPET Board is proud of the projects we have undertaken. We feel that these activities have enhanced our watershed, and we hope that you feel the same way. We need your help if we are to continue with our work.

We hope you will consider increasing your annual contribution to OPET so we don’t have to cut back on our activities to protect our Pond. If you are not already a member of OPET we hope you will consider joining as a supporting member. If all of our Regular Members became Supporting Members, half of our shortfall would be covered. Our activities on the pond not only keep it a beautiful place, but also help to maintain your property values.

Please read inside for additional information on OPET’s activities from the past year. If you have questions, please feel free to contact any member of the board.

Sincerly,

OPET Board of Directors