EPA/USGS Day of the 2025 Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe - Preserving Our Homelands Summer Camp

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USGS prepared four activities for the Preserving Our Homelands Summer Camp on July 22nd. EPA hosted an air quality monitoring activity that involved the campers conducting tests and participating in a guided discussion about factors contributing to air quality and its implications on people and habitat. They also hosted a water, algae, and macroinvertebrate sampling station. Wayne Baldwin (USGS) discussed Cape Cod glacial geology and highlighted some of the distinctly glacially derived geomorphologic features of the landscape. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe elders contributed stories that highlighted the intimate tribal connections to their land and its unique features. Amanda Hartstein and Jason Sorenson (USGS) conducted a tour of a USGS stream gauge site on the Mashpee River, where they described its components, illustrated how it works, and discussed the importance of the data it captures. Jason also demonstrated how USGS hydrologists conduct water quality sampling, guided campers in making their own measurements, and led a group discussion on the importance of water quality.