A "lunch and learn" at Sowams School is leading to some much-needed improvements at Kent Street Pond.

Barrington Town Council member Steve Boyajian visited Sowams School in late November for a "lunch and learn," which is a program where people from the community share presentations with students while the youngsters eat lunch.

The school has hosted television meteorologists, doctors, and a variety of other professionals.

Mr. Boyajian was not sure what to speak to the students about but eventually settled on discussing town government. He decided to focus on the First Amendment of the Constitution and aimed to help the local children petition their government "for a redress of grievances." 

The grievance turned out to be the condition of Kent Street Pond.

The shallow, one-acre pond is located a short walk from Hampden Meadows School and is a favorite spot for children to catch frogs and feed ducks in the warmer months and ice skate during the winter. 

But over the past few years, phragmites — an invasive species of marsh grass — has started to fill in parts of the pond. The phragmites can restrict the flow of water and cause ponds to grow shallow. The phragmites can also overwhelm and kill off native species of plants.

Mr. Boyajian, who lives in Hampden Meadows, had seen firsthand the steady decline in the pond's condition. He asked the students if they wanted to see the town government make improvements to the pond. The answer was a resounding "yes."

Together, the students and Mr. Boyajian drafted a petition to the town council that listed the numerous reasons the improvements were needed:

"Whereas, we want to keep the pond safe for animals; and Whereas, we want to use the pond for ice skating; and Whereas, we want to keep the water clean; and Whereas, we want to watch the ducks swim…" stated the petition, in part.

"The students had really good reasons," added Mr. Boyajian. 

The group, which included youngsters in first, second and third grade, signed the petition and Mr. Boyajian presented it to the council on their behalf at a recent meeting. 

The board supported the petition, but before work can begin to rid the pond of the phragmites, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management needs to sign off.

"This has to go through a biologist review," said Mr. Boyajian.

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said the town is hoping to receive permission from DEM soon, and plans to conduct the work during the late summer. Mr. Cunha said the work will be limited to the removal of phragmites and their roots.

"Right now DEM is processing it (the permit application)," he said.

The town plans to have a crew from the department of public works handle the digging once the project receives approval. 

Mr. Boyajian said he told the students in the lunch and learn that some projects are easier for the town to pursue, including this one.

"This is a good idea that doesn't cost anything," said Mr. Boyajian, adding that the conservation commission drafted a plan for Kent Street Pond and the surrounding Hampden Meadows Greenbelt back in 2010. 

Mr. Boyajian said he enjoyed the experience of teaching the young students how their local government functions, and what powers they, as citizens, have. 

"It was a blast to see the kids get engaged," he said. 

Plan details

Drafted by the Barrington Conservation Commission in June 2010, the Hampden Meadows Conservation Area Management Plan features information about Kent Street Pond and the surrounding land, and offers objectives for the property. 

One of the objectives is "Management of invasive plant species," which calls for the "removal or treatment of invasive plants in a manner that does not adversely affect the conservation area or its wildlife inhabitants."

"Maintenance of the pond will occur only after October 1 (to maximize time available for amphibians and odonates to emerge) and without draining the pond, if possible," states the plan.

"If the pond needs to be drained, disturbance of the bottom substrate (where first year amphibians hibernate) will be minimized, and maintenance will be limited to once every ten years."

Officials say improvements were made to the pond back in 2005, but not much else has occurred since.

Mr. Boyajian said ponds can quickly become overgrown if maintenance is not continued. He pointed to the St. Andrew's School property — a small skating pond had been located in the field across Federal Road from the school's main entrance, but was not maintained. 

The former pond is now filled in with vegetation.

Did you know?

The Hampden Meadows Conservation Area Management Plan includes some interesting information, such as: 

• Seventeen bird species were observed there during fieldwork in 2010.

• Four of the bird species — Great-crested Flycatcher, Rufous-sided Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, and Wood Thrush — are defined as "Species of Greatest Conservation Need."

• A survey of the pond found common bullfrogs and spring peepers (all amphibians receive protected conservation status in RI).

• Dip nets in the pond also revealed the presence of fourspine stickleback fish and juvenile American eels (it is assumed that the fish species reach the pond through the series of drainage ditches leading to the Barrington River). 

• The network of drainage ditches in the conservation area was hand-dug in the early 1900s, most likely for mosquito control purposes.

• Kent Street Pond is about 1.16 acres in size and, at its deepest, is about four feet.