MCLA Green Living Series to Host Talk by MassDEP Environmental Analyst Matthew Reardon

2/10/20
NORTH ADAMS, MASS.—Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announces the fourth event in its spring Green Living Seminar series will take place on Thursday, Feb. 20. The talk, “Water Quality in the Hoosic River Watershed,” will be given by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) environmental analyst Matthew Reardon.

This and all subsequent Green Living Seminars will take place on Thursdays, at 5:30 p.m., in room 121 of the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation on the MCLA campus. The theme of this semester’s series is “Environmental Pollution,” and all talks are free and open to the public. 

Reardon’s talk will provide a summary of the water quality in the Hoosic River Watershed, the major water quality issues in the rivers, streams, and lakes that it contains, and a general overview of the water quality resources. 

Reardon is the MassDEP Nonpoint Source Program manager and has extensive experience in monitoring and assessment, data management, and nutrient loading technical documents (TMDLs). He has been a part of MassDEP’s Watershed Planning Program for 13 years. During that time, he has coordinated sampling in the Hoosic River, Chicopee River, and Weymouth Weir watersheds; contributed to the development of TMDLs as part of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project; performed lake modeling analyses; and crafted nutrient management plans to restore water quality.

Prior to joining MassDEP, Reardon worked in local government at a Pennsylvania conservation district, and served as a laboratory manager at the University of Maryland with a group that studied stream restoration. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Gettysburg College and a master’s degree from Clark University. 

This semester’s Green Living Seminar events will take place through April 16, 2020. Following Matthew Reardon’s talk on Thursday, Feb. 20, the next Green Living lecture will be on Thursday, Feb. 27, when David Bond, associate director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College, will present “PFOA in New York and Vermont.”  

Each semester, the MCLA Green Living Seminar Series hosts lectures by local, regional, and national experts organized around a central theme related to the environment and sustainability. The 2020 series is a presentation of the MCLA Environmental Studies Department and the MCLA Berkshire Environmental Resource Center. 

Podcasts will be posted online following each presentation at www.mcla.edu/greenliving. For more information, visit www.mcla.edu/greenliving or contact Elena Traister at (413) 662-5303.