Welcome to Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA)!
The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA) advocates for the protection, preservation and enlargement of the 40 natural communities that comprise our globally-rare ecoregion, the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens. An all-volunteer non-profit SEMPBA develops educational materials, produces forums, monitors habitat and species and provides speakers to reach its educational goals, working out of our regional conservation center located within Plymouth’s Center Hill Preserve.
SEMPBA has a successful track record of winning local, state and federal grants, but distributes the vast majority of those funds to experts and established conservation entities who share their priorities and focus. SEMPBA’s Conservation Center, which we share with the Indigenous Resource Collaborative, is open to the public and is often the site of conservation workshops, educational trail walks, and ongoing citizen science projects.
SEMPBA and DCR Seasonal Forestry Internship
SEMPBA is proud to be in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to provide a paid internship designed to inspire careers in the fields of consulting forestry, service forestry, forest health and environmental advocacy.
Working with stakeholders, the the intern will develop a forest management outline for a small preserve:
- Learn how to conduct Forest and Biological Inventories and apply them in the field.
- Read and interpret maps and utilize GIS mapping software as needed.
- Identify various tree and shrub species, catalog invasive species
- Collect, manage, and analyze forest and biodiversity data
- Interact with and support SEMPBA, its partners, and visitors to conservation center.
- Understand roles of service forester, consultant forester and conservation advocacy.
- Operate independently in office, remote and field settings in a safe, professional manner
- Participate in a final presentation with stakeholders.
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SEMPBA is everywhere—doing everything we can to save the Coastal Pine Barrens!
Regional Collaboration
SEMPBA is proud to serve as coordinators for the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens Partnership, one of 55 Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs) in the Northeastern United States. We believe that forming partnerships is the only way we can save the 40 natural communities that comprise this globally rare coastal pine barrens ecoregion.
Link to the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens Partnership website.
Research
SEMPBA volunteers are involved in research projects ranging from saltwater intrusion into Plymouth's ground water, initiatives to engage citizens in regional climate change mitigation and preparation, and a variety of citizen science projects at The Center at the beautiful the Center Hill Preserve. Volunteers participate in the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries Spawning Horseshoe Crab survey each spring. We beleive in fun with a purpose and encourage you to join us!
Education and outreach in a beautiful setting!
SEMPBA offers trainings and workshops to advance conservation within the Coastal Pine Barrens Ecoregion. Our Climate and Nature Center (above), located at the beautiful Center Hill Preserve, boasts at least eight natural communities— from beach to forest and in between—making it a wonderful nature education site. We invite schools, conservation groups, nature lovers and visitors of all types to enjoy the preserve. When you do, stop by SEMPBA's Climate and Nature Center to learn more about our unique ecoregion. What you discover may inspire you—the way it has inspired SEMPBA volunteers—to do all you can to save our Coastal Pine Barrens!
What's new?
The Horseshoe Crab: Against All Odds
Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North Street, Plymouth, MA
Exhibition Dates: June 12, 2024 – July 7, 2024
An art exhibition exploring the world of horseshoe crabs
Free Events and Workshop
June 15, 7 PM Allison Argo presents her award-winning film, Crash - A Tale of Two
Species. Q&A to follow showing.
June 16, 1:30 PM Carol "Krill" Carson, New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance, Children’s
workshop: Create your own Horseshoe Crab- block printing and 3-D paper.
June 20, 7 PM Mark Faherty, Science Coordinator, Mass Audubon Cape Cod, Presentation: A Big Crabby Year. Q&A to follow.
June 16, 1:30 PM JoAnn Byrnes, Wildlife Rehabilitator. Horseshoe Crab Hat Making, Crabby Face Painting and Crab Dancing—A Children's Art Workshop.
June 23, 1:30 PM Heidi Mayo, Artist, Children's Art Workshop: Painting a Living Fossil in Watercolor.
June 28, 7 PM Liana DiNunzio, Shorebird Biologist for Manomet’s Resilient Habitats program. Presentation: Shorebirds and Horseshoe Crabs Along the Massachusetts Coast. Q&A to follow.
June 30, 1 PM Linda Coombs, Indigenous Resources Collaborative, Gallery Talk: Ancient Relationship: Horseshoe Crabs and Wampanoag People.
July 6, 7, PM Thomas J. Novitsky, Ph.D., Presentation: Horseshoe Crabs Through the Ages—The Science and Beauty of Horseshoe Crab Fossils. Q&A.
July 7, 1 PM Deborah Cramer, Author, The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab, and an Epic Journey. Presentation, Q&A and book signing.
Help us plan. Please register at https://www.artsplymouth.org/horseshoe-crab-exhibit
Can't make it to the Plymouth Center for the arts? View the all of the artists' submissions at our Online Gallery.
For more information and a complete list of events visit Plymouth Center for the Arts —The Horseshoe Crab: Against All Odds
More information: www.horseshoecrabs.info
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The annual Horseshoe Crab Surveys start May 5th, and you’re invited!
Every spring, Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) return to the beaches of the U.S. East Coast to mate and, in the case of females, lay tens of thousands of eggs.
The Southeastern Massachusetts Pine Barrens Alliance (SEMPBA) will once again participate in the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MDMF) Spawning Horseshoe Crab Survey on Plymouth’s Long Beach. The information we compile will then be used by the MDMF, along with data from other sites around the Commonwealth, to help determine horseshoe crab fishing and management regulations.
Sign-up now on SignUpGenius to take part in this important survey that gets you outside on the beach while contributing data that may help to increase future horseshoe crab populations in Massachusetts.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050F48AFA922A6F58-49109465-spawning
MVP!
Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness
Subterranean Resilience: Predicting, Assessing and Mitigating Saltwater Intrusion is a first-of-its-kind evaluation of the community’s susceptibility to saltwater intrusion, undertaken by researchers from the UMass-Amherst School of Earth and Sustainability, and a dozen local non-profit environmental and civic organizations who undertook a parallel program to raise awareness of climate resiliency issues regarding water quality. The grant also allowed for the creation of two legacy elements: the establishment of a community water testing station, and the creation of ‘One Water,’ an ongoing digital chronicle of local water-related projects and programs (https://onewater.livingobservatory.org).
FINAL REPORT: Saltwater Intrusion Vulnerability Assessment in Plymouth, MA - Compounding Effects of Sea Level Rise on Water Quality and Aquifer Sustainability
By the University of Massachusetts Amherst Hydrogeology Group Alexander Kirshen, Carly Lombardo, David Boutt, Daniel Corkran, Brendan Moran, & Rachel KingOctober 2023
Click here to access the plant guide.
This native plant guide was funded in part by a Landscape Scale Restoration grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
The SEMPBA Community Conservation Center is located at the beautiful Center Hill Preserve
158 Center Hill Road in Plymouth, MA
774-773-9982
