[Nfb-history] {Disarmed} FW: Restoring Perkins Pond

Thu Jul 16 18:07:29 UTC 2015

Hello:

     I am forwarding a post I received from Perkins. Note the link at the
bottom to subscribe to an archives mailing list.

Regards,

Robert

From: Perkins History & Happenings [mailto:SupportPerkins at Perkins.org] 
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2015 8:01 AM
To: rjaquiss at earthlink.net
Subject: Restoring Perkins Pond

Fun Fact: Perkins Pond was often featured on early 20th century postcards of
the school and its campus.
 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=J_iIXSm-lmdimocaKJKAiw> View this
email as a webpage.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=IEr5bNN__HjoqJoQ9_O_LA> 

<https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-
happenings-jul-outlook-header39784.jpg> 

July 2015

History & Happenings

Perkins Pond

Upon becoming Perkins' third director in 1907,
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=tDVcRMemCHIsgVOuPDeRHA> Edward Allen
quickly realized that the growing school needed a new home. In 1910, Allen
found the perfect site for Perkins' new campus. Not only did the 38.5-acre
Stickney estate in Watertown, Massachusetts boast extensive grounds with a
variety of fruit and shade trees, it also housed a small pond for rowing and
skating.

For more than seventy years students used Perkins Pond for recreation and
study. One enterprising Perkins alumnus even conducted a
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=n4JPqibd-JkPkn9WBj14hQ> depth survey in
the 1970s to dispel the myth that no one could touch the bottom of the pond
at its center. In 1982, Perkins School for the Blind changed its charter to
accept students with multiple disabilities other than blindness. Fearing
that it might pose a danger to the changing student population, the pond was
closed shortly after and became overgrown and unusable.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=Cb1kRaAAJRRJ20Ola8FCpw> 

Kindergarten students kneel at the edge of Perkins Pond in November 1936.
Before Perkins bought the Stickney estate, its owners would harvest and
store ice from the pond during the winter and sell it for iceboxes in the
warmer months.

Nearly thirty years later, a campaign was launched to reopen the pond to
students. In 2009, Perkins secured a
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=djh48kbmUA2qLNEV3eoqDg> Partners in
Preservation grant to restore the pond to its natural beauty and reestablish
it as a resource for teaching, history and student recreation. After an
extensive restoration project that included the installation of a perimeter
fence for safety and a fountain to help aerate the water, Perkins Pond was
reopened in June 2011.

But there were still more improvements to come. In 2012, Perkins began work
on a wooden bridge that would allow students to safely study the pond's
aquatic ecosystem, conduct experiments and monitor local wildlife. Known as
John's Bridge, the structure was made possible by a generous donation from a
longtime friend of Perkins who named the bridge in memory of her husband.
The Perkins Pond Restoration Project also received support from the Lawrence
& Lillian Solomon Foundation and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. In 2014,
Perkins  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=Upb1ob8O6uEU5HkjqGIrKw>
received an Environmental Preservation Award from the Watertown Historical
Commission for the multi-year restoration project. Today, Perkins Pond is a
safe, thriving ecosystem that can provide a multisensory educational
experience for students who are blind.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=n8vD5sKH8LkFlx31N_W6FA> View Perkins
Pond Photos on FlickrView Perkins Pond Photos 

<https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-
happenings-jul-sec2-then.jpg> 

<https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy16-history-and-
happenings-jul-sec2-now.jpg> 

Perkins Pond

Then & Now

On the left,In the top image, a group of girls wade at the edge of Perkins
Pond circa 1936. Before its closure in 1982, the pond was a popular spot for
both students and staff. During warmer months classes would go boating or
picnic by the shores of the pond. In the winter, the pond was the perfect
spot for ice skating.

On the right,In the bottom image, students in Perkins'
<http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=jptcYZFEJNwUeHwaFxkdwQ> Secondary
Program construct a scale model of a bridge during a science class. When the
construction of John's Bridge began, Secondary science teacher Drew Cumming
saw a chance to incorporate hands-on lessons into his introductory physics
class. Students recreated the process of driving the piles that support the
main structure of the bridge into the ground by driving four-foot-long
dowels into five-gallon buckets filled with soil and water. Lessons like
these can help take the place of incidental learning-the ability to
naturally observe one's surroundings-which is not always possible with
students who are blind.

Support our work

Since 1829, Perkins has been committed to helping children and adults who
are blind, deafblind, or visually impaired. Your donation today will fund
the teachers, training and technology that help people with a visual
impairment prepare for all of life's opportunities.

 <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=lMrbQLduvomKiihsnG-BdA> Donate now 

<https://secure2.convio.net/psb/images/content/pagebuilder/fy15-history-_-ha
ppenings-responsive-image-005.jpg> 

The Perkins Archives include collections related to the history of the
education of the blind and deafblind, institutional archives, and
correspondence of significant figures in the school's history, such as Helen
Keller, Annie Sullivan and Samuel Gridley Howe.

To learn more about the Perkins Archives and sign up for their newsletter,
visit  <http://support.perkins.org/site/R?i=BRForQpPkrtf9Ob7gZbjqQ>
PerkinsArchives.org. 

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P: 617-972-7328
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