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Gleefully West Hill Dam gets down and dirty celebrating 'International Mud Day'

USACE, New England District
Published Sept. 22, 2017
Boy smearing mud on his parent.
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Children gleefully play in the West Hill Dam mud pit on June 29, 2017. Some children chose to use the mud slide while others chose to smear each other in mud. One parent became a willing mud canvass for her son.

Two boys playing in mud.
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Children gleefully play in the West Hill Dam mud pit on June 29, 2017. Some children chose to use the mud slide while others chose to smear each other in mud. One parent became a willing mud canvass for her son.

Children playing in mud
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Children gleefully play in the West Hill Dam mud pit on June 29, 2017. Some children chose to use the mud slide while others chose to smear each other in mud. One parent became a willing mud canvass for her son.

International Mud Day
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Children gleefully play in the West Hill Dam mud pit on June 29, 2017. Some children chose to use the mud slide while others chose to smear each other in mud. One parent became a willing mud canvass for her son.

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There are two types of people: those who get their hands dirty and those who roll in it.

In a cleared-out area of West Hill Dam’s woods, imposing pits of thick brown mud pocked the ground. The park rangers didn’t mind. In fact, they tended to the mire until families arrived to greet the slovenly earth with open arms. Some youngsters molded mud to bake mud cakes and play catch. Others let it drip like paint and ooze down mud slides. Parents played their part as laughing mud canvasses and rangers surveyed it all with approval. It seemed everyone had taken leave of their sanity as well as sanitation.

Parent groups Roots in Nature, Woodland Adventures, and Beginning Bridges organized "International Mud Day" at West Hill Dam in Uxbridge, Massachusetts on June 29.

Angie Stormont, an administrator of Roots in Nature, explained the bizarre scene. “'International Mud Day' is all about spending more time outdoors: getting in nature, playing in the mud, and getting dirty,” she said.

“As dirty as I am right now, I couldn’t be happier,” said West Hill Park Ranger Ron Woodall as he played in the mud with his wife and two children.

Woodall had spent the morning clearing away brush, setting up road signs, and assembling a truck-mounted water hose. Other rangers had surveyed the area, excavated and mixed soil, and prepared accommodations. “Even with all our efforts, we couldn’t have done this on our own,” Woodall noted. “The energy, drive, passion, organization, and knowledge of the parent groups was essential.”

The West Hill team previously guided the parent groups through the permitting process and then handed them the reigns of the program. Stormont and her fellow parents recruited and planned for nearly 100 attendees by speaking with local communities, networking online, and engaging in back and forth discussions with West Hill Dam. “We were able to recruit so many people by partnering with West Hill,” she said. “It’s a huge success.”

 “It’s not often you can go play in a mud hole with your son,” said one happy father.

“I love it here and I want to come here every day!” howled little Alex Blanchette.

“This event is drawing people out to get familiar with our park,” added Woodall.

The partnership may transform the empty mud pit area again in the future. “We hope to build the mud pit area into a nature-based play area instead of a typical playground,” Woodall said.

Roots in Nature meets at West Hill Dam every Tuesday for outdoor play groups.


The Pawcatuck River Coastal Storm Risk Management Feasibility Study

   This proposed plan is presented  to facilitate public involvement in the review and commenting on the remedy selection process for the Nantucket Memorial Airport (NMA) Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS.) 
    The Army Corps of Engineers is proposing a No Action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for the Munitions Response Site-1, Project Number D01MA049901 at NMA located on Nantucket Island, MA.  The proposal was prepared using the Guide to Preparing Superfund Proposed Plans, Records of Decision, and Other Remedy Selection Decision Documents (USEPA, 1999).
    The final decision for NMA Site-1 site will be made after reviewing and considering all information submitted during the public comment period. The proposed decision may be modified based on new information or public comments. The public is encouraged to review and comment on the proposed plan.
    The FUDS program addresses the potential explosives safety, health, and environmental issues resulting from past munitions use at former defense sites under the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Munitions Response Program, established by the U.S. Congress under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program.  
    FUDS only applies to properties that transferred from DoD before October 17, 1986 and the first priority of USACE is the protection of human health, safety, and the environment. 
    The Army is the executive agent for the FUDS Program, and USACE is the lead agency for investigation/reporting and remedial decision-making at this munitions site with regulatory support provided by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).


Updated: 05 December 2016