Currents is a podcast by the Horsley Witten Group. Hosted by me, Mike Demanche, an environmental scientist here at HW. We're based in Sandwich, MA, on Cape Cod, with offices in Boston, Exeter, NH, Providence, RI, and St. Croix, USVI. HW develops environmental solutions that help people, businesses, municipalities and the environment flourish together through a holistic approach to sustainable design.
The mission of this podcast is to educate and inform listeners about the nature-based solutions which we try to implement through our work. Feedback and episode ideas: mdemanche@horsleywitten.com
You probably cross over culverts more often than you notice. If they're working right, you shouldn't notice them at all. Culverts are an easy-to-overlook pieces of infrastructure which provide a way for water to flow under crossings (like roads, railways, and more). But if culverts are too small, then the water and wildlife they're meant to convey end up over those crossings. In today's episode we're joined again by Water Resources Engineer Jonas Procton, who talks us through the engineering that goes into improving culverts so that water, wildlife, and traffic can all go where they need to go without getting in each other's way.
For more information, check out:
<a href="https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/">https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/</a>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/1065165783">https://vimeo.com/1065165783</a>
23 Oct 2025
Ecological Restoration: Improving River Health with Dam Removals
Jonas Procton, Water Resources Engineer with Horsley Witten Group, returns to the podcast to talk about freeing rivers in New England by removing problematic dams. Thousands of dams, big and small, once powered the region's industrial operations. Since then, many have been abandoned, fallen into disrepair, and impede the flow of water and the movement of aquatic animals. Jonas shares the work involved in removing these dams and the benefits to the community that their removal can provide.
For more information, check out:
https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/ (https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/)
https://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fact-Sheet-The-Importance-of-Dam-Removal.pdft (https://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Fact-Sheet-The-Importance-of-Dam-Removal.pdf)
23 Oct 2025
Ecological Restoration: Rewilding Cranberry Bogs
Water Resources Engineer Jonas Procton joins the podcast to talk about the benefits of restoring cranberry bogs to look more like the wetlands and river systems that they once were. Cranberry cultivation remains an important piece of southeastern Massachusetts' agricultural heritage. As some smaller bogs enter retirement, however, their position within and along waterways provides an opportunity to return to a natural state. By removing water control structures, removing sand added during cranberry production, and unearthing buried native plant seed stocks, these former bogs can be returned to scenic and healthy ecosystems providing benefits to the community of people and critters that surround them.
For more information, check out:
<a href="https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/">https://horsleywitten.com/ecological-restoration/</a>
<a href="https://horsleywitten.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/%E2%80%98Re-wilding-Massachusetts-cranberry-bogs-CommonWealth-Beacon.pdf">‘Re-wilding’ Massachusetts cranberry bogs - Commonwealth Beacon</a>
<a href="https://heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/exhibits/cranberries/">Bountiful Bogs: The Massachusetts Cranberry Story - Heritage Museums and Gardens</a>
14 May 2024
Climate Resilience and Adaptation at Strawbery Banke Museum
A lot of history is interpreted by the Strawbery Banke Museum. The neighborhood that the museum campus occupies, known as Puddle Dock, has seen indigenous Abenaki use as a seasonal hunting area, development during the colonial era, and eventually becoming one of the busiest ports in North America. After the neighborhood's industrial peak, the museum preserved original historic buildings from destruction during a period of urban renewal. Now a new challenges threatens the buildings which have stood on the site for so long - rising sea levels and intensifying storms.
Horsley Witten Group, in collaboration with the Strawbery Banke Museum and Portsmouth-based architecture firm Placework, developed a stormwater management plan to address the challenges posed by rising waters. In this episode of HW Currents we're joined by Rodney Rowland, Director of Facilities and Environmental Sustainability at Strawbery Banke Museum, Brian Murphy, Principal Architect with Placework, and Brian Kuchar, Principal at Horlsey Witten to discuss the threats facing the museum campus and efforts to address those problems. The plan aims to alleviate stormwater impacts while maintaining alignment with the museum's mission to preserve historic buildings and cultural landscapes for future generations.
You can read the Stormwater Management Plan for Strawbery Banke here:
https://issuu.com/placework/docs/21-013_sbm_stormwater_management_plan_report_23063 (https://issuu.com/placework/docs/21-013_sbm_stormwater_management_plan_report_23063)
You can learn more about Strawbery Banke Museum at their website:
https://www.strawberybanke.org/ (https://www.strawberybanke.org/)
And more information about Placework here:
https://www.placework.studio/ (https://www.placework.studio/)
Our website is horsleywitten.com (horsleywitten.com)
26 Sept 2023
Happy Healthy Places w/ Jon Ford
In the first episode of HW Currents, Environmental Scientist Mike Demanche sits down with Jon Ford, civil engineer and community designer here at Horsley Witten Group. Jon talks to us all about creating Happy, Healthy Places in balance with nature.
Jon's projects combine sustainable design, landscape architecture, and urban planning to develop visions and plans for developments which meet our tagline Sustainable Environmental Solutions. John works in our Providence office, but you can find examples of his work up and down the east coast from here in New England to the Caribbean.
During our conversation we dive into what makes good design good, how green infrastructure and sustainable practices fit into the built environment, and how these principles create value for a community. We also discuss Jon's involvement in HW's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee, the importance of fostering diversity in planning and design, and his efforts with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) New England Chapter.
More information about...
Congress for the New Urbanism (http://www.cnunewengland.org/)
Horsley Witten Group (https://horsleywitten.com/) (Facebook) (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=horsley%20witten%20group%2C%20inc.) (Instagram) (https://www.instagram.com/horsleywittengroup) (LinkedIn) (https://www.linkedin.com/company/horsley-witten-group-inc/)
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