Dear Reader,
Some may say that spending the summers on the shore (saltwater or freshwater, it truly doesn’t matter) is an unmatched experience. I, for one, am inclined to agree.
Growing up on Cape Cod, I thought that there was no pass time that could rival the thrill of jumping into a just-a-little-too-cold kettle pond or trying to run away from the waves at the beach, only to chase after them again once they receded. Well, Reader, it may surprise you that I have found myself to be mistaken. Since arriving in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I have come to accept the fact that there is fun to be had somewhere other than the seacoast. Almost every day, I leave the Squam Lakes Association and take a refreshing dip into White Oak Pond to rinse off the sunscreen and bug spray I’ve been accumulating all morning. On multiple occasions now, I have had the pleasure of kayaking all the way upriver from the SLA campus into Little Squam, being mesmerized by the loons and the osprey, and tantalized by the smell of Walter’s Basin. All things considered, I am certainly beginning to understand the appeal of lake life.
The view from Piper Cove, coming back to the SLA from a boating trip to the islands.
On a more serious note, I am incredibly grateful to be in the position I am today. I love being outside, and I love being around the water. I went to college at UMass Amherst where I studied Fisheries Ecology and Conservation, and since my freshman year I wanted nothing more than to graduate and get to work anywhere but inside an office building. I look forward to every day at the SLA, regardless of the work to be done, simply because I get to see such beautiful scenery (even cleaning out the composting toilets isn’t so bad when you realize the payoff is camping out on an island for the whole weekend). The fact that what I’m doing is making a visible difference towards conserving Squam Lake is just the cherry on top.
I obviously love kayaking and boating, and I’ve been doing both since I was a kid, but I also have a huge passion for scuba diving. I first got certified back in 2019, and all of the AmeriCorps members just started having our first dives of the season last week. (I always thought that if I could have one super power, being able to breathe underwater would be my top choice. Scuba diving isn’t quite the same, but it’s close enough for me.) Being able to see Squam from a different point of view (sort of - the visibility is pretty lousy) has only done more to convince me how special this place is.
I have so much love for the water I almost don’t know what to do with it, and I’ve encountered so many people at the SLA who truly love this lake and want to do whatever they can to preserve it. So much of environmentalism nowadays is doom and gloom (which is warranted, considering the state of everything, afterall), and it gives me hope to see such optimism and joy being funneled into the landscape around us. If you’re reading this, you probably care at least a little about Squam Lake already, and if you don’t: come on over to the SLA for an afternoon and maybe you’ll change your mind.
Until next time, Reader.
Best Fishes,
Andy O’Sullivan
First dive trip of the season! Eva (left), Andy (middle), and Ashley (right) getting ready to remove some invasive variable milfoil from Bennett Cove.
Andy is a Half-Time member serving at the Squam Lakes Association through October. He graduated this May from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Natural Resources Conservation. Learn more about Andy here!