Two teams of UMass-Dartmouth seniors majoring in design, education, marketing and sustainability presented the results of two projects to develop identity/branding ideas at the Heritage State Park Visitors' Center on December 9, 2009. Two groups of students were assigned to work with the Watuppa Reservation, administered by the Watuppa Water Board and managed by the Fall River Water Department, and the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve partnership consisting of the City of Fall River, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the The Trustees of Reservations. Under the guidance of Professor David Chapman and Water Division Forester Mike Labossiere, students spent most of the fall semester researching, surveying residents, studying maps, and walking trails to come up with ideas. The session was held to get feedback from a number of local supporters and allies before the material becomes finalized. For more information about the project, contact David Chapman at 508-999-8315.

(Top row) Students Bobby Souza and Colin Gould present the stages in their development of branding materials for the Watuppa reservation and the Bioreserve. (Middle row, left) Nicole Dreher and Crystal Berube display an example of what signage could look like in the Bioreserve using the materials that they developed. (Middle row, center) Water Division Forester Mike Labossiere praises the students for their work as Professor Chapman listens. (Middle row, right) Students Michael DeBenedictis, Michael Silvia, Maria Wong, Scott Montgomery, and Allison Lynch listen as Professor Chapman talks about potential next steps in the project. (Bottom row, left) Mass In Motion project coordinator Julianne Kelly, front, who is interested in the potential of the Reservation and the Bioreserve as recreational areas, listens to the presentation along with the students. (Bottom row, center) Retired Brown University faculty member and Pokanoket tribal member Donna Perry commends the project and urges students to incorporate Native American history into future educational programs for the land that was given to Benjamin Church following the King Philip War in the late 17th Century. (Bottom row, right) Everett Castro, left, of Green Futures, and Heritage Park staff member Renee Dufour look over some signage concepts with student Shun Shiga.