Map that helps tell Contoocook River story on display

Environmental educator Marian Baker points out the source of the Contoocook River in Rindge on a 3-D contour map of thw watershed created by students from Conant, ConVal and Hillsboro-Deering high schools.

Environmental educator Marian Baker points out the source of the Contoocook River in Rindge on a 3-D contour map of thw watershed created by students from Conant, ConVal and Hillsboro-Deering high schools. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Environmental educator Marian Baker displays the historic contour map of the Contoocook River watershed created by Conval, Conant and Hillsboro-Deering students at Hillsborough’s History Alive event on Saturday. 

Environmental educator Marian Baker displays the historic contour map of the Contoocook River watershed created by Conval, Conant and Hillsboro-Deering students at Hillsborough’s History Alive event on Saturday.  STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Marian Baker points out features of the historic contour map of the Contoocook watershed created by students in her environmental education program.

Marian Baker points out features of the historic contour map of the Contoocook watershed created by students in her environmental education program. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Volunteer Marian Baker, right,  explains the 3-D contour map of the Contoocook river watershed to Erika Alusic-Bingham of Antrim, left. 

Volunteer Marian Baker, right,  explains the 3-D contour map of the Contoocook river watershed to Erika Alusic-Bingham of Antrim, left.  STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

Dublin Lake depicted in the 3-D map of the Contoocook River valley created by students from Conant, ConVal and Hillsboro-Deering high schools in the early 2000s. The map, created in an environemtal education program through the Harris Center with longtime Harris Center educator Marian Baker, was displayed at the Hillsborough Alive event.

Dublin Lake depicted in the 3-D map of the Contoocook River valley created by students from Conant, ConVal and Hillsboro-Deering high schools in the early 2000s. The map, created in an environemtal education program through the Harris Center with longtime Harris Center educator Marian Baker, was displayed at the Hillsborough Alive event. STAFF PHOTO BY JESSECA TIMMONS

By JESSECA TIMMONS

Monadnock Ledger Transcript

Published: 06-11-2024 12:02 PM

A historic 3-D contour map originally created in the early 2000s by students from ConVal, Conant and Hillsboro-Deering high schools was displayed Saturday at Hillsborough Alive festival at Kemp Park along the Contoocook River in Hillsborough.

Marian Baker, who is a retired environmental educator at the Harris Center for Conservation Education, created the map with students as part of her long-running environmental education program with the three schools. 

During Saturday’s event in Hillsborough, Baker explained the contour map, depicting the entire Contoocook River watershed from Rindge to the Merrimack River, to visitors, explaining that unlike most rivers, the Contoocook flows north, from the higher-elevation Monadnock region to the Merrimack River valley.

“On the other side of the mountain, the watershed flows to the Connecticut River,” Baker said. “When we created the map, the Conant students mapped the source of the river, in Rindge, near where they live. The ConVal students did the section where the river flows through their towns, and the Hillsboro-Deering kids took it to the Merrimack River.” 

Baker noted that, unfortunately, the section depicting Peterborough was lost over time, leaving an empty rectangle in the middle of the map.

“If anyone knows where it is, call the Harris Center,” Baker said.