Author John Kostrzewa will lead a nature walk on Saturday, September 14, 10:00am at Westconnaug Meadows as part of the RI Land Trust Council’s “Land Trust Days” event series. John writes the “Walking Rhode Island” column for The Providence Journal and has been hiking across the state for years.
Following the 10am walk, he will present a slideshow* and share his observations about the history, geological features, vegetation and wildlife he has found along the trails. During his talk, he’ll also explain what makes Rhode Island’s trails unique and outline some of the challenges Rhode Islanders face to maintain the state’s public preserves.
This event is sponsored by the Rhode Island Land Trust Council.
Info on their website:
*Bring lawn chairs if you are staying for the talk. Use 106 George Washington Highway, Scituate RI for GPS / mapping to the location. There’s a large parking area to the left of the driveway when you entire in, and the Scituate Animal Shelter is on your right.
Following the 10am walk, he will present a slideshow* and share his observations about the history, geological features, vegetation and wildlife he has found along the trails. During his talk, he’ll also explain what makes Rhode Island’s trails unique and outline some of the challenges Rhode Islanders face to maintain the state’s public preserves.
This event is sponsored by the Rhode Island Land Trust Council.
Info on their website:
*Bring lawn chairs if you are staying for the talk. Use 106 George Washington Highway, Scituate RI for GPS / mapping to the location. There’s a large parking area to the left of the driveway when you entire in, and the Scituate Animal Shelter is on your right.
For the second year in a row, we had the pleasure to work with local teens from the Youth Conservation League in mid August. Work included removal of multiflora rose at Lawton Farm, connecting an existing trail with a new one at Trott Perry Preserve in Hope and more invasive removal and trail work at Westconnaug Meadows. Over 4 days, the 2 crews tackled a lot of work! Thanks to Cindy Gianfranceso (CC chair), Rob Bower (LT chair) who led the teams, and Chris Mason (LT) for invasive and trail/mapping work, and Greg Thuotte (CC) for assistance with both. And thanks to the Audubon Society for sponsoring this excellent program that gives young people a chance to work outside and learn about conservation!
If you're curious about multi flora rose and other invasive plants to watch out for and take action on your own property, check out the link here for starters www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=3071
If you're curious about multi flora rose and other invasive plants to watch out for and take action on your own property, check out the link here for starters www.invasive.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=3071
The LTCC held their annual meeting on May 14th.
Article from the Foster Home Journal, written by Land Trust Chair, Rob Bower:
At their May 14th Annual Meeting, the Scituate Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Scituate Land Trust (SLT) recognized Richard Blodgett as this year’s recipient of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award.
Cindy Gianfrancesco, chair of the SCC, introduced Rich as a friend and partner with the Conservation Commission and the Land Trust for over two decades. As the manager of environmental resources at Providence Water, Rich has spent his career protecting and caring for the Scituate reservoir watershed, comprising more than 12,000 acres of protected land in Scituate. While that vast expanse of open space is closed to the public, Rich has worked with the SCC and the SLT over the years to organize walks to share his vast historical knowledge about Scituate and the reservoir, and to educate the public on the importance of managing the property not only for protecting the water supply serving a majority of the citizens of Rhode Island, but also for promoting wildlife habitat and reforestation so vital to combatting climate change. Through his stewardship, Providence Water has partnered with the Northern RI Conservation district to support important programs such as the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program, which provides education programs in our elementary and high schools, the Neighbor-to-Neighbor packet sent to all new residents, and well water workshops. Largely through Rich’s efforts, Providence Water has bought 90 parcels of land totaling 4,000 acres over the past 35 years. Cindy noted that over the years, Scituate has been fortunate to have talented foresters living or working here (including Paul Dolan, Chris Modisette, and Rich’s former boss, Hans Bergey)—all of whom are previous recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award. It gives us great pleasure to add Rich Blodgett’s name to this elite group of foresters who have been so helpful to the Conservation Commission and Land Trust.
As a thank you for Rich’s dedication to conservation, the SCC and SLT presented him a beautifully handcrafted pen made by Village Woodturners in Scituate. The wood is Flame Box Elder and was harvested locally. In addition, Rich Blodgett’s name has been engraved on a metal leaf and added to the perpetual tree plaque commemorating all recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award, which will hang in the Town Council Chambers after current renovations.
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
Article from the Foster Home Journal, written by Land Trust Chair, Rob Bower:
At their May 14th Annual Meeting, the Scituate Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Scituate Land Trust (SLT) recognized Richard Blodgett as this year’s recipient of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award.
Cindy Gianfrancesco, chair of the SCC, introduced Rich as a friend and partner with the Conservation Commission and the Land Trust for over two decades. As the manager of environmental resources at Providence Water, Rich has spent his career protecting and caring for the Scituate reservoir watershed, comprising more than 12,000 acres of protected land in Scituate. While that vast expanse of open space is closed to the public, Rich has worked with the SCC and the SLT over the years to organize walks to share his vast historical knowledge about Scituate and the reservoir, and to educate the public on the importance of managing the property not only for protecting the water supply serving a majority of the citizens of Rhode Island, but also for promoting wildlife habitat and reforestation so vital to combatting climate change. Through his stewardship, Providence Water has partnered with the Northern RI Conservation district to support important programs such as the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Education Program, which provides education programs in our elementary and high schools, the Neighbor-to-Neighbor packet sent to all new residents, and well water workshops. Largely through Rich’s efforts, Providence Water has bought 90 parcels of land totaling 4,000 acres over the past 35 years. Cindy noted that over the years, Scituate has been fortunate to have talented foresters living or working here (including Paul Dolan, Chris Modisette, and Rich’s former boss, Hans Bergey)—all of whom are previous recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award. It gives us great pleasure to add Rich Blodgett’s name to this elite group of foresters who have been so helpful to the Conservation Commission and Land Trust.
As a thank you for Rich’s dedication to conservation, the SCC and SLT presented him a beautifully handcrafted pen made by Village Woodturners in Scituate. The wood is Flame Box Elder and was harvested locally. In addition, Rich Blodgett’s name has been engraved on a metal leaf and added to the perpetual tree plaque commemorating all recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award, which will hang in the Town Council Chambers after current renovations.
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
In August 2023, we hosted the Youth Conservation League at Lawton Farm for 4 days of invasive species removal. The YCL is a program sponsored by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, giving youth in high school and college hands on experience with conservation efforts. The application period is in June with work done in July and August.
For more information, see: https://asri.org/ycl/youth-conservation-league.html
On Saturday, September 10th we held a kick off to celebrate the awarded grants. Thanks to all who attended and to our guest speakers, Senator Jack Reed, Terrence Gray (Director, RIDEM), Bob Cooper (Exec Secretary RI Governor's Comm on Disabilities), Barbara Rich (Treasurer, RI Land Trust Council), Pooh Vongkhandy (NRCS State Conservationist) and Scituate Town Council member Michael Marcello.
The 2023 Annual Meeting of the Scituate Land Trust & Conservation Commission
Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 7pm
at the Scituate Senior Center 1315 Chopmist Hill Rd, N. Scituate, RI
The Land Trust and Conservation Commission invite you to attend our annual meeting where we will present the
Alice M. Howland Conservation Award to this year's recipient.
Following the award ceremony, we will welcome Fern Graves, who will give a presentation on Rhode Island's forests, the health issues that those forests face due to historic and modern challenges, and stewardship practices that support sustainable, healthy forests in a changing climate. This will include threats from invasive plants and insects.
Forest Ecology, Health, & Sustainable Stewardship
in Rhode Island
Presented by Fern Graves
Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator
RI Department of Environmental Management
Division of Agriculture & Forestry
Thanks to everyone who made it to our annual meeting in May. It was a fabulous evening celebrating Tom Angell, who received the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award. Tom was a long serving and founding member of the LT CC. It was an honor to present him with this special award. We'll share an upcoming article detailing more about the night very soon!
L to R: Rob Bower, LT Chair, Tom Angell, 2023 Alice M Howland Award recipient, Cindy Gianfrancesco, LT Vice Chair, CC Chair
L to R: Rob Bower, LT Chair, Tom Angell, 2023 Alice M Howland Award recipient, Cindy Gianfrancesco, LT Vice Chair, CC Chair
You are cordially invited to the 19th Annual Meeting of the Scituate Conservation Commission and Land Trust on
Tuesday, July 12 2022 at 6:30 p.m. at Esek Hopkins Park
(at the corner of Battey Meetinghouse Road and Danielson Pike, opposite the State Police Barracks)
Following a brief business meeting, we will present the 2022 Alice M. Howland Conservation Award to a deserving local conservationist. And once again, visitors will be treated to a guided hike in the park.
Please join us!
The LT/CC 2022 Annual Meeting was held July 12th. We presented the Alice M Howland award to Mary Manning Morse:
Mary Manning-Morse receives the Flame Box Elder pen as the 2022 Alice M. Howland Awardee, presented by Scituate Conservation Commission Chair Tom Angell (left) and Scituate Land Trust Chair Rob Bower.
The Scituate Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Scituate Land Trust (SLT) are pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award.
Mary Manning-Morse received the award at the SCC and SLT Annual Meeting outdoors at Esek Hopkins Park on July 12. Ruth Strach, last year’s Howland Award recipient, introduced Mary at the award ceremony.
Prior to the award presentation, Mary had been asked to share some remarks about the history of Hope Associates and their partnership with the Land Trust. She said that Alice Howland, a resident of Hope, called a meeting on December 5th in 1944 to encourage community activities along the river in Hope. That was the genesis of Hope Associates, which was founded in 1950 as a nonprofit organization to protect, conserve, and maintain the land in Hope along the Pawtuxet River and to provide a venue for community programing. The original grant of land is now known as Hope Pond and includes Salisbury beach and the Howland barn. In 1946 Miss Howland founded the construction of Doctors Field, used by veterans returning from World War II. Hope Associates also owns the parcel containing the beautiful village green acquired in 1997 and created from a run-
down lot on Main Street in the village, as well as a parcel across the river called the Green Forest, which is unimproved but under a forest management plan. In the 1990s Hope Associates acquired the Trott-Perry Preserve, north of Doctors Field, named for the two doctors, Raymond H. Trott and Thomas Perry, Jr., who were former owners and conservation supporters. Trails there afford a beautiful, cool walk on a hot day. The Land Trust holds a Conservation Easement on two of these parcels, which forms the basis of the relationship with Hope Associates. An adjacent lot, owned by the Town and thought to have been originally donated by Miss Howland for a library, which was later built at another location, will be the site of a small parking lot to access the Doctors Lane trails. She noted that Hope Associates is a 100 percent volunteer organization supported by grants and donations. She said Hope Associates is grateful for the support of the Scituate community and in particular support of the trail grant around Doctors Lane.
Following Mary’s remarks, Ruth began introducing the new Alice M. Howland Conservation Award winner. She described this person as a woman of great talents, like Miss Howland, smart and well educated. And she emphasized that this person has said “yes” to requests for service in many community roles, including serving on the Scituate School Board and spending many hours on the Town Charter initiative.
Mary was surprised and grateful to receive the award. She was presented with a pen made of Flame Box Elder wood created by local woodworker Matt Davidson. And her name will be engraved on a gold leaf and added to the tree plaque in Town Hall.
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
Mary Manning-Morse receives the Flame Box Elder pen as the 2022 Alice M. Howland Awardee, presented by Scituate Conservation Commission Chair Tom Angell (left) and Scituate Land Trust Chair Rob Bower.
The Scituate Conservation Commission (SCC) and the Scituate Land Trust (SLT) are pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award.
Mary Manning-Morse received the award at the SCC and SLT Annual Meeting outdoors at Esek Hopkins Park on July 12. Ruth Strach, last year’s Howland Award recipient, introduced Mary at the award ceremony.
Prior to the award presentation, Mary had been asked to share some remarks about the history of Hope Associates and their partnership with the Land Trust. She said that Alice Howland, a resident of Hope, called a meeting on December 5th in 1944 to encourage community activities along the river in Hope. That was the genesis of Hope Associates, which was founded in 1950 as a nonprofit organization to protect, conserve, and maintain the land in Hope along the Pawtuxet River and to provide a venue for community programing. The original grant of land is now known as Hope Pond and includes Salisbury beach and the Howland barn. In 1946 Miss Howland founded the construction of Doctors Field, used by veterans returning from World War II. Hope Associates also owns the parcel containing the beautiful village green acquired in 1997 and created from a run-
down lot on Main Street in the village, as well as a parcel across the river called the Green Forest, which is unimproved but under a forest management plan. In the 1990s Hope Associates acquired the Trott-Perry Preserve, north of Doctors Field, named for the two doctors, Raymond H. Trott and Thomas Perry, Jr., who were former owners and conservation supporters. Trails there afford a beautiful, cool walk on a hot day. The Land Trust holds a Conservation Easement on two of these parcels, which forms the basis of the relationship with Hope Associates. An adjacent lot, owned by the Town and thought to have been originally donated by Miss Howland for a library, which was later built at another location, will be the site of a small parking lot to access the Doctors Lane trails. She noted that Hope Associates is a 100 percent volunteer organization supported by grants and donations. She said Hope Associates is grateful for the support of the Scituate community and in particular support of the trail grant around Doctors Lane.
Following Mary’s remarks, Ruth began introducing the new Alice M. Howland Conservation Award winner. She described this person as a woman of great talents, like Miss Howland, smart and well educated. And she emphasized that this person has said “yes” to requests for service in many community roles, including serving on the Scituate School Board and spending many hours on the Town Charter initiative.
Mary was surprised and grateful to receive the award. She was presented with a pen made of Flame Box Elder wood created by local woodworker Matt Davidson. And her name will be engraved on a gold leaf and added to the tree plaque in Town Hall.
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
Nicholas Rojas video taken during the 2020 LTCC annual meeting. Please see below for an annotated menu and linked video.
scituate_conservation_commission_and_scituate_land_trust_annual_meeting_video__1_.pdf
scituate_conservation_commission_and_scituate_land_trust_annual_meeting_video__1_.pdf
Ruth Strach and Cindy Gianfrancesco
Cindy Gianfrancesco, SCC member and SLT vice chair, presented the 2020 Alice Howland award at the July 13 SCC/SLT annual meeting held at Esek Hopkins Park. In her introduction, Cindy recalled walking into her Conservation Commission interview in 2004 to find, sitting across the table, her high school English teacher and this year’s Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recipient, Ruth Strach.
Ruth has worked to preserve and conserve open space in Scituate for all to enjoy for nearly two decades. Appointed to the Conservation Commission in 2001 and the Land Trust in 2003, Ruth was the backbone of these committees, serving as vice chair for many years.
According to Gianfrancesco, “working on the CC and LT with Ruth was a learning experience as she challenged each and every one of us to do our best, not by her words but by her actions. Ruth would articulate every issue with clarity and precision, and the English Teacher and librarian in her would shine brightly in her detailed review of documents and draft meeting minutes each month!
“She kept us on our toes, and her energy, foresight and respect for our town’s natural resources influenced and enhanced everything the Conservation Commission and Land Trust did, helping to make Scituate a better place to live for all of us for many years to come.
“Aside from all the hard work Ruth put into the Conservation Commission and Land Trust, she accomplished something I personally am extremely grateful for -- she broke the glass ceiling! Ruth was the first woman to be appointed to the Conservation Commission, to the dismay of several men serving on the Commission at that time, including her now husband, Tom Angell!
“It is truly fitting that Ruth receive this award, as Ruth came up with the idea of the Alice M. Howland conservation award, as well as the idea of an annual meeting, which Ruth had so successfully organized for 17 years. These were two ideas that, again, the men of the Conservation Commission did not initially support, but 17 years later it is obviously a great success and I hope we can continue to organize future annual meetings as well as Ruth did.”
As a thank you for all Ruth has done, the SCC and SLT presenter her a beautifully handcrafted pen made by Village Woodturners in Scituate. The wood is Flame Box Elder and was harvested locally. In addition, Ruth Strach’s name has been engraved on a metal leaf to be added to the perpetual tree plaque commemorating all recipients of the Alice M. Howland Conservation Award, that now hangs in the Town Council Chambers.
After the presentation, Tom Angell, SCC chair, congratulated Ruth, and Rob Bower, SLT chair, thanked her for being our “Mother Tree.”
The Alice M. Howland Conservation Award recognizes an individual, group or organization that has rendered outstanding service, either recently or over a period of years, to natural resource conservation in the Town of Scituate. Formerly of Hope, Alice M. Howland was one of Scituate’s pioneers. An 1896 graduate of Vassar College, Miss Howland (as she preferred to be called) donated her large barn and farm property along Hope Pond on the Pawtuxet River in 1932 to be used by the village as a community and recreation center. Today, Hope Associates carries on her legacy and continues to provide these opportunities to citizens of the town at this location. In 1951 Howland became the first certified Tree Farmer in Scituate. Her family’s interest in conservation can be traced back to their interest in forestry and tree planting efforts they undertook on the family farm as early as 1913.
Land Trust and Conservation Commission members Tom Angell, Ruth Strach, Rob Bower, Cindy Gianfrancesco and Anna Cimini helped put together video, text, and voice over work that RI PBS used for inclusion in the "Our Town" series. Check out the Lawton Farm segment on YouTube, starting at 58:36.
Scituate Land Trust & Conservation Commission invite you to a Bat Talk & Walk at Lawton Farm!
Join us Tuesday, August 16th at 7:30 pm for a walk and talk about bats! What are the benefits of bats? What special adaptations do they have, and how can we protect these special mammals? These are just some of the questions that will be answered by University of Rhode Island professor, Dr. Peter August.
Have you ever heard a bat talk? Bats are indeed chatty creatures, but our ears can’t hear them — unless, of course, we use a super special “bat detector.” This device picks up the bats’ “clicks” used in echolocation. During our summer Bat Walk and Talk program, we’ll use the bat detector to hopefully locate bats and follow their movements.
Dr. August is a Professor in the URI Department of Natural Resources Science where he teaches classes in geographic information systems and landscape ecology. He has studied bats in New England, the Caribbean, and South America.
Join us Tuesday, August 16th at 7:30 pm for a walk and talk about bats! What are the benefits of bats? What special adaptations do they have, and how can we protect these special mammals? These are just some of the questions that will be answered by University of Rhode Island professor, Dr. Peter August.
Have you ever heard a bat talk? Bats are indeed chatty creatures, but our ears can’t hear them — unless, of course, we use a super special “bat detector.” This device picks up the bats’ “clicks” used in echolocation. During our summer Bat Walk and Talk program, we’ll use the bat detector to hopefully locate bats and follow their movements.
Dr. August is a Professor in the URI Department of Natural Resources Science where he teaches classes in geographic information systems and landscape ecology. He has studied bats in New England, the Caribbean, and South America.
Valley Breeze / Observer Article from October 26, 2016 "Scituate's Lawton Farm Recreation Area a Challenge for Land Trust Stewards"
Click Here for Article
Click Here for Article
A Winter Moth Workshop was held on Wed April 6th 2016. Hosted by the Scituate Conservation Commission and the Northern RI Conservation District.
Speaker: Heather Faubert, URI Cooperative Extension
Speaker: Heather Faubert, URI Cooperative Extension
Members held a walk at Westconnaug Meadows on April 9th, 2016. "Join the Scituate Conservation Commission and Land Trust members for a walk at Westconnaug Meadows. Along the way members will discuss special features on the landscape and explore amphibians that are found in Rhode Island. We will also take a look at a special wetland found on the property that is used by various amphibian species. The walk is 1.25 miles and will take approximately 1.5 hours. This walk is open to all ages. While dogs on leashes are allowed on the property, we ask that you do not bring them on the day of the walk as we are going to try to listen for frog activity. Please remember to wear sturdy shoes. See you there!"
