ALT TO CONSERVE NEW SECTION OF SWEET BERRY FARM

Middletown, RI. – July 20, 2020 – Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) has announced a campaign to conserve a new section of Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. The 5.49-acre parcel abuts the farm, which already has 84 acres of land under conservation easement with ALT. It will be used to grow seasonal crops such as strawberries and pumpkins, and be the newest property in the 1,260 acres of conserved land that are known collectively as the Sakonnet Greenway.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to expand our island’s Greenway corridor,” said Chuck Allott, ALT’s Executive Director. “By conserving this parcel, we will increase the size of the nearly contiguous tract of protected lands that we have pieced together over the past 30 years. Development pressure on our island is high, and this land could have been turned into house lots very easily. Instead, it will continue to be farmed, as it has since at least 1939. We are thrilled to be working with Sweet Berry Farm to conserve this important property. This partnership has dated back to 1996 to when Sweet Berry was a simple roadside stand. Our relationship with the farm has only grown over the years, and it is great to continue to save land together.”
Another important conservation value of the property lies in its proximity to two of Aquidneck Island’s seven drinking water reservoirs. It is within the Maidford River/Paradise Brook drinking supply watershed and near Paradise Brook, which feeds the Paradise and Gardiner Pond reservoirs. All of the island’s reservoirs are deemed impaired by the Department of Environmental Management, and protecting nearby land is an important way of improving their future viability.
The land trust must raise $268,286 to permanently conserve the land, which was recently purchased by Jan Eckhart, one of the co-owners of Sweet Berry Farm. The farm, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, grew from a roadside pop-up tent to the travel destination it is today,
offering fresh produce, cut flowers, and pick-your-own fruits to locals and visitors to Aquidneck Island.

ALT ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TO CONSERVE PORTION OF GLEN FARM

Middletown, RI. – March 4, 2020 – Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) has announced a campaign to conserve 7.5-acres of the historic Glen Farm in Portsmouth. The property has significant conservation values and could be developed into as many as eight house lots. The land trust has raised $213,000 of the $472,000 needed to preserve the land, which abuts the Glen Farm Stables near the intersection of Glen Road and Glen Farm Road.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to permanently protect this beautiful piece of farmland,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “This land is part of the iconic view corridor, looking from East Main Road to the Sakonnet River. It has valuable wildlife habitat and was once part of the vast Taylor estate, which spanned 500 acres and dates back to 1882. We are thrilled to have the chance to conserve it.”

The property is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, just 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach, a popular public beach. Development on the property could pollute the creek with fertilizers, pesticides, and other contaminants, potentially impairing the beach. If conserved, the land will continue to be sustainably managed as an essential grazing paddock for horses from the adjacent Glen Farm Stables, and will offer the public a short walking path around the perimeter of the pasture.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (“RIDEM”) awarded a $200,000 grant to ALT last week for the campaign, and a generous gift was also received from The Betty Byrne de Zahara 1997 Charitable Trust. The land trust has until May 2021 to raise the remaining $259,000 needed to conserve the property.