ALT ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD MEMBERS AT ANNUAL MEETING

Middletown, RI. – February 18, 2021 – The Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) has announced that two new board members have been appointed to its board of trustees. The new trustees were appointed at the organization’s annual meeting, held February 4, 2021. Ellen Bowman and Dr. Martha McConnell were voted onto the board at the event, which was conducted virtually and is available to view on the ALT website.

Ellen Bowman is a resident of Rye, NY, and Newport, RI, where she is active in numerous organizations that support the arts, historic preservation, garden conservation and education. She has experience in fundraising and board governance. She is a trustee of the Newport Art Museum, was past President of the board of trustees for The Windward School in New York, and is a member of The Garden Conservancy Fellows, Rye Garden Club, Daughters of the Revolution and the National Society of Colonial Dames, New York Chapter.

Dr. Martha McConnell is a Lecturer at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. Prior to moving to Newport, Martha managed the Polar Programme for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), directed studies on ocean, polar, and climate science policy issues for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and served as Visiting Faculty at the United States Coast Guard Academy. She led the first legislative process to advance ocean acidification research and monitoring, and has participated in four expeditions to Antarctica. A member of The Explorers Club, Martha holds a B.A. in Geology from Colgate University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Paleoceanography from the University of South Carolina.

ALT Announces Winners of 2020 ART & WRITING CONTEST

Middletown, RI. – January 29, 2021 – ALT has announced 18 student winners in the 2020 ALT Art & Writing Contest, held annually to promote an appreciation of the island’s natural beauty. Students who live or attend school on Aquidneck Island were invited to submit art or written work portraying their favorite local vista.

“The response to the contest was fantastic,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “Despite the challenges of this school year, we received 170 entries from students attending ten island schools. Their entries show a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of Aquidneck Island, and we thank the students and their teachers for sharing their special places with us.”

Art winners in the kindergarten through grade four category are: Hyunsung Lee, Pell Elementary School (first place); Nathaniel Morgan, Melville Elementary School (second place); and Joel Morgan, Melville Elementary School (third place).

Art winners in the grade five through grade eight category are; Agatha Howell, Pennfield School (first place); Margaret Humphrey, Pennfield School (second place); and Erin Alphonse, Portsmouth Middle School (third place).

Art winners in the grade nine through grade twelve category are: Oliver Marshall, (first place); Emma Bartlett (second place); and Delaney Gouveia, (third place), all of Rogers High School.

Writing winners in the kindergarten through fourth grade category are: Grace Dalton, Pell Elementary School (first place); Caroline Whitlock, St. Michael’s School (second place); and Brayden Martin, Melville School (third place).

Writing winners in the grade five through grade eight category are: South Fulweiler, St. Michael’s School (first place); Charlotte Colby, Pennfield School (second place); and Mollyana Nuki, St. Michael’s School (third place).

Writing winners in the grade nine through grade twelve category are: Travon Anderson (first place); Hiroto Bito (second place); and Karla Costa (third place), all of Middletown High School.

Art entries were judged by a panel that included Norah Dietrich, Executive Director of the Newport Art Museum; Erik Greenburg, Director of Museums at the Newport Restoration Foundation; Susan Woythaler, artist and musician; and Jonathan Gewirz, ALT board member. Written entries were judged by Annie Sherman Luke, writer; Katherine Gagliano, principal, Amplify Marketing; and Jonathan Gewirz, ALT board member. The contest was underwritten by a grant from local design/build firm Sixteen on Center.

Winners will be acknowledged at the ALT Annual Meeting on February 4, 2021. The public is invited to attend the annual meeting; registration is on the ALT website (www.ailt.org). The school of each first-place winner will receive a $500 grant to support their environmental science curriculum. “We are very grateful to Sixteen on Center for their generosity and commitment to environmental education,” said Allott. “We also thank the teachers, who understand the importance of encouraging an appreciation for the outdoors and the environment in their students.”

ALT ANNOUNCES CONSERVATION OF TWO NEWPORT PROPERTIES

Middletown, RI. – January 21, 2021 – ALT announced the conservation of 13.62 acres of land in Newport, split between two properties located on the island’s south end. The conservation easements, which permanently protect the properties from development, were donated to the land trust by their respective owners. Mary Cushing Coleman donated 9.85 acres and EC Properties LLC donated 3.77 acres. Both properties are private, but their conservation assures that they will remain as open space forever.

The Cushing Coleman property, located on Ocean Drive, includes the landmark geological formation known as Spouting Rock, which still explodes in high surf. It has 3,000 feet of rocky shoreline, natural vegetation, and lawn areas, jutting into the Atlantic Ocean between Bailey’s Beach and Gooseberry Beach. The property’s natural features, elevation, and topography provide unique scenic views from the east (Cliff Walk, Bailey’s/Reject’s Beach, and Ocean Avenue), the south (the public waters of Rhode Island Sound), and the west (Gooseberry Island, Ocean Avenue, Gooseberry/Hazard’s Beach, and Gooseberry Cove). In addition to the cultural and historic values that its setting provides, it offers other conservation values such as wildlife habitat and coastal water resource protection.

The EC Properties LLC parcel, located on Ledge Road, has 200 feet of coastline and is visible from the publicly-accessible Cliff Walk trail. The site offers scenic views from Ocean Avenue, Bailey’s Beach, and Reject’s Beach, and to boaters and sailors passing by on the ocean. The site has typical Newport rock out-croppings, a scenic feature of the Newport Neck area, and a number of tidal pools.

Both properties are located within the center of the Newport Neck Greenway, which includes over 400 acres of land protected by either conservation easement or deed restriction. The conservation of these properties will help increase contiguity of the habitat and viewshed corridor in the Newport Neck Greenway. ALT has conserved 2,619.32 acres of land on Aquidneck Island on 83 properties since its founding in 1990.

ALT ANNOUNCES DONATION TO CONSERVE GLEN FARM

Middletown, RI. – January 4, 2021 – ALT announced a $100,000 gift to its Glen Farm campaign, completing the year-long, $472,000 fundraising effort to conserve the 7.5-acre property in Portsmouth. The donation was made by Heather Marren Burgess and William Ernest Burgess III as part of a larger gift to help ALT conserve key properties.

The parcel is adjacent to the Glen Farm Stable, just south of the intersection of Glen Farm Road and Glen Road. The area was once part of the 500-acre Taylor estate, dating back to 1882. It is part of the iconic view corridor along East Main Road, bordered by stone walls and surrounded by farmland, forestland, parks, and trails.

“This generous gift will permanently protect an important and beautiful piece of Aquidneck Island,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “We are so grateful to the Burgess family for their commitment to our island community. ALT thanks them and the other 260 donors who helped to make this campaign a success, and we thank Steve Johnson and Meredith and Jason Spitalnik, the owners of the property, for electing to protect this property rather than develop it.”

The property is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach. Development on the property could have polluted the creek with fertilizers, pesticides, and other contaminants, potentially impairing the beach. The land will continue to be sustainably managed as an essential grazing paddock for horses and, in future, will offer the public a short walking path around the perimeter of the pasture. The conservation easement is expected to become final in June 2021.