ALT ANNOUNCES CONSERVATION OF GREEN END PRESERVE

Middletown, RI. – March 23, 2022 – ALT announces the conservation of a 14.73-acre Middletown property located on Green End Avenue between Vaucluse and Howland Avenues. The property, now known as Green End Preserve, features upland meadow habitat and prime soils on half of its area. The uplands roll down to a large wetland area surrounding a portion of Little Creek, a 3-mile stream that empties into the Sakonnet River. Green End Preserve is contiguous to other ALT-conserved land and is part of a scenic viewscape from Green End Avenue. Its upland and wetland riparian area provide habitat for foraging and nesting by birds, amphibians, insects, and mammals.

Newport homebuilder Mark Horan purchased the property in 2019 with plans to build between four and seven homes there. ALT approached Horan in 2020, eventually reaching a deal to purchase the property from him and conserve it in perpetuity. “We appreciate Mr. Horan’s willingness to work with us to protect this important Aquidneck Island property,” said Charles Allott, ALT Executive Director. “Thanks to generous donations from ALT supporters, we’ve added nearly 15 acres of high conservation value land to the growing list of conserved properties on the island.”

ALT has conserved 90 properties totaling 2,706 acres since 1990, with a focus on farmland, forestland, fields, wildlife habitat, and conservation within Aquidneck Island’s drinking supply watersheds and along ponds, rivers, and creeks. The organization also prioritizes land used for recreational purposes; it has conserved 13 miles of free walking trails on the island and numerous public access properties.

ALT ACCEPTING MERRITT FUND GRANT REQUESTS

Middletown, RI. – February 15, 2022 – ALT is now accepting applications for grants from the Merritt Neighborhood Fund, an endowed fund which seeks to support the preservation of small parks, community gardens, and other natural spaces on Aquidneck Island. Established in 1999 to honor the late Peter M. Merritt, the organization’s president emeritus, the Fund supports projects that strengthen community identity and character, and which model the ethic of land conservation and stewardship through community volunteerism. Grants typically range from $250 to $2,500.

“Merritt grants help our community to improve and beautify many of the special shared places on our island,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director of ALT. “The fund supports projects that enrich the lives of residents and help us all feel closer to nature. Collectively, the impact of these projects is tremendous and reflects our desire to connect people to the land around them.”

The projects funded last year were: Aquidneck Community Table (improvements to the Food Forest); Bike Newport (solar water pump at community gardens); Newport Boys & Girls Club (restoration of exterior landscaping); Butts Hill Fort Restoration/Portsmouth Historical Society (removal of vegetation at historic site); Daffodillion (daffodil bulbs); Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District (garden beds at Portsmouth Aginnovation); God’s Community Garden (garden supplies and improvements); Norman Bird Sanctuary (vegetable garden improvements); Newport Tree Conservancy (plant 30 trees at Miantonomi Park); The Pennfield School (raised bed gardens for the outdoor classroom); Portsmouth Garden Club (improvements to three public gardens); St. John the Evangelist Church (landscaping); Town of Middletown (bike racks for public beaches). The grants totaled $18,000 in 2021.

Applications for 2022 Merritt Neighborhood Fund grants may be found on the ALT website (https://ailt.org/our-work/merritt-fund/). Applications must be received by Monday, April 4, 2022. Award decisions will be announced in mid-May.

ALT ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF ART & WRITING CONTEST

Middletown, RI – February 10, 2022 – ALT has announced 25 student winners in the 2021 ALT Art & Writing Contest, held annually to promote the importance and value of a healthy environment. Students at Aquidneck Island schools were invited to enter artwork of their favorite local vista, or written work in prose or poetry form describing the same. The winners were announced at the land trust’s annual meeting on February 3, which is available to view on the ALT website.

“These wonderful entries express the appreciation that the next generation has for the beauty of Aquidneck Island,” said Chuck Allott, Executive Director. “They recognize the importance that open space has in their day-to-day lives, and it reminds all of us how special our island home is.”

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, Amplify Marketing; Beezie Bickford, St. George’s School; and Jonathan Gewirz, ALT board member. The contest was underwritten by a grant from local design/build firm Sixteen on Center.

Art winners in the kindergarten through grade four category are Gabrielle Silvia, first place (Melville Elementary School), Cohen Clarkson, second place (All Saints Academy), Noah Adams, third place (Hathaway Elementary School). Honorable mentions were awarded to Caitrin McCoy (Melville Elementary School) and Zoe Kutsaftis (All Saints Academy.) Winners in the grade five through grade eight category are Hannah Lee, first place (The Pennfield School), Allison Schlesinger, second place (Portsmouth Middle School), and Willow Foregger, third place (The Pennfield School). Honorable mentions were awarded to Brody Cimaglia (The Pennfield School), and Timothée Delaveau (Gaudet Middle School). Winners in the grade nine through grade twelve category were all from Portsmouth High School: Grace Van Petten, first place, Clara Alcolea, second place, Tatum Horley, third place, and Zoe Vaspol, honorable mention.

Writing winners in the kindergarten through grade four category are all from Melville Elementary School: Linnea Ready, first place, Evelyn Munji, second place, Mia Gilling, third place, Abrahm Aubuchon, honorable mention, and Liam DeArruda, honorable mention. Winners in the grade five through eight category are Daisy Bistline (The Pennfield School), Adam Conheeny (The Pennfield School), and Mia Rocco (Portsmouth resident). Winners in the grade nine through grade twelve category are all from Middletown High School: Chloe Christy, first place, Margaret MacKechnie, second place, and Caitlin Brett, third place.

Winners receive cash prizes and a household membership to ALT. The schools of each first-place winner receive a grant to support their environmental science curricula. “We are very grateful to Sixteen on Center for their generosity and commitment to environmental education,” said Allott. “We also appreciate the support of parents and teachers, who understand the importance of protecting the island’s natural beauty and unique environment.”

ALT CONSERVES SECTION OF GLEN FARM

Middletown, RI. – January 7, 2022 – ALT announces that it has completed its campaign to conserve a 7.56-acre section of historic Glen Farm. The property, located on Glen Farm Road in Portsmouth, has significant conservation values and could have been subdivided into as many as eight house lots. Over 260 individuals, businesses, and foundations contributed $472,000 to permanently conserve the land, which had been part of the 500-acre Taylor estate in the late nineteenth century. A grant of $200,000 from the State of Rhode Island’s open space bond program, approved by state voters as part of the green economy bond, provided key funding.

The property is a prime parcel of farmland, currently used for grazing Glen Farm Stables horses. In addition to its use as pasture, it provides wildlife habitat and is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach. Conserving the land will protect the creek and the beach from pollutants common to developed land, such as fertilizers and pesticides. The site is surrounded by a mix of protected and unprotected farmland, parks, trails and forestland, and is part of an iconic view corridor from East Main Road to the Sakonnet River. A short walking path around the perimeter of the pasture is expected to open in late 2022 after ALT has completed necessary infrastructure.

“This property is part of a treasured and historic landscape,” said Chuck Allott, ALT’s Executive Director. “We are very grateful to the owners for their commitment to conservation and to all those who contributed to this important campaign.”

“The area around The Glen is special to our family and we are pleased that we could help protect it,” said Steve Johnson, one of the owners. Johnson and his wife, Irene, daughter Meredith Spitalnik, and son-in-law Jason Spitalnik, worked with ALT to save the land, selling the development rights at a significant discount to ensure its protection. Both couples live in Portsmouth. “The open spaces around Glen Manor are quite special and need to be preserved,” said Jason Spitalnik. “Meredith and I are glad we can be a part of making that happen, with ALT’s help.”

ALT ANNOUNCES CONSERVATION OF REGO FARMLAND

Middletown, RI. – December 16, 2021 – ALT announces that its campaign to purchase and conserve Rego Farmland is complete. The 12-acre Portsmouth farm, located on East Main Road approximately .5 miles north of Glen Road, is now protected from development in perpetuity. The property is an active hayfield with 100% prime soil, which ALT will continue to lease for farming.

“We sold this property to ALT so that it would remain farmland, which is disappearing on Aquidneck Island,” said Marilee Ottilige, whose family has owned the land for two generations. “No land, no food,” she stated, stressing the importance of protecting local agriculture. “ALT was pleasant to work with and we very happy to know that this farm has been permanently protected,” said Ottilige.

Rego Farmland is one of two properties in the current land campaign; the second property, Jones Preserve, is a 15.38-acre site situated within a 92-acre tract of forestland. ALT has approximately $10,000 left to raise to conserve the Jones property, which, aside from one new residence site, will be managed as a combination of wildlife habitat and farmland protected under a conservation easement. Both properties are situated along ALT’s Sakonnet Greenway habitat corridor, an area that includes 40 properties already protected by ALT. The corridor covers nearly 2000 acres of conserved land on the east side of Aquidneck Island, 1,365 of which was conserved by ALT.

“Rego Farmland and Jones Preserve are two very important open spaces,” said Chuck Allott, ALT Executive Director. “We are very grateful to the island community for supporting our efforts to conserve them both. Hundreds of residents, foundations, and businesses have sent donations, proving how highly Islanders value these types of open space. We are grateful to the property owners for agreeing to conserve their land and we are thrilled to extend the acreage in the Sakonnet Greenway habitat corridor.”