ALT recently completed land campaigns for two farmland properties: a 7.5-acre parcel of historic Glen Farm in Portsmouth, and a 5.49-acre parcel of Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. In addition, two Newport properties were conserved in December 2020 when their respective owners donated conservation easements to ALT. Combined, the properties totaled 13.62 acres. Both properties are private, but their conservation assures that they will remain as open space forever. Please read about each property below. Thank you to all of our many supporters for helping us conserve these important parcels!
Sweet Berry Farm
Sweet Berry Farm is a beloved destination for Islanders and visitors alike. Eighty-four acres of the farm was already under conservation easement with ALT; a recent campaign to place an additional 5.49 acres of the farm was completed in March 2021. The property is within the Maidford River/Paradise Brook drinking supply watershed, has been farmed continuously since 1939, and is a vital link in the Sakonnet Greenway wildlife habit corridor. The property will be used to grow pumpkins and strawberries. Our thanks to 270 donors, including the Town of Middletown and the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, for their support.
Glen Farm
Glen Farm was once part of a vast, 500-acre estate in 1882. The 7.5-acre section that will soon be conserved is along Glen Farm Road, a bucolic setting popular with walkers, bikers, and horseback riders. 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 property is contiguous to a creek that drains into the Sakonnet River, just 500 feet north of Sandy Point Beach. Conserving the property helps to protect the creek and the public beach.
Cushing Property
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 conservation easement on the 9.85-acre property was generously donated to ALT.
EC Properties LLC
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. The conservation easement on the 3.77-acre property was generously donated to ALT.
