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Join us for the 2025 WLT Annual Meeting!

Tuesday January 21 at 7:00PM
Warren Historic Armory
11 Jefferson St, Warren, RI 02885

(Re)Wilding

Presented by Keynote Speaker, Keith Morton

Using current examples this talk will introduce the potential and questions of “rewilding” and close by imagining how the concept might be applied to Warren’s “Great Birch Swamp.” For more than 30 years environmentalists have recognized that “nature” ended when no place on earth remained unaffected by human behavior. Rewilding draws on a wide range of ecological practices to reimagine a relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world that could result in a resilient and sustainable earth – a philosophy and strategy for addressing ongoing concerns such as climate change, sea-level rise and ecosystem collapse. Its key features are valuing, trusting and understanding ecosystems in order to support their regeneration, and understanding human culture as a part of this whole.

 

Keith Morton was Professor of Public and Community Service Studies and American Studies at Providence College from 1994-2023. He also served as director of the college’s Feinstein Institute for Public Service. His work has focused on the intersections of ecology, local communities, youth development, experiential learning and nonviolence. He was awarded a Distinguished Scholar Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Society for Experiential Education in 2016. He is a member of the Warren Conservation Commission and lives on a farm off Birch Swamp Rd where he has been observing the effects of rapid ecological change for the last 20 years. He has been on the board of the Nonviolence Institute since 2006 and served as its interim executive director from July 2023-August 2024. He is the author of Getting Out: Youth Gangs, Violence and Positive Change (2019); a cultural history of Providence’s Smith Hill neighborhood (out for review); and is working on a natural and social history of the Great Birch Swamp.

 

Holiday Fundraiser

Order your holiday planters and wreaths now! All proceeds go to the Warren Land Trust. Many thanks to volunteer Maddy Pitre for this generous fundraiser!

The Sowams Heritage Area Project Hosts the Next Round of Community Conversations

The Sowams Heritage Area Project invites members of the community to participate in a community conversation to discuss the significance of Sowams, the ancestral homeland of the Massasoit Ousamequin who welcomed the Pilgrims in 1621, and the extraordinary array of resources that can be found on its landscape.

Free to the public, the conversation will be held twice:
  • March 26, 2024, at 3:30pm at the Seekonk Public Library
  • March 27, 2024, at 7:00pm at Mt. Hope Farm

 

Haile Farm Preserve Plant Inventory

WLCT is excited to share a report from the New England Botanical Society in their efforts to enhance the herbarium records for Bristol County, RI.

You can access the full list of species from the collection foray here.

Society members collected and analyzed 49 vascular plant species at Haile Farm Preserve. 22 species (45%) had never been documented in Bristol County, and 13 had not been documented in the last century! Specimens are stored at Brown University and New England Botanical Society at Harvard University Herbaria.

Thanks to the entire team at New England Botanical Society! As shared by Lisa A. Standley PhD,  NEBS Curator of Vascular Plants: “These results are tremendously valuable to our knowledge of the distribution and status of plants in New England.”

How can you help? Join iNaturalist and contribute your observations to the Biodiversity at Haile Farm Preserve project! 

An Exciting Opportunity! Pre-register NOW

Join the Warren Land Conservation Trust and the Rhode Island Land Trust Council for an brief talk on Friday, August 21 at 6pm by entomologist Ben Gagliardi, followed by a self-guided walk at Haile Farm Preserve to kick off Land Trust Days 2020!

The Haile Farm Preserve, one of the signature properties of the Warren Land Conservation Trust, is comprised of 60 acres and has approximately two and a half miles of easy walking trails.  It is remarkable for its variety of ecosystems ranging from upland forests (including numerous stone walls) to tidal marshes. Several trails lead to outstanding views of the Palmer River.  The new Jade Trail, completed this spring, leaves from New Industrial Way and provides an opportunity for an interesting “loop” walk.

Ben will give an introduction about local insect diversity and include some examples/photos/descriptions/stories about insects that he has encountered along the Haile Farm Preserve trails. Following the talk, attendees will guide themselves along the preserve’s trail systems and then reconvene at 7:15pm to review our discoveries.

To make the walk even more interesting, bring your smart phone to take pictures of interesting things you see along the trail and upload them to a project on the iNaturalist app and/or collect live specimens in jars/containers that you can bring along! We will set up a table for touchless viewing.

All participants must wear a face covering. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring bug spray. This event is FREE and suitable for all ages. Leashed dogs are welcome.

This event will be limited to 25 attendees to allow for adequate distancing during the talk & along the trail. All attendees (including guests – limit 2) must be pre-registered on the MeetUp event.

Rain Date: Saturday, August 22 at 6pm.

Questions? Contact:  Michael Gerhardt (Cell:  401-529-0563)  
email:  mgerhardt39@yahoo.com

Directions & Parking There is adequate parking at the entrance — which is at the end of New Industrial Way, Warren.