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ALT's Trolley Tour
Thursday, August
19, 2010
5pm-7pm
Hop
aboard an old-fashioned trolley and discover the past, present and
future of conservation on Aquidneck Island. Led by Executive
Director Ted Clement, the tours visit protected working farms,
wildlife habitats, outdoor recreation areas and scenic vistas on the
Island. Discover first-hand the magnitude of ALT's work, see our
conservation projects up close and learn what's at risk.
These tours are free and open to the public, but be sure to RSVP as
space is limited (seating is a first come first serve basis). Tours leave from the ALT offices promptly at 5pm
and return about 7pm. Light refreshments are provided. For
more information or to reserve your place please call Courtney Huth
at 401-849-2799 ext. 19 or email her at chuth@ailt.org.
newportFILM
has another great upcoming
environmental
event! See below for more details on newportFILM's latest outdoor
movie offering!
Wednesday, August 25th
FREE Outdoor Screening of
Waste Land
at the Norman Bird Sanctuary.
Film at Dusk (around 7:30PM)
REGISTER for tickets at www.newportFILM.com
Filmed
over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik
Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native
Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho,
located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an
eclectic band of "catadores" -- or self-designated pickers of
recyclable materials. Muniz's initial objective was to "paint" the
catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these
inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of
themselves out of garbage reveals both dignity and despair as the
catadores begin to re-imagine their lives. Walker (Devil's
Playground, Blindsight) has great access to the entire process and,
in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of
art and the alchemy of the human spirit.
"Especially mesmerizing are the
wordless sequences of the garbage pickers at work -- Moby-scored
montages that hauntingly convey the otherworldly feel of the
place."
Variety
Norman
Bird Sanctuary
583 Third Beach Road
Middlewtown, RI 02842
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Campaign to Save Wicks Nursery Receives Major Boost!!!
The Aquidneck
Land Trust's ("ALT") campaign to save Wicks Nursery received a major
boost today when the United States Department of Agriculture's
Natural Resources Conservation Service ("USDA/NRCS") awarded $1
million to this important conservation project.
On July 2, 2010,
ALT and the Wicks family signed an Option Agreement that will give ALT
nine months to raise the necessary monies to purchase a $2 million
perpetual Conservation Easement on almost 40 acres of the farm located
off East Main Road on Moitoza Lane in Portsmouth.
Wicks Nursery has
been under constant development threats the last few years, including
a proposal in 2008 to convert the farm into an 108-lot subdivision
that would have put immense pressures on Aquidneck Island's already
burdened infrastructure and limited natural resources in the form of
increased traffic and air quality degradation, public school demands,
trash and waste disposal issues, storm water runoff problems, etc. The Option Agreement was reached despite new development offers this
year.
The Wicks Nursery
is very important and strategic from a conservation perspective. As
shown on the map below, the property is contiguous with a number of
other previously conserved parcels within ALT's Center Island Greenway
thereby building upon and enhancing this past conservation work. The
parcel is also the last major undeveloped and unprotected property
within the Sisson Pond Watershed. This open space land provides a
natural buffer that helps protect this important Aquidneck Island
water reservoir from harmful runoff. The subject land has been
actively farmed for generations and is located next to other
agricultural lands, many of which are conserved, thereby ensuring a
critical mass of arable land in this area to sustain agricultural
activities into the future. The property primarily contains Prime
Farmland Soils as recognized by the USDA/NRCS.
"We thank USDA/NRCS
for giving us a foundation for success with our important and
time-sensitive campaign to save Wicks Nursery. I would also like to
thank NRCS programs staff for helping me with our grant application
for this project.," said Ted Clement, ALT's Executive Director.
Rhode Island NRCS
State Conservationist, R. Phou Vongkhamdy said, "I am excited about
assisting Aquidneck Land Trust in acquiring this last major
unprotected parcel within this important watershed."
TO
DONATE TO THE SAVE WICKS NURSERY CAMPAIGN, CLICK HERE.
ALT's
time-sensitive mission is to conserve Aquidneck Island's open spaces
and natural character for the lasting benefit of our community. The
organization has conserved a total of 2,290.57 +/- acres on Aquidneck
Island. ALT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and the first and
only land trust in Rhode Island to have received national
accreditation. For more information, visit www.AquidneckLandTrust.org.
As
always, thank you for your continued support
for conservation on
our Island.
This email update has been sent to
the entire Aquidneck Land Trust email list. Please let us know if you
do not wish to receive these email updates by unsubscribing at the
bottom of this
message. If you have any questions or comments, please call
401-849-2799 x18 or jpohl@ailt.org. |
