Conservation Committee

Chapter Tree Planting with RI Tree Council, May 8, 2010
From the start it was rainy off and on, but a few of us decided to show up early to see how the tree council organized the event and to help out if needed. In our announcement we advised that it would be canceled if it was raining. We did not expect other AMC people to attend. However, once the trees are set out, they need to be planted, rain or shine. We were quite impressed; the holes were dug, the trees, ten footers in 5 gallon containers, were next to the holes, two bags of mulch were standing by, wheel barrows were available to bring loam to enrich the sandy holes, shovels and rakes were at hand. There were even plastic collars to protect the lower trunks from being nibbled by rodents.

We were organized into seven groups of four people. The other guys in our group were all burly landscape and tree removal professionals on their day off. We were off and running, those guys worked fast, it rained about 10 minutes every hour, no big deal. In two hours we planted about 16 trees. We looked around, there were no trees left to plant. The other groups were also finishing up. We were all damp in our rain coats, but it was warm, and we were moving and comfortable.

John Campanelli, former Chief Forester, Providence and President of the Tree Council, expressed the councils appreciation for the AMC effort. We congratulated him on leading a perfectly organized project. It was lots of fun and a pleasure to work hard, learn more about trees and complete the job in good time. We hope that many of you will be able to join the tree planting next year. It will give you a nice green feeling. (JS)

Rome Point Seal Watch, March 20, 2010
Another seal watch at Rome Point, in Wickford. Compared to previous Spring Seal walks which have been cold with snow on the ground, this one was on an exceptional day with the temperature reaching the high 60's. Jack Schempp organized the walk and was accompanied by Bob Kenney from URI Department of Oceanography. This year only about 5 seals were seen. It appears that while during the week many more seals haul out on the rocks, on weekends the noise and people congregating on the beach make the seals much more cautious. It was reported that from 60 to 100 seals had been seen during some weekdays in the previous weeks. The distance from the rocks to the beach is only about 1500 ft. Bob talked about the seal habitat and Jack gave a short history of the Rome Point land. (Photos by Mike Krabach)

Scituate Reservoir Hike and Tour by Providence Water Board, March 28, 2009
After a much delayed schedule due to winter condtions earlier in the season, a beautiful Spring day developed for a hike and tour of the Scituate Reservoir lead by Roger Blodgett of the Providence Water Supply Board. About 50 people turned out for the hike and tour, the largest attendance for a local hikes that we can recall. A forester by training, Roger gave a most interesting presentation with photos and maps of the history and changes that has occurred in the reservoir region. Normally the reservoir area is off bounds for hikers, but this opportunity allowed us to access the land while and observe many details that we would not normally have access to. The reservoir supplies about 60% of the State's population with water. One of the major personalities in the area was the Joslin Family that owned many of the mills in the State at the time the reservoir was obtained by eminate domain. During the hike we went to the site of the recent Joslin Farm, now the site of land reclaimation, which in the interviening years has been overgrown with brush and trees. A federal grant is allowing the land to be cleaned and replanted with native fauna to encourage wildlife to return. It is hoped that many of the birds that have been pushed out by development (too many green lawns) and returning trees, will return and multiply. (Photos by John Feather)

RI Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo. June 7-8, 2008
A weekend for the 2008 Annual RI Sustainable Living Festival & Clean Energy Expo. (www.livingfest.org). After parking at a local elementary school, the biodiesel school bus (on twisty one lane backwoods roads no less) shuttled people to and from the Apeiron property. Vendors, displays, and workshops provided information on all thing related. There were workshops on renewable energy, gardening, bicycle commuting, fuel cells, wind power and countless other topics. Over 70 vendors, from Adler's Hardware to Xango were on hand on answer questions and give out information. Music was provided by 12 musical groups including both folk and rock. Below are a few photos showing some of the activities. (MK)

Colt State Park in Bristol Spring Cleanup, April 26, 2008
The Chapter Earth Day Clean Up at Colt State Park achieved sparkling results. Vice Chair Tom Eagan directed five enthusiastic local high school girls in clearing the tidal river area while Tom Freeman, Bob Sumner-Mack, Jean McCormack and a few residents picked up the shore front and the picnic areas. The peninsula clean up, about 30 bags, was completed in record time. Regretably, we did not have people to work on the larger landside picnic areas. It was a perfect sunny and breezy day. We hope to have enough workers to clean up the entire park next year. With the lastest layoffs by the DEM, this giant park now has a staff of only 3 people. (JS)

Roger Williams Park Botanical Garden Complex Guided Tour, Nov. 10, 2007
The new Botanical Garden Complex recently opened at Roger Williams Park. The new 12,000 ft greenhouse is the largest in New England. The tour introduced the group to a variety of exotic plants, beautiful flowers and even a collection of carniverous plants. The photos show some of the unusual and beautiful plants. A wonderful place to spend a warm afternoon on a chilly day.

Beaver Pond Nature Walk with Ken Weber, April 28, 2007
Ken Weber, Providence Journal Nature Columnist, took us on a walk to his favorite beaver colony in Coventry. The trip was organized by Barbara Flagg and Patty D'Ambra. Ken discussed the beavers natural ability to construct dams which transforms streams into ponds and swamps. Three dams were examined. The first pond dam had been abandoned by beavers and reverted to a semi-permanant dam. The second pond was behind a two foot dam that has flooded a coventry town road. This large pond, a tributary to the Moosup River, has backed up so that a third upstream beaver dam is less than a foot higher. A most interesting object was the huge beaver lodge in the main pond.

Trails & Conservation Earth Day Projects, April 21, 2007
AMC Members and friends spruced up three parks and collected obsolete computers for recycling during the Earth Day period. Chris Shafer and Henry Cruciani lead an AMC-REI team of 30 in building board walks and removing debris in Barrington Memorial Park. Barbara Flagg, Jack Schempp headed a productive group, a mix of AMC and Roger Williams U. international members, who restored the appearance of a section of Colt State Park. Their work commended by the Providence Journal in a story featuring Barbara's comments. On Earth Day, 10 AMC members, a squad from Bryant University and a neighborhood group installed earthen stairs and water bars at Neutaconkanut Park under the tutelage of Chris Shafer. The work will reduce erosion of a scenic trail, a step in the restoration of a park offering great views. Meanwhile, Leader Linda Pease created an AMC obsolete computer recycling station-trailhead at the Johnston landfill and followed up with a hike though the mysterious Snake Den Park. Participants enjoyed good weather, interesting work, new friendships and the satisfaction of improving recreational open space. JS LP

Birchwold Conservation Area and Joe's Rock Walk, April 1, 2007
For many years a working dairy, Phillips Wheeler's Birchwold Farm now provides 129 acres of conservation and passive recreation opportunities. Located in Sheldonville, Massachusetts, its features include the large open field visible from the road, as well as a pond, wetlands, hardwood groves, climbable rock ledges , a scenic overlook (Joe's Rock) and an abundance of flora and flauna. The 80 acre property was purchased by the Town of Wrentham in 1985, and an additional 49 acres has been added since. It also provides wildlife habitat as well as protection for the watershed for the Pawtucket Cumberland Reservoir.

Viewing Seals Wintering at Rome Point, March 18, 2007
The game was relaxation and we were no match for the 97 dozing seals stacked like cement bags in the sun on a chain of rocks off Rome point. Our naturalist Bob Kenney from URI Oceanography kept us wide awake as he turned questions into discussions. Our knowledge of seal migration habits, gulls, ducks, snail sex rituals, demolition of the old Jamestown Bridge and whales was greatly expanded. We all enjoyed being on the beach again. Seals should be available for viewing until the end of April. Bring a pair of 10 – 12 times magnification binoculars or you will not see them. They are almost the same color as the rocks. JS

The Apeiron Institute Center for Environmental Living, March 10, 2007
The Apeiron house was designed by a team of experts in sustainable design and technologies, the house showcases more than fifty environmentally friendly systems, technologies, and products, including: passive and active solar energy systems, natural, recycled and non-toxic building materials and construction, straw-bale walls, radiant flooring, permaculture landscaping, and so forth. The Center's exhibits explain all the housing model's features, including how they differ from traditional systems, their cost-effectiveness, and their payback periods. The Center is open to the public.

Global Warming and Climate Change Lectures
A fascinating documentation of a major world threat, Al Gore’s widely acclaimed presentation, “An Inconvenient Truth” was shown on Feb. 14 at Save the Bay, Providence. Paul Beaudette, Dir., National Wildlife Federation, was on hand to answer questions at the close. Sponsored by NWF, the Environment Council of RI, SavetheBay, AMC, the Sierra Club, and the Audubon Society.
Reference Sources:
Save The Bay Advocacy Links

AMC Earth Day Teams Improve Parks
On April 15, 2006, ten volunteers responding to a call by the Conservation Committee, helped clean up Colt State Park in Bristol. They received warm praise from Park Manager Walter Rocha for bagging an amazing volume of trash in 3 short hours. CL Barbara Flagg’s group demonstrated special talent in capturing old tires, while the second group became proficient in collecting beverage containers.

The Earth Day event, April 22, 2006, sponsored by Trails & Conservation Committees addressed enduring improvement of the Francis Carter Reservation in Charlestown, managed by The Nature Conservancy. A 70 ft boardwalk was constructed to span seasonal mud area and allow children, the elderly, and the handicapped to enjoy a scenic walking loop near the parking area. Thanks to the highly efficient planning of material/tools and step by step instruction from Leader Henry Cruciani, the group, mostly inexperienced volunteers, was able to complete this task in about three hours.

The accomplishments of the 26 AMC volunteers were notable. As an organization of 3000 members in Rhode Island, it is clear that AMC has much greater potential to improve RI Parks on future Earth Days.

Up and Close with the New 660Kw Wind Machine at Portsmouth Abby, RI
Organized by Roseanne Evans and Linda Pease, the AMC was privy to a short lecture, May 13, 2006, on the new wind machine just installed at the Portsmouth Abby in Portsmouth, RI. Although it was a very rainy day, the wind was blowing about 15 mph which gave a very good impression of the slow speed of the blades and what little noise actually is heard. This is Rhode Islands largest windmill and is a good example of the potential for wind power in the Ocean State. The economics of windmills this large have come down to beable to compete with other non-renewable methods of power generation. Dr. Lefteri Pavlides of Roger Williams Univerity, gave a short talk on the system and the potential for an impact on the power in Rhode Island and the area. The possibility of more windmills for the area is being studied. There appears to be more support for windmills than had been expected. A good article on the Portsmouth windmill appeared in the Block Island Times on December 3, 2005. Hull Wind 2, has just been installed with three times the output at 1.8Mw.

The overall AMC Leadership Requirements and Guidelines will apply to all our leaders. will apply to all our leaders.
For any event that involves a hike or walk, the leader needs to qualify via local hiking, if the hike or walk will take place in local hiking defined areas.
For an event that involves a hike or walk in northern hiking defined areas, the conservation leader would also have to be approved as a northern hiking leader, unless their committee gave an exception for something.
For an event that involves some other type of activity such as a conservation-oriented paddling trip, the leader would need to be qualified via the appropriate paddling committee qualifying requirements.
If an event is simply an indoor type activity, such as a movie or lecture, or some other conservation oriented session, where a member is simply providing an administrative service, the member does not need to have any outdoor leader qualification

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." -- Native American Proverb