NRPA President Veronica M. Berounsky (left) and Events Coordinator Marianne Chronley (right) present the W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award to Jane Hennedy (center).
Tuesday October 1, 2024
At its annual meeting at the Coastal Institute on October 1, Narrow River Preservation Association reviewed the past year’s events and news, held elections for their Board of Directors and Officers, hosted two informative speakers, and gave out its yearly Environmental Awards.
A moving and relevant welcome and land acknowledgment was given by Lorén Spears, the Executive Director of the Tomaquag Museum. Spears also treated attendees to a beautiful song in the Narragansett language.
Events Coordinator Marianne Chronley, gave an overview of NRPA’s 2024 Events. Chronley, who has overseen NRPA Events for two seasons, is stepping down, and will be replaced by Skylar Ceceri, who was introduced to the audience by President Veronica M. Berounsky.
President Veronica M. Berounsky presents NRPA’s Youth Environmental Award to Maeve LaPlante.
NPRA President Berounsky and Vice President Craig Wood ran through the “Year in Review”. They tag-teamed on the highlights of 2024. One project unique to 2024 was an Eelgrass Survey that NRPA commissioned in response to a decline in eelgrass that was reported in 2023.
Vice President Wood said that NRPA continues to work with the Town of Narragansett to examine options for the mouth of the Narrow River that will allow safe recreational boating while maintaining and preserving critical habitats within the estuary. Wood is NRPA’s liaison to the Narrow River Land Trust (NRLT), so he updated the audience on NRLT achievements and goals.
Retiring from the Board are Kathy Byington who has been treasurer of NRPA for four years, she gave her final but positive Treasurer’s Report. Also leaving the BOD is Nate Vinhatiero who has served for eight years. Vinhatiero will stay on as a member of NRPA’s Advisory Board.
NRPA President Veronica M. Berounsky (left) and Events Coordinator Marianne Chronley (right) present NRPA’s Environmental Achievement Award to Richard Rochette (center).
Administrative Coordinator Shirley Freitag conducted the elections, and welcomed five newly elected Board of Directors: Dave Allaire, Kathy Couchon, Kate Dolan, Brian Mattiucci and Denise Murphy. Three current Board of Directors Craig Wood, Paula Santos and Jim Vogel, whose terms expire this year, were all re-elected. They are joined by Veronica M. Berounsky, Sally Sutherland, Peter Gelhaar and Christine Ariel, whose terms on the BOD expire in 2025.
The twelve Board of Directors named above voted on their officers, as follows: President – Veronica M. Berounsky Vice President- Craig Wood Treasurer- Dave Allaire Secretary- Paula Santos
“Casey Farm: A Case Study in Climate Action Planning” was presented by Jane Hennedy, who is the site manager of the Farm. She detailed Historic New England/ Casey Farms’ ambitious energy use reduction and carbon usage reduction goals from now until 2050.
NRPA’s Youth Environmental Achievement Award was presented to Maeve Laplante, in appreciation for the many years she has volunteered at NRPA’s Middlebridge Events, Maeve is a sophomore at Narragansett High School. Many Middlebridge residents reported seeing Richard Rochette picking up roadside litter on a daily basis, so NRPA awarded their Environmental Achievement Award to Mr. Rochette for his dedication to the cause. NRPA’s W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award . was awarded to Jane Hennedy and Historic New England.
Click the image to see a PDF of the slide show presented at NRPA’s 2024 Annual Meeting.
The evening ended with the 2024 Kayak Raffle. The kayak which was donated by Narrow River Kayaks, was won by Sherri Briggs of West Kingston. Concluding remarks by President Berounsky reiterated NRPA’s commitment to its new Mission Statement: The Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) engages people to preserve and protect the Narrow River (Pettaquamscutt Estuary) and its watershed
NRPA’s position paper on dredging the mouth of the Narrow River can be found here.
A PDF of the slideshow presented at the meeting can be seen here.
NRPA’S 53rd Annual Meeting Tuesday October 3, 2023
Click here to view the slides from the 2023 NRPA Annual Meeting.
Many thanks to all who attended NRPA’s 53rd Annual Meeting at Coastal Institute Auditorium, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, 218 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.
Members approved NRPA’s Board of Directors for 2023 – 2024
Officers:
President – Veronica Berounsky Vice President – Craig Wood Secretary – Paula Santos Treasurer – Kathy Byington
At Large:
Chris Hubbard Sally Sutherland Nate Vinhateiro James Vogel Christine Ariel (new) Peter Gelhaar (new) Andrew Neil (new)
NRPA’S 52nd Annual Meeting Friday October 7, 2022
NRPA’s 51st Annual Meeting Tuesday October 5, 2021
Sally Sutherland winner of the 2021 W.E.R. Friend of the River Award.
Thanks to everyone who attended NRPA’s 51st Annual Meeting.
The 2021 W.E.R. Friend of the River Award was awarded to Sally Sutherland, long time volunteer and advocate for Narrow River.
Two Environmental Appreciation Awards were presented:
NRPA recognizes those who have gone above and beyond to support, improve and celebrate the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River and its watershed.
2024 Environmental Appreciation Award Recipients are Maeve LaPlante and Richard Rochette
President Veronica M. Berounsky presents NRPA’s Youth Environmental Award to Maeve LaPlante. NRPA President Veronica M. Berounsky (left) and Events Coordinator Marianne Chronley (right) present NRPA’s Environmental Achievement Award to Richard Rochette (center).
Veronica Berounsky (left) presenting Jake Pietrzak with a Youth Environmental Achievement Award at NRPA’s Annual Meeting October 2023. Photo by Alison Kates.
2023 Environmental Appreciation Award Recipients:
Jake Pietrzak
Narrow River Preservation Association presented the 2023 Student Volunteer for the River Award to Jake Pietrzak in recognition of his cheerful and capable assistance over the years with numerous events.
Bob Facey
NRPA honored Bob Facey with an Environmental Appreciation Award in recognition of his years of sharing his technical expertise to support NRPA’s live Osprey Webcam. Bob’s efforts enable thousands of viewers to learn about the fascinating life history of ospreys and enjoy the beauty of Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. Photo by Marianne Chronley.
At our 2023 Annual Meeting NRPA honored Bob Facey with a 2023 NRPA Environmental Appreciation Award in recognition of his years of dedicated volunteer service to the osprey webcam hosted by NRPA and Narrow River Land Trust.
Since its installation in March 2020, the webcam featuring the osprey family at a nest at Garrison House Acres overlooking the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River has captured the attention of thousands of viewers worldwide. The webcam is a critical component of our Osprey Education program for local fourth grade students.
Since its inception, the sophisticated and complicated technology needed to record and broadcast the video has required maintenance, troubleshooting, correction and adjustment.
Bob has braved cold, wet weather, wind, and literally hundreds of ticks to set up, troubleshoot and make fixes at the nest platform.
This year, when the internet connection through the former Narrow River Kayaks office building was discontinued, Bob led us through the process of transitioning to a direct cell connection at the nest platform. He procured and set up the necessary parts for the new setup, integrated them into the existing technology and even identified an internet provider with a special discounted rate for non-profit use.
Simply put, the webcam would not be operation but for Bob’s continued support and expertise.
We offer our thanks to Bob on behalf of all who enjoy and learn from the osprey webcam along Narrow River.
Jeremy Collie
2022 Environmental Appreciation Award Recipients:
NRPA recognizes that each year for 15 years, Jeremy has volunteered for the Narrow River Turnaround Swim, providing buoys and ground tackle, setting up the swim course, participating in the swim, and taking down the course after the event. This is a huge effort and he consistently participates and always with a smile.
Jason McNamee
NRPA recognizes that over the past 15 years, Jason has volunteered for the Narrow River Turnaround Swim. He has been critical to the swim safety team, providing safety briefings, managing lifeguards, being a kayak spotter, and ensuring that all participants have a safe and fun experience. NRPA is lucky to count Jason as a dedicated volunteer.
Dick White
NRPA honors Dick White or his ongoing pickup of litter along Middlebridge Road and the Narrow River (Pettaquamscutt Estuary) in Wakefield. When Dick saw the results of a 2007 Earth Day cleanup along Middlebridge Road in South Kingstown, he decided to keep the road litter-free and has picked up trash along the road almost every day for the last 15 years. NRPA recognizes that as a watershed resident, long-time NRPA member, and tireless steward, Dick is an integral stakeholder in the health of the Narrow River!
The 2021 W.E.R. Friend of the River Award was awarded to Sally Sutherland, long time volunteer and advocate for Narrow River.
The online meeting was recorded and can be viewed here:
NRPA’s 50th Annual Meeting
Many thanks to all who joined us via Zoom for NRPA’s 50th Annual Meeting.
The 2020 Environmental Appreciation Award was presented to Jim Murtagh and Terry Shaw in recognition of their guidance and assistance installing the live webcam and microphone on the nest platform along Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River.
The 2020 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award was presented to Alison Kates for her dedication and outstanding service to the Narrow River Preservation Association and to Narrow River and its watershed as the NRPA Program Coordinator from 2016 to 2020. We appreciate her loyal, active, and enthusiastic participation and leadership in many NRPA initiatives and events.
All are welcome to Narrow River Preservation Association’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 3, 2019.
This year the featured speaker will be Will Helt, Coastal Restoration Scientist at The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island on the topic of ‘Narrow River Oysters‘.
Did you know that oysters offer more than a tasty appetizer at the raw bar? To conservationists, oysters are known as “ecosystem engineers” because of the services they provide to the environment, like filtering the water around them and providing habitat for young fish. Due to oysters’ recognized importance, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is restoring oyster reefs not only in Rhode Island but across the globe. In Narrow River, TNC has partnered with the Narrow River Preservation Association to study one of the few remaining natural oyster stocks in our state. With the help of the community, TNC scientists have been evaluating recruitment rates of oysters throughout the River. Early results are promising, and the team is hopeful this effort will create new opportunities to strengthen oyster populations in Narrow River!
The Annual Meeting will also include reports on NRPA activities and highlights from the past year. The W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award will be presented, and this year’s kayak raffle winner will be announced.
7:00 p.m. Reception with refreshments and displays from organizations within the Narrow River Watershed, 7:30 p.m. Meeting, at Coastal Institute Auditorium, URI Narragansett Bay Campus, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.
NRPA’s Annual Meeting provides a forum to meet NRPA members and to learn more about the Narrow River and its Watershed. We hope that you will join us.
Online registration is now closed. Please come to the event!
