Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) has created to an endowment in honor of Richard Barker Grant, long time NRPA President and Friend of Narrow River. The permanent endowment is managed by The Rhode Island Foundation and provide yearly grants for the benefit of the Narrow River Watershed.
The Richard Barker Grant Endowment was created in honor of Grant’s decades of serving on the board of directors of NRPA, including serving as President since the 1990s.
We welcome additional donations to this endowment fund. Checks made out to “NRPA” may be sent to Narrow River Preservation Association, PO Box 8, Saunderstown, RI 02874. Please indicate ‘Richard Grant endowment’ in the not eon your check. Online donations are welcome by clicking here.
More information about Richard Grant’s excellent and sustained service to NRPA is available here.
For more information about starting an endowment for NRPA (initial donation minimum $10,000) please email us at nrpa@narrowriver.org.
ABOUT US:
Narrow River Preservation Association is a 501 (c) 3 certified non-profit organization based in Saunderstown, RI. NRPA was founded in 1970.
Dr. Veronica Berounsky (left) and Annette DeSilva were honored with 2021 Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, for their 30 years of commitment toward protecting, preserving, and restoring the Pettaquamscutt Estuary (Narrow River).
Local Volunteers Receive Prestigious 2021 EPA Environmental Merit Lifetime Achievement Awards for their work on Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River
Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) is proud to announce that long time volunteer Board members Dr. Veronica Berounsky and Annette DeSilva have received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1. NRPA nominated these dedicated people in recognition of their 30 year commitment to the ecology and health of Narrow River and its watershed. We are thrilled that their extensive contributions to our environment have been publicly honored.
A video of the 2021 EPA Region 1 Awards can be seen here.
The program for the 2021 EPA Region 1 Awards can be found here.
ANNETTE DESILVA of Narragansett, Rhode Island
Annette DeSilva is being recognized for her 30 years of outstanding and sustained stewardship of the Pettaquamscutt Estuary, known locally as the Narrow River. In 1992, Annette, with Veronica Berounsky and others, founded Narrow River Preservation Association’s River Watch Program in concert with the University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch program. Monitoring water in the estuary allows the association and local officials to identify problems and find remedies.
Since the start of the River Watch program, Annette has been coordinator of the all-volunteer program, supporting over 200 volunteers who spent over 8,800 hours at the Narrow River taking over 47,400 field measurements and obtaining more than 13,700 water samples.
Under Annette’s leadership, the program has expanded to 13 sites, which includes streams and stormwater outfall pipes. Having found high bacteria counts that could not be explained by processes within the river, Annette advocated adding new sites so inputs could be examined. Shortly after the program started and one test site showed high bacteria counts, an outhouse along Gilbert Stuart Stream was removed, resulting in clean water samples within weeks. Since then, countless projects informed by River Watch data have been installed. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needed water monitoring done in 2015, it came to the association because of its reputation for reliable river monitoring.
Annette and colleague Veronica Berounsky have presented detailed findings, trends, and summaries of decades of River Watch data. These show improvements in water quality and identify problematic areas that require more research and mitigation. Having served on the association’s board of directors from 1990 to 2018, she is now an advisory board member.
Annette’s 30 years of commitment to the River Watch program has resulted in improved water quality in the estuary. This well-established program will continue to lead to improvements for decades to come.
DR. VERONICA BEROUNSKY of Narragansett, Rhode Island
Dr. Veronica Berounsky is being recognized for her 30 years of outstanding and sustained stewardship of the Pettaquamscutt Estuary, known locally as the Narrow River. As both a board member and vice president of the Narrow River Preservation Association, Veronica’s environmental advocacy has led to environmentally responsible development and the protection of the watershed.
A powerhouse of energy and dedication, Veronica was instrumental in creating the association’s River Watch program in 1992, which has directly led to better water quality in Narrow River. In 2018, after high bacteria was found in two spots on the river, Veronica secured the funds then organized and oversaw an innovative program that uses trained dogs to detect human bacteria. The failing septic systems the dogs identified are now being repaired.
Veronica works to involve the public in protecting the health of the watershed. She has led educational tours for students and visiting academics, teaching them about the estuary’s ecology. She also led a program to educate teachers on teaching students about watershed ecology. Veronica founded “Art on the River,” inspiring artists and families to create art along the river’s edge. She also began “What Lives in the River,” an event inviting families to discover the creatures in the Pettaquamscutt Estuary area with volunteer experts on hand. In 2005, Veronica led the creation of the “Narrow River Turnaround Swim,” a fundraiser highlighting the river’s excellent water quality. In 2020, she initiated a swim that had participants swimming the six miles from a tributary to the mouth of Narrow River.
Veronica has shared her talents with other organizations, serving as chair of Rhode Island Rivers Council since 2013, contributing to the Coastal & Estuarine Research Foundation and New England Estuarine Research Society, and working with the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.
Veronica’s sustained, consistent, and outstanding efforts have directly led to better water quality in the Pettaquamscutt Estuary.
NRPA’s contribution was ‘2021 Osprey Nest Battle’ a compilation of footage from NRPA’s live, 24 hour webcam on an osprey nest along the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. The 6 1/2 minute video shows the battle between a new female who made the nest her home a few days before the prior year’s female returned to claim her nest. The new female wanted to keep her new position, while the prior year’s female, bonded to the nest site for life, fought to return.
The Festival was held online on Sunday, February 13 at 3pm. This free, fun, entertaining, and informative nature showcase featured 70 minutes of video footage recorded in Rhode Island.
The newsletter template is currently in Adobe InDesign, but any program is acceptable as long as the product is similar.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we are seeking a cost effective way to produce our 8 page newsletter 3 times each year. Issues are sent to members in April, August, and December annually.
If interested, please email justmealison@gmail.com with an example of your work, two references, and your fee to produce our upcoming August issue (timing is to create the newsletter in July to send to printer by July 20.)
In 1972, Richard Barker Grant was invited to join the newly formed Narrow River Preservation Association (NRPA) to raise funds for the organization to protect the Narrow River. His first year on the Board of Directors, he planned two fundraising events: a canoe raffle and a canoe race. Grant smiles as he remembers that the NRPA Board of Directors wondered how to spend the $183 raised that year most wisely.
Since then, for more than 48 years, Grant has been the driving force behind all of NRPA’s many fundraisers, increasing NRPA membership, engaging local sponsors, connecting with benefactors and cultivating relationships with other stakeholders. Grant has been instrumental in organizing NRPA’s Annual Road Race, run for 31 consecutive years, the Narrow River Turnaround Swim, the Pettaquamscutt Paddle and all NRPA events.
Richard Grant (center) receives Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington, D.C., from Scott Fulton (left), President of the Environmental Law Institute and Ben Grumbles, Maryland’s Secretary of the Environment. Photo courtesy of Environmental Law Institute.
Grant says that he is proud of NRPA’s accomplishments in protecting the river. Involved in every residential development in the watershed since 1970, NRPA has fought for responsible building, proper sewage and septic infrastructure, and commitment from the towns of Narragansett, North Kingstown and South Kingstown in the health of the river. Grant regards the findings of improved water quality in Narrow River over the past 30 years of NRPA’s River Watch program as an indicator that the efforts of NRPA have been successful.
On May 7, 2019 at the National Wetlands Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C., the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) honored long time NRPA President Richard Grant with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In honor of his 47 years of dedication to Narrow River and Narrow River Preservation Association, Richard Grant was awarded the 2020 Blueways Stewardship Award by the Rhode Island Blueways Alliance.
NRPA Treasurer Ken McShane notes that under Grant’s leadership, NRPA has become a resource for agencies and organizations who need information about Narrow River. Those include the US Fish and Wildlife Service, municipal governments, Coastal Resources Management Council and State and Federal entities.
From left, Rupert Friday and Meg Kerr present the 2020 Blueways Stewardship Award to Richard Grant with Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee. Photo Credit Veronica Berounsky.
Recently, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) was tasked with developing a watershed plan for each watershed in the state. Because there has been so much research and interest in the Narrow River Watershed, and because there is so much dedicated local involvement, RIDEM decided to develop the Narrow River Watershed Plan as one of their first plans. RIDEM and NRPA have collaborated on the plan, which is nearing completion. Once the Watershed Plan is published, NRPA will spearhead efforts to put the plan into action.
“It’s rewarding to see NRPA’s educational program. The Board [of Directors] and community contribute to having young children participate in learning about the environment at What Lives in the River [NRPA’s river exploration event]” says Grant. “Just seeing young scientists discovering and questioning is amazing.”
Educational initiatives including What Lives in the River, NRPA’s osprey education program, Lesa Meng College Scholarships and Science Fair Awards have all been developed during Grant’s tenure as NRPA President. Always open to new ideas, Grant has welcomed these and other programs, including Art on the River, the Narrow River Turnaround Swim and the Pettaquamscutt Paddle.
Experienced artist and NRPA Board President Richard Grant shows others how to draw perspective at Art on the River, August 2017.
Those who know Grant admire his unique ability to build bridges, even among opposing forces. Dr. Veronica Berounsky, Vice President of NRPA, remembers a very contentious meeting a few years ago that included irate comments and angry outbursts. As people were leaving the meeting, Grant approached a person who had expressed anger at NRPA’s actions and invited him to get coffee together the following day. They did go for coffee and have been partners since.
Grant’s leadership has shaped Narrow River Preservation Association. As President of the Board of Directors, Grant’s guiding philosophy is that each board member should have a project or two that they lead with the support of the other members of the board of directors. Board members are welcome to support any event or initiative that interests them. In this way, each member has a sense of ownership over their project and no single member is expected to carry the entire organization. Berounsky says, “Richard has been my mentor as a Board Chair. In my work as the Chair of the Rhode Island Rivers Council, I have used Richard’s model with great success.”
The only exception to Grant’s model is that he himself is involved in every aspect of NRPA. His leadership provides a consistent thread throughout NRPA activities and actions. Always considering how each initiative fits into NRPA’s mission, Grant keeps the organization focused and actively working on each initiative at all times.
Asked what has kept him going for 46 years, Grant reflects “Personally I just really feel great that I’m improving the environment by being part of NRPA. While it is a small contribution, my work through NRPA is paying back people who have had the same sense and contributed to the environment, making my life better.”
Born and raised in Cranston, RI, Grant earned a BA from Brown University. He developed the position of Art Director at Interlaken Mills, acquired a partial ownership in the Cambridge Paper Box Company, which led to his a successful founding of a packaging company, R. B. Grant and Associates, servicing national publishers until he retired in 2015. He has two children and three grandchildren. Grant and his wife Jan have lived in Kingston since 1968. In addition to his work with NRPA, Grant is a prolific artist working in watercolors and oils and his own creation of Mic-a-rt. He loves to ski and is active in the Kingston social clubs.
Richard Grant at the Pettaquamscutt Paddle, July 2018.
In 2018, NRPA created an Endowment in Grant’s name. The permanent endowment will be managed by The Rhode Island Foundation and provide yearly grants for the benefit of the Narrow River Watershed.
The Rhode Island Foundation manages four other endowments for NRPA, all started with generous donations from NRPA supporters and their friends and family. Each of the four funds is named for their benefactor: John Elder Dick, Carl Otto, John Gormley and Rob Leeson. Based on the growth of the investment, each fund provides an annual grant to NRPA and grows according to the market growth. The endowments are protected and can only be used to benefit the environment.
