The 2025 Narrow River cleanup is planned for Saturday, May 3, 2025.
Meet the team at 9am at Sprague Bridge!
Please email events@narrowriver.org with any questions.
Narrow River Cleanup
Category: Events
What Lives in the River
Join us Saturday, June 7, 2025
9-11am at Middlebridge Preserve, 95 Middlebridge Road, Narragansett, RI
This popular family science and exploration event is held annually on a Saturday morning in June and a Saturday morning in September at 95 Middlebridge Road, Narragansett.
Online registration will be available a few weeks prior to the event.
About What Lives in the River:
All ages are invited to join Narrow River Preservation Association for this hands-on exploration of fish, shellfish, crabs and other inhabitants of Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. We will use nets large and small to catch river creatures and examine them in touch tanks and under microscopes. Experts and guide books will be on hand.
FREE and open to the public – FUN for all ages! Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. All young children and youth should be supervised closely at all times.
Participants are welcome to get into the water, please dress appropriately. Because this is a natural environment, there are sharp objects in the water. Boots, sandals or shoes that can get wet are recommended. The gathering area is a field with grass and dirt surfaces. Wheelchairs are welcome.
Clinging jellies have been found in Narrow River. Click here to learn more about clinging jellyfish.
We will also host What Lives in the River on a Saturday in September 2025 from 9-11 at the same location (check back for details).
Narrow River Turnaround Swim
Annually in late June, Narrow River Preservation Association hosts a one mile open water swim in one of Rhode Island’s most scenic waterways.
PLEASE ARRIVE AT THE PARKING AREA BETWEEN 7-7:15.
Swimmers not wishing to take the shuttle may be dropped off at the course, but there is NO PARKING at or near the course.
2025 DETAILS:
*Please note we have made changes from past years.*
When: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 9:00am (rain or shine)
Where: URI Boathouse – Flagg Rowing Center, 166 Walmsley Lane, North Kingstown, R.I. **New this year – NO PARKING IS ALLOWED ON WALMSLEY LANE. All participants are asked to park at 1240 Boston Neck Road, Narragansett and take our shuttle to the swim.** Spectators are also welcome to park and take the shuttle to the event.
PLEASE ARRIVE AT THE PARKING AREA BETWEEN 7-7:15.
Swimmers not wishing to take the shuttle may be dropped off at the course, but there is NO PARKING at or near the course.
Registration: Online registration (coming soon!). Registration closes at 5pm Thursday, June 19. (Sorry – no day-of registration this year.)
Entry Fee: $45 if registered before May 21, $55 after May 21. Includes 2025 Turnaround Swim T-shirt. Entry fees are non-refundable.
Boathouse
Start, Course, and Finish (black dashed lines): In water start at beach adjacent to the URI Boathouse dock. Swim with orange buoys on your left, round the farthest buoy counterclockwise, swim back with buoys on your left. Finish by crossing the timing mat on shore.
Swim Sponsor: $50 Includes swim registration, one year NRPA membership and name listed on the 2025 Turnaround Swim poster.
Distance: One Mile (1/2 mile out and 1/2 mile back). Common start for wetsuit and non-wetsuit divisions.
Limit: 150 participants.
Timing: Ankle chip timing by New England Timing.
Check In: 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. No one will be admitted to the Turnaround Swim unless they have checked in and received a numbered swim cap by 8:45 a.m.
Maximum Time: Swimmers are given one hour to complete the swim.
Mandatory Safety Briefing: 8:55 a.m.
Safety: Because of the uncertainty of weather conditions such as fog or lightning, the lifeguards and event committee reserve the right to cancel the event to ensure the safety of the participants.
A WORD OF CAUTION! The Narrow River is home to Rhode island’s only substantial population of native oysters, but the edges of these wonderful oysters can be SHARP! We recommend protective footwear for the Turnaround Swim. Participation is at your own risk.
Curious about swimming in Narrow River? Check out this essay by swimmer and Narrow River enthusiast Veronica Berounsky!
Art at the River
Saturday, August 9, 2025
9-11am at Middlebridge Preserve, 95 Middlebridge Road, Narragansett, RI 02882
All are welcome to this free event.
On Saturday morning, August 9, 2025, Narrow River Preservation Association welcomes artists of all ages and skill levels welcome to create art along Narrow River.
- “Plein air” (open air) painters will demonstrate their techniques and others will give instruction in drawing and painting scenes of the Middlebridge area.
- Bring your own easel or sketch pad. Sketch your version of an expansive landscape view or crouch down and capture a still life view of oysters on the fringe of the salt marsh.
- NRPA will provide other guided activities including paper and supplies needed to make seaweed art and fish prints. We encourage you to bring blank T-shirts and/or pillowcases so you can make a fish print onto those, too!
FREE and open to all ages! The gathering area is a field with grass and dirt surfaces. Wheelchairs are welcome.
If you would like to volunteer to support this event, then please VISIT THIS LINK to share your areas of interest with us.
Click here to read an article in The Independent about Art on the River 2023 featuring photos by Michael Derr.
Thanks to everyone who joined us on Saturday, August 6, 2022 for Art on the River
We had a wonderful time creating seaweed art, making fish prints, learning to play hubbub from Silvermoon LaRose of the Tomaquag Museum and then each decorating our own hubbub game to keep!
What Lives in the River & Land Trust Walk
Saturday, September 20, 2025
9-11am at Middlebridge Preserve, 95 Middlebridge Road, Narragansett, RI
This popular family science and exploration event is held annually on a Saturday morning in June and a Saturday morning in September at 95 Middlebridge Road, Narragansett.
About What Lives in the River:
All ages are invited to join Narrow River Preservation Association for this hands-on exploration of fish, shellfish, crabs and other inhabitants of Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. We will use nets large and small to catch river creatures and examine them in touch tanks and under microscopes. Experts and guide books will be on hand.
FREE and open to the public- FUN for all ages! Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. All young children and youth should be supervised closely at all times.
Participants are welcome to get into the water, please dress appropriately. Because this is a natural environment, there are sharp objects in the water. Boots, sandals or shoes that can get wet are recommended. The gathering area is a field with grass and dirt surfaces. Wheelchairs are welcome.
Please come to the event even if you didn’t preregister! Walk-ins are also welcome.
Clinging jellies have been found in Narrow River. Click here to learn more about clinging jellyfish.
Thanks to all who joined us in June 2023 for What Lives in the River.
Here is a list of what was discovered living in the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River at our event!
Organisms visible to the unaided eye:
- Quahog
- Baby American eel
- Horse Mussel
- Glass shrimp
- Sand shrimp
- Hermit crabs
- Green crab
- Blue Crab
- Stickleback
- Sea cucumber
- Ctenophore (comb jellyfish)
- Oyster
- Egg cases
- Flounder
- Mummichog
- Silverside
- Crepidula fornicate (boat shell)
- Tunicked
- Whelk
- Periwinkle
- Unidentified small yellow crab with black shield
Organisms visible with microscopes:
- Zoo plankton
- Larval oyster
- Very small whitish worm
- Very very small snail
NRPA’s 55th Annual Meeting
Tuesday October 7, 2025
at Coastal Institute Auditorium, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, 218 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.
All NRPA members and their guests are welcome to join NRPA’s Board of Directors as they:
- Review the past year of stewardship, outreach and educational activities in the Narrow River (Pettaquamscutt Estuary) and watershed,
- Provide updates from our River Watch program now in its 34th year of operations,
- Present the W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award and Environmental Appreciation Awards,
- Engage in a membership-inclusive vote for the elections of the Board Directors and Officers
- Draw the winning Kayak Raffle ticket and announces this year’s raffle winner
NRPA Board of Directors Meeting
Tuesday, May 6, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The NRPA Board of Directors meets each month to review NRPA programs, plan educational and fund-raising events and discuss issues affecting the watershed. Our October meeting is also our Annual Meeting.
The meetings are usually on the first Tuesday of the month (check the Event Calendar for any changes in the date and location).
We hope to offer a virtual option for meetings. Please email NRPA’s Administrative Coordinator, Shirley Freitag, at nrpa@narrowriver.org to request online access to the meeting.
The meetings are open to the public and you are welcome to attend. If you have a topic you would like to put on the agenda, please contact Veronica Berounsky, NRPA President or Shirley Freitag, NRPA’s Administrative Coordinator at nrpa@narrowriver.org.
