Kate Venturini Hardesty, Educator and Program Administrator at the URI Cooperative Extension will present ‘Landscape Care with Climate Change Resilience in Mind‘ on Sunday, January 26 at 1pm at the Maury Loontjens Library in Narragansett, RI.
Join us for the January 2025 On Pettaquamscutt Presentation:
Sunday, January 26 1:00pm Landscape Care with Climate Change Resilience in Mind Kate Venturini Hardesty
Kate Venturini Hardesty, Educator and Program Administrator at the URI Cooperative Extension, is sponsored by the Friends of Canonchet Farm.
On Pettaquamscutt talks are presented at the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library in Narragansett, 25 Pier Marketplace, Narragansett, starting at 1:00 p.m.
Participants can register here or at the calendar page of the library website to reserve a seat. Registration will open at the beginning of the month for each presentation.
Dr. Blaine Hymel, Veterinarian at the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island will present ‘Environmental Toxin Exposure in Rhode Island Wildlife, A Veterinary View‘ on Sunday, March 30 at 1pm at Maury Loontjens Library in Narragansett, RI.
March 30 Environmental Toxin Exposure in Rhode Island Wildlife, A Veterinary View Dr. Blaine Hymel
Blaine Hymel, Veterinarian at the Wildlife Clinic of Rhode Island, is a graduate of the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine. She is sponsored by NRPA.
On Pettaquamscutt talks are presented at the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library in Narragansett, 25 Pier Marketplace, Narragansett, starting at 1:00 p.m.
Participants can register here or at the calendar page of the library website to reserve a seat. Registration will open at the beginning of the month for each presentation.
Rebecca Kelly, Deputy Director and Curator at the South County Museum
January 28: Dressed for Life and Leisure, 1870 to 1920
Rebecca Kelly, Deputy Director and Curator at the South County Museum, will discuss nineteenth-century clothing from the museum’s collection highlighting both high fashion and leisure ware, as in what does the fashionable Narragansett visitor wear to the beach in 1900.
Sunday, January 28, 1:00pm at Maury Loontjens Memorial Library, Narragansett, RI.
All talks are free and open to the public. Participants can register at OnPettaquamscutt.org or at the calendar page of the library website to reserve a seat. Registration will open at the beginning of the month for each presentation. For more information or to see presentations from the first ten seasons, visit OnPettaquamscutt.org.
Back by popular demand! Mark your 2024 calendar for the eleventh season of On Pettaquamscutt, Presentations on the Environment and History of the Narrow River Watershed and join us for three great Sunday afternoon talks (all starting at 1:00) at the brand new Narragansett Library:
Other presentations in this series:
Nick Ernst (left), Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Ben Gaspar, Restoration Ecologist at Save the Bay
February 25: Restoring Salt Marsh in the John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge
Nick Ernst (left), Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Ben Gaspar, Restoration Ecologist at Save the Bay, will update us on the sediment placement projects in Narrow River and other refuge locations to stave off the threats from sea level rise to salt marshes – and to the salt marsh sparrow.
Peter Stetson, President of Education Mapping Service
March 24: History of the Watershed in Maps and Aerial Photos
Peter Stetson, President of Education Mapping Service, will show us interactive GIS mapping centered on the South County Museum and the Narrow River Watershed, and their history through aerial photography.
All talks are free and open to the public. Participants can register here at OnPettaquamscutt.org or at the calendar page of the library website to reserve a seat. Registration will open at the beginning of the month for each presentation. For more information, visit OnPettaquamscutt.org or call 401 783-5344.
The Friends of Canonchet Farm, Narrow River Preservation Association, and the South County Museum, with generous support from Trio Restaurant, are sponsoring the winter speaker series On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershed.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Attendees explored Narrow River without getting wet or cold, as NRPA Board member Dr. Veronica Berounsky presented “Narrow River – Past and Present.” Veronica led a virtual tour of the Narrow River and sites in its watershed and discussed and illustrated important issues along the way.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wildlife biologist Mike Lapisky, former chief of the Division of Fish and Wildlife of R.I. DEM and a member of the Friends of Canonchet Farm, displayed skulls and pelts in his presentation, “Wildlife at Canonchet Farm.”
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Jim Crothers, Executive Director of South County Museum, traced the history of the property now known as Canonchet Farm from the time of the Pettaquamscutt Purchase in 1657 to its purchase by the Town of Narragansett in the middle of the 20th Century.
NRPA, Friends of Canonchet Farm and South County Museum sponsored On Pettaquamscutt:Presentations on the Environmentand the History of the Narrow River Watershed.
Jon Boothroyd, January 27, 2013
Geologist and NRPA Vice President for Science Dr. Jon Boothroyd discussds “Climate Change, Coastal Geologic Hazards and Sea-Level Rise: Some Rhode Island Strategies.” Jon, who is a URI Research Professor Emeritus and the R.I. State Geologist, described what is happening to our coastline and the Narrow River Watershed and what can be done to adapt to the new realities.
Hope Leeson, February 24, 2013
In February, botanist Hope Leeson presented on the “Rhody Plant Initiative,” a program that promotes the use of native plants grown from Rhode Island wild stock through seed collection and cuttings. Hope is the botanist for the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, with a primary focus on invasive plant inventories and experimental management techniques.
Rhody Native is an initiative to make indigenous plant material available to homeowners and organizations involved in habitat restoration. The program is an opportunity to promote local Rhode Island businesses, educate the public about Rhode Island’s native biodiversity, and improve our natural environment.
Frank Heppner, March 24, 2013
On Sunday, March 24, railroad historian Frank Heppner presented “Short Line and Electric Railroads of Rhode Island,” with highlights of the Sea View Line and the Narragansett Pier Railroad. Heppner is a founding member and Chairman of the Friends of the Kingston Station, and the author of Railroads of Rhode Island, Shaping the Ocean State’s Railways.
February 23: Biodiversity is Everywhere: 1,200 Species of Life and 4 1/2 inches of rain in the Narragansett BioBlitz
David Gregg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, spoke about the BioBlitz at the South County Museum in June 2013, what the professional and amateur scientists found in their 24-hour search of Canonchet Farm and Pettaquamscutt Cove, and how they survived the heaviest rainfall of the summer.
March 30: Restoring Habitat at Lake Canonchet
Throughout 2014 and 2013, 100 volunteers have removed more than five tons of Japanese knotweed and other invasive plants from the shore of Lake Canonchet across Boston Neck Road from the Narragansett Town Beach. The work is part of a Friends of Canonchet Farm project to restore native habitats along this fresh-water coastal pond.
At this On Pettaquamscutt presentation, Kathie Kelleher and David Smith, members of the Friends of Canonchet Farm Restoring Habitat Committee, discussed the goals of the project, described the problem of invasive vegetation in South County, and showed some of the initial results of the restoration project.
The Fourth Season of On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershed, the winter speaker series sponsored by NRPA, Friends of Canonchet Farm, South County Museum, the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library and Trio Restaurant.
January 25: Numi Mitchell, “Coyotes in Your Back Yard”
Coyotes, originally a prairie species, have colonized the Continental U.S. over the last 100 years, and in the mid-1990s even took up residence on the islands in Narragansett Bay. Numi Mitchell, lead scientist in the Narragansett Bay Coyote Study, described the most successful practices for managing coyote herds.
February 22: Colin Porter, “King Philip’s War at Home: Another Look at the Jireh Bull Garrison House”
“A few rods from this spot stood the Stone House of Jireh Bull Burned by the Indians December 15, 1675,” so reads the stone marker on Middlebridge Road commemorating a preemptive strike by the Narragansetts to prevent Bull’s fortification from being used by Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay militia assembling to attack the tribe. On February 22, 2015 anthropologist Colin Porter told the story behind the stone and what Jireh Bull’s Garrison House meant to Native Americans and Europeans struggling to coexist in the Narragansett Country.
March 29: Wenley Ferguson, “Salt Marsh Restoration in Narrow River”
Wenley Ferguson, shown here during one of her many visits to the salt marsh just below Middlebridge on the east side of the river, was be the final presenter in the 2015 series. Wenley, who is Director of Habitat Restoration at Save the Bay, will discuss Save the Bay’s efforts to assess threats to salt marsh health and to restore healthy, functioning marshes.
Many thanks to all those who helped make the fifth season a great success, with each presentation drawing an audience of 60 or more and filling the library meeting rooms:
♦ To Trio Restaurant, which donates gift certificates to Newport Restaurant Group eateries to thank our presenters.
♦ And of course, to our 2016 lineup of speakers:
January 31, 2016
Furniture maker Jeffrey Greene, author of American Furniture of the 18th Century: History, Technique, Structure, described “Furnishing the South County Plantation Homes.”
February 28, 2016
Laura Myerson, Professor of Habitat Restoration Ecology in the Department of Natural Resources Sciences at URI and Richard Enser, Ecosystem Biologist debated “Can We Go Back to the Future?” as they explored what does “Restoration Mean in the Age of Global Change”.
March 20, 2016
Archaeoloist Jay Waller wrapped up the series with “What R110 Tells us about the Native American Usage of the Natural Resources at Canonchet Farm.” R110 is an archaeological site that rests on the upper portion of Salt Pond just south of Commodore Perry Highway and which is arguably the most significant pre-European contact Native American find on the East Coast.
Many thanks to all those who helped make the sixth season a great success, with each presentation drawing an audience of 80 or more and filling the library meeting rooms:
♦ To Trio Restaurant, which donates gift certificates to Newport Restaurant Group eateries to thank our presenters,
♦ And of course, to our 2017 lineup of speakers:
January 29, 2017: Improving the Health of the Narrow River Estuary
These two presentations featured two projects designed to improve the marsh resiliency and water quality in Narrow River:
Dr. Jennifer White, Hurricane Sandy Resiliency Coordinator for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, describes recent efforts to restore the salt marshes in Narrow River by placing dredged material on the surface of the marsh to raise the elevation so that plants can thrive.
Dr. Craig Swanson of Swanson Environmental Associates discusses a recent study on the impact of dredging near the mouth of the river to increase circulation within the estuary.
February 26, 2017: Amphibians and Reptiles in the Narrow River Watershed
Dr. Nancy Karraker, URI Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources Science (shown on the left examining a turtle with grade school children during a guided walk on Canonchet Farm), will describe the wide variety of amphibians and reptiles that thrive in the Narrow River Watershed.
Dr. Karraker’s research has examined the impacts of habitat loss, pollution, climate change, invasive species and disease on biodiversity in North America and Southeast Asia. That research has included field studies with her students at Canonchet Farm.
March 26, 2017: Industry along the Mettatuxett and Pettaquamscutt
That is: Industry at “the well-wooded stream place” and the “Great Round Rock”.
Local historian, preservation advocate and columnist Tim Cranston took us on a virtual tour of the north end of the watershed and shared stories about the historic mills at Silver Spring, Shady Lea and Gilbert Stuart and how the Narragansett people organized use of the waters for fertilizer and food production.
As with On Pettaquamscutt’s first five very successful seasons, the presentations are on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library, 35 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. The series is free and open to the public. Preregistration is strongly recommended.
After each talk, all are invited to continue the conversation next door at Trio Restaurant, 15 Kingstown Road.
2018 Winter Speaker Series “On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershed”
The Friends of Canonchet Farm, Narrow River Preservation Association, South County Museum and the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library along with generous support from Trio Restaurant, are collaborating for the seventh year to sponsor the Winter Speaker Series On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershed.
The presentations will take place on selected Sundays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library, 35 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. After each event, participants are encouraged to continue the conversation at Trio Restaurant, 15 Kingstown Road, Narragansett.
January: South County Museum Associate Director Blaire O. Gagnon started things off with “The Sampler – A Young Lady’s Education in the 18th & 19th Centuries.” Blaire explained how young girls learned to cross-stitch and demonstrate their proficiency with letters, numbers and even poetry with traditional “samplers.” Blaire brought several 200 year-old examples of the art work, as did Peggy O’Connor from the holdings at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum.
Visit the Sampler Archive for more information on samplers, including examples from the Rhode Island Historical Society collection. See also the Sampler Consortium.
February: Gary Casabona, the R.I. State Biologist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services, presented “Habitat Management for Pollinators.” Gary talked about the importance of planting a wide variety of species that support wildlife to ensure that there are pollen and nectar resources available for all seasons. Download a pamphlet describing the work of NRCS with the Xerces Society to protect native pollinators.
March: URI Watershed Watch Program Director Linda Green explained the work of some 250 volunteer monitors who test water in the lakes, rivers and estuaries throughout Rhode Island, and then focused on conditions and trends in Narrow River based on 25 years of testing by the NRPA River Watch program. View Linda’s slide presentation.
These events are free and open to the public. Participants must register at OnPettaquamscutt.org or at the calendar page of the library website (http://www.narlib.org/) to reserve a seat as the capacity of the room is 90 guests. For more information, call 401-783-5344 or email info@onpettaquamscutt.org.
