Friend of the River Award

W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award

At its Annual Meeting each year, NRPA presents the W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award to an individual or organization whose work in protecting the river reflects the spirit of W.E.R. La Farge, a founding member of NRPA.

W.E.R. La Farge

W.E.R. La Farge, poet, playwright and environmentalist, was born in New York City on June 24, 1930. In 1978, he began to live year-round at the River Farm on Narrow River, owned by his family since1908.

W.E.R. was a founding and active member of the Narrow River Preservation Association, which, over the years has preserved so much of the river we all enjoy.

W.E.R. believed in preserving watersheds, farmland and public access to recreational and scenic areas. He believed that we are all stewards of the land, inextricably bound to it and to each other.

La Farge Point Park and the U.R.I. Campanella Rowing Center were once part of the River Farm. W.E.R. donated these parcels and permanently restricted development on his land through conservation easements. The value of the gift was used as matching funds, allowing the Narrow River Land Trust with the assistance of the The Champlin Foundations and the Nature Conservancy, to preserve additional land on the Upper Pond.

W.E.R. died at home in October 27, 1994 and is buried at the River Farm. His 1971 poem Earth’s Song was inspired by the glacial estuary we call “Narrow River.”

NRPA presented the 2024 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award to Historic New England and Jane Hennedy for their excellent and careful stewardship of the history, culture and ecology of Casey Farm within the Narrow River Watershed. We appreciate their leadership and commitment to improving the environment, modeling effective climate action, and engaging the public from all communities in their sustainable environmental practices.

Friends of the River

(see below for photos and details)

2024 Jane Hennedy and Historic New England

2023 Rebecca Russell

2022 Felix Sarubbi

2021 Sally Sutherland

2020 Alison Kates

2019 Craig Wood

2018 Dr. Sheldon Pratt

2017 Kathleen Kelleher

2016 David Smith

2015 Paul McCaffrey and Mick Westkott

2014 Jason Considine

2013 Rosemary Smith

2012 Annette DeSilva

2011 Robert Schelleng

2010 Arthur Gaines, Ph.D.

2009 Lesa Meng (posthumously) and Rick Moffit

2008 Robert D. Kenney, Ph.D.

2007 Linda Green and Elizabeth Herron from URI Watershed Watch

2006 Ken McShane

2005 Veronica Berounsky, Ph.D.

2004 Seniors Helping Others

2003 Narrow River Watershed Action Team

2002 Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife

2001 Teresa McKinley

2000 Jon Boothroyd, Ph.D.

1999 Narrow River Land Trust

1998 Robert Leeson, Jr.

1997 Harvey Cataldo

1996 Sherri Blott

1995 Barry Devine

1994 Mettatuxet Improvement Association & Gary Galkin

1993 Richard Grant

1992 Paul Hargraves, Ph.D.

The 2023 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award was presented to Rebecca Russell (at left with Richard Grant) for her dedication and outstanding service to the Narrow River Preservation Association and to Narrow River and its watershed as the NRPA Program Coordinator/Program Director from 2021 to 2023. In presenting the honor at the 2023 NRPA Annual Meeting, Veronica Berounsky (at right in red) said “We appreciate her enthusiastic participation and leadership in NRPA’s initiatives and events.”
Felix Sarubbi, second from right, 2022 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River awardee, with (from left) Veronica Berounsky, Mick Westkott and Jeremy Collie, all 15 year veteran volunteers supporting the Narrow River Turnaround Swim. Pictured at NRPA’s 52nd Annual Meeting, October 7, 2022. (photo credit Alison Kates)
2022: Felix Sarubbi 

The 2022 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award was presented to Felix Sarubbi for his enthusiastic and critical support of the Narrow River Turnaround Swim. Felix has ensured the safety of swimmers and volunteers, set up and removed the swim course, enabling a safe and fun swim experience for all participants for each of the 15 years of the annual fundraiser event.

2021: Sally Sutherland
Sally Sutherland – winner of the 2021 W.E.R. Friend of the River Award.

The 2021 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award was presented to Sally Sutherland for her hard work and dedication over many years to NRPA’s community outreach programs, particularly NRPA’s Lesa Meng College Scholarship Program and the Town of Narragansett’s Environmental Awareness Day at the Beach, and overall service to the Narrow River Preservation Association.

Remarks about Sally Sutherland from Veronica Berounsky, NRPA Vice President

Sally Sutherland, an ocean engineer, has served on the Board of Directors of the Narrow River Preservation Association for 16 years and has been involved in a number of aspects of NRPA’s efforts.

For years, she was an important part of the NRPA Road Race effort on race day and also involved her family in that when they were around. For years she has helped with the Narrow River Turnaround Swim, staffing NRPA displays and helping out at the event. She often organizes and runs the NRPA display and events at the Town of Narragansett “Environmental Awareness Day at the Beach”, often on her own with her Girl Scout troop or family.

Sally’s most visible work for NRPA has been running the NRPA Lesa Meng College Scholarship Program since 2009 (so for 13 high school graduations) – reaching out to the schools, putting together the scholarship review committee, reviewing applications, getting back to the schools about awardees, attending high school award nights, getting photos of the winners, and writing the press releases and newsletter articles.

Sally has quietly put in a long-term effort to help NRPA and the Narrow River, particular in our outreach to local communities, and NRPA is much the better for her efforts. Please accept this award in appreciation of all your efforts for NRPA over many years!

Nominated by NRPA BOD members Ken McShane and Veronica Berounsky and past Program Coordinator Alison Kates.

2020: Alison Kates

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.

Remarks about Alison Kates by Richard Grant, NRPA President

It is a pleasure for me to announce the W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award. For those of you who don’t know, W.E.R. La Farge was a founding member of NRPA and served on the Board until his death in 1994. He was passionate about Narrow River.

I checked the list carefully of the 29 awards we have given in the past and low and behold there was a person that was very important to NRPA, and like W.E.R. La Farge, passionate about the river, but that person hadn’t received the award yet. 2020 is NRPA’s 50th Anniversary so a very special year. Therefore the NRPA Board of Directors chose this person because they had gone beyond the call of duty in every area of NRPA. They generated for NRPA an unmatched new level of structure, exciting promotion programs, diligent record keeping and accurate digital communication with the Board of Directors, the membership, sponsors, and partners, all the while smiling and expressing care for everyone involved. Thus, I would like to announce that the W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award for 2020, our 50th year, be awarded to Alison Kates, the present NRPA Coordinator.

2019: Craig Wood

The 2019 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award was presented to Craig Wood for developing NRPA’s Osprey Education Program and bringing it to hundreds of students and community members, for being NRPA’s liaison to the Narrow River Land Trust, and for his service to the Narrow River Preservation Association.

Remarks about Craig Wood by Richard Grant, NRPA President

The Friend of the River Award is given each year because most of the volunteers that do the behind-the-scene work don’t get recognized and should, so the Board ran down a list of Friends. And this year, one name stood above the rest. He joined the board in 2012 and generally worked on projects that fell under NRPA’s Land program.
 
When Dr. Jon Boothroyd passed away, he took over the role that Jon performed such as qualifying CRMC rulings on property, reviewing proposed development in the watershed and offering insight on proposed dredging and other projects.
 
He has taken a technical lead in professional collaboration with US Fish and Wildlife.
 
Five years ago, he created and executed the NRPA Osprey Education Program. It started as he led fourth grade students taught by his wife, Carolyn, tracking osprey migration from South America to New England. In 2014, Just this past year his educational program about ospreys reached more than 400 fourth grade students in local schools.
 
He initiated the purchase of NRPA’s own stuffed osprey, Pette to enhance the osprey education program. Where ever NRPA displays Pette, she is in the spotlight.
 
Furthering NRPA’s osprey program, he was the driving force behind the new osprey nest platform, a collaboration between Narrow River Preservation Association and Narrow River Land Trust. The full realization of his vision will be the installation of a webcam on that platform giving everyone a 24 hour view of the osprey in their natural habitat with a wide panorama of Pettaquamscutt Cove in the background.
 
He also serves on the Narrow River Land Trust Board of Directors, maintaining a strong link between our sister organizations.
 
Julie Sharpe, Land Trust president remarks about him: “He didn’t sit on the sidelines of our Board meetings for very long. He is not one to consider Board meetings as a spectator sport. He listens well, and when he speaks, his thoughts and ideas are well-considered and helpful. He likes to get things done and he’s got lots of ideas, but he is patient. He is a consensus builder because he appreciates the efficiencies of working with a team and enjoys the shared success. He is humble and believes in the strength of collaboration.”
 
In 2016, he filled another spot on the NRPA Board of Directors as Secretary.
 
An active Board member in every way, he drives the informational poster about the animal featured in NRPA’s Road Race logo each year, heads up the 5K start of the Road Race and most years volunteers as a kayak spotter at the Narrow River Turnaround Swim. This year marks his tenth year as a volunteer monitor with our River Watch Program.

2018: Dr. Sheldon Pratt

A highlight of the 2018 NRPA Annual Meeting was the awarding of the 2018 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award to Dr. Sheldon D. Pratt for his decades spent studying the Narrow River and its watershed, for using his expertise in benthic ecology to enlighten and inform hundreds of students and adults for NRPA, and for his years of service to the Narrow River Land Trust.

Words of Recognition about Sheldon D. Pratt on the occasion of his receiving the NRPA Friend of the River Award

by Dr. Veronica Berounsky

Sheldon D. Pratt is the quintessential naturalist, happiest when he is out exploring nature – particularly the New England coastline and its bays, estuaries, and rivers. He is very curious about how our natural world works. He doesn’t strive for the limelight and is not fond of giving public talks, but if you are lucky enough to go out with him on a student field trip, to go sampling with him, or just to stop by his office you will learn more then you ever thought you would about the animals that live on our shores – or actually about most any subject related to the natural world!

His love of the coast started early, on the south shore of Massachusetts in Cohasset. After graduating from Tufts University with a degree in Biology, he came to URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography in 1961 and he has spent his career here. His expertise is in identifying benthic animals – the worms, crabs, shellfish and other animals that live on or in the seafloor- and understanding how they interact with their environment.

Sheldon’s work on Narrow River dates to at least around 1970, when he helped fellow graduate student (and early NRPA Board member) Arthur Gaines with sampling throughout the river. Sheldon has continued to take samples in Narrow River for various projects, such as the 2007 ventilation of sulfur-rich water in Upper Pond.

Since at least the mid 1990’s, Sheldon has been wrangled into participating in school field trips, patiently sharing his knowledge about benthic animals with legions of school kids – and turning their comments about “what is this slimy thing?” into “this is cool, I never saw this up close before!” Ever since the NRPA program “What’s in the River?” started in 2013, Sheldon has been our benthic animal expert. Sometimes he even goes snorkeling to get deep water bottom samples. He loves to show children and parents the details seen under the microscope. Sheldon has NEVER said no to a request to take part in field trip or sampling event.

In addition to Narrow River, Sheldon has studied benthic animals from other local areas such as Narragansett Bay and the Coastal Ponds. He has also sampled off the coast of Africa and the Faroe Islands. He has investigated the effect of dredge material and oil spills on benthic animals. One of his recent projects was to examine the benthic animals on the seafloor where the Block Island Wind Farm was going to be installed. NRPA is very fortunate to have a person with such wide-ranging expertise to be always willing to come out to Narrow River and explore and explain.

A number of years ago Sheldon joined the Narrow River Land Trust, which gives him an excuse to explore their new land acquisitions to see what’s living there. Although he didn’t formally study it, Sheldon’s expertise and experience in ecology extends to include the land animals.

2017: Kathie Kelleher
Kathie Kelleher receives the 2017 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award from NRPA President Richard Grant. Photo by Veronica Berounsky

The 2017 W.E.R. La Farge Friend of the River Award was presented to Kathie Kelleher at the Narrow River Preservation Association’s 47th Annual Meeting on October 3.

“We honor Kathie for her dedication to the stewardship of Canonchet Farm, engaging countless volunteers in the life of the Farm, collaborating with partners, and teaching residents and visitors about the cultural and natural history of the area” said Richard Grant, NRPA President, as he presented the award.

Kelleher is a founding member of Friends of Canonchet Farm, an organization devoted to preserving and improving one of the largest parcels of public land in the Narrow River Watershed. Among other successes, Kathie has been a leader in the habitat restoration project removing invasive vegetation along Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond, has organized more than 60 guided walks through Canonchet introducing residents and visitors to the unique natural and cultural history of the 167-acre former estate of Governor Sprague, now owned by the Town of Narragansett, and is currently developing plans for a linear park at Canonchet Farm in collaboration with the URI Landscape Architecture Class.

2016: David Smith

The 2016 award went to David Smith for his outstanding service as the NRPA Program Coordinator from 2011 to 2016 and for his dedicated and active participation in many initiatives and events concerning Narrow River and its Watershed. October 4, 2016.

2015: Paul McCaffrey and Mick Westkott

Narrow River Preservation Association’s Veronica Berounsky congratulates Mick Westkott (far left) and Paul McCaffrey on receiving the 2015 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award at the 45th NRPA Annual Meeting on October 1. The award recognizes their leadership in starting the Narrow River Turnaround Swim in 2006 and building the one-mile open water swim over the last ten years into a signature event both for NRPA and local swimmers. Westkott is in his 44th year as the Swimming and Diving Coach at URI. McCaffrey recently retired from Narragansett Schools where he taught Physical Education. Both men are members of the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame.

2014: Jason Considine

Richard Grant, President of the Narrow River Preservation Association (left), presents Jason Considine of South Kingstown with the 2014 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award at the 44th NRPA Annual Meeting on October 2. The award recognizes Jason’s “leadership in founding and hosting the annual Pettaquamscutt Paddle each year since 2008, and for his generous support of NRPA’s annual kayak fundraising program.” Jason is the owner and operator of Narrow River Kayaks in Middlebridge, and is a member of the NRPA Board of Directors.

2013: Rosemary Smith

NRPA President Richard Grant presents Rosemary Carty Smith of Narragansett with the 2013 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award at the 43rd NRPA Annual Meeting on October 3.

The award recognizes Rosemary’s work in “founding and coordinating the On Pettaquamscutt winter speaker series” and her active participation in many others areas of service to Narrow River and its watershed.

On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershed is joint project of NRPA, Friends of Canonchet Farm, South County Museum and the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library. In January 2014, the series begins its third season of monthly Sunday afternoon presentations at the library.

2012: Annette DeSilva

Narrow River Preservation Association presented Annette DeSilva with the 2012 W.E.R. La Farge Memorial Friend of the River Award at the 42nd NRPA Annual Meeting on October 4.

The award recognizes Annette’s many contributions to preservation of the Narrow River Watershed, including management of NRPA’s River Watch water-quality monitoring program since the program’s inception in 1992. Earlier in the meeting, Annette was joined by fellow NRPA Board member Dr. Veronica Berounsky in presenting an analysis of 20 years of data from testing at 14 sites along the river by volunteer water-quality monitors.

2011: Bob Schelleng

Robert Schelleng of Narragansett accepts the 2011 W.E.R. LaFarge Memorial Friend of the River Award from NRPA Board member Dr. Veronica Berounsky at the NRPA Annual Meeting on October 4, 2011. Schelleng was recognized for his volunteer participation in the NRPA’s River Watch Program, with bi-weekly testing of water quality on Narrow River from May until October for each of the last 20 years. Now for those of you keeping score, here is what Bob has done so far for NRPA River Watch:

  • Monitored the water at Lacey Bridge 140 times
  • Conducted 560 dissolved oxygen tests, took 140 temperature readings, did 560 chlorophyll tests and made 200 salinity measurements
  • Collected 50 sets of water samples for further testing at URI
2010: Dr. Arthur Gaines
NRPA Board member Veronica Berounsky presenting the 2010 W.E.R. LaFarge Friend of the River Award to Dr. Arthur Gaines. Projected on the screen behind them is a painting of the River by Ed Coman. The same view of the River is in photograph on the Award. (photo by Annette DeSilva)

In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s Arthur Gaines undertook the first in-depth, landmark study of the Narrow River for his doctoral work at the University of Rhode Island. Because he understood the high ecological value of the river, he also volunteered to serve on the first Board of Directors of NRPA.

In his talk at the 2010 Annual Meeting, entitled “Why the Narrow River is a Special Place and Deserves to be Protected,” Dr. Gaines presented data that opened a window into our River’s history. The sediment core samples that were recovered from the River floor depict the major events, such as the hurricanes of 1938 and 1954. Chemical samples show evidence of the United Nuclear accident nearby in Wood River Junction in 1964 and, from much farther away, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster Ukraine in 1986. Dr. Gaines slides also included historic photographs of the River shoreline and the folks like Bill Lacey who made their livings from the River.

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