News & Events

The Mathias Oppersdorff Memorial Photo Contest

Do you have a favorite scene that summarizes the natural beauty of South Kingstown? Grab your camera, and enter your favorite photo in our Mathias Oppersdorff Memorial Photo Contest. “Mo,” as he was known to his friends, helped us with our first photo contest and was the judge for the event. Mo passed away on January 26th, at the age of 75. His legacy as a nationally known photographer will be on display at the photo contest.

The Contest: The South Kingstown Land Trust (SKLT) is proud of the “sense of place” that is South Kingstown. To celebrate its diverse habitats and vistas, we are encouraging amateur photographers to enter their favorite South Kingstown photographs into our photo contest and show. Photos must be taken within the South Kingstown boundaries. Photos will be displayed at the Barn on the Matunuck Beach Road during our Annual Meeting on Sunday, April 11, 2010, starting at 3:00 pm.

Who May Enter: Any amateur photographer of any age.

Format/Restrictions:All photos must fit in an 8” x 10” matt. WE WILL MATT YOUR PHOTOS FOR YOU! Framed photos will not be accepted. Photos may be in color or black and white. There must not be any writing on the front of the photo or matting (if any) you submit. Photos must be taken in South Kingstown. Each contestant is limited to three entries.

Registration: On a piece of paper affixed securely to the back of the photo, please print your name, telephone number, e-mail address, the subject matter of the photo, and date and location of where it was taken.

Fees: There is a $10 per photo entry fee. Make checks payable to SKLT.

Deadline: Photos must be received by Friday April 2, 2010. Photos and entry fee may be sent to South Kingstown Land Trust, 313 Main Street Suite C. Wakefield, RI 02879. For more information about the photo contest or SKLT, please call Claudia at 789-0962.

Exhibit: The photos will be judged by a panel of judges prior to the opening for first second and third place winners. Also, photos will be judged by everyone who visits the show on April 11 to determine the ‘People’s Choice” award. All photos entered will be displayed at the Barn. There will be awards for the top three winners as well as the People’s Choice. The People’s Choice will be awarded $100. Photos may be reproduced and later displayed by SKLT.

If you would like your photos to be returned, please provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope and your photo will be mailed to you. All photos submitted without a stamped envelope must be picked up by April 30th, 2010, or they become the property of SKLT. Photos may be reproduced and later displayed by SKLT.

Liability: SKLT will not insure the entries received nor be responsible for any loss or damage of the entries.


Painted Trillium

South Kingstown Land Trust Protects the Perryville Carpenter Farm

The South Kingstown Land Trust announces a significant achievement for conservation with the acquisition of a conservation easement on most of the historic Carpenter farm on Moonstone Beach Road and Post Road in Perryville. With the closing concluded on July 20, 2009, now just over 40 of the farm’s 52 acres are preserved in perpetuity, preventing the development of up to 19 houses on that portion of the site. Most of the funding for the project was provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) and the Town of South Kingstown’s Open Space Bond program. SKLT also received funding support from the Bafflin Foundation, the Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust, the Sharpe Family Foundation, and 70 generous individuals, all of whom came to the rescue with only a month left until closing to fund a shortfall of $125,000. The landowners also contributed to the project’s success by agreeing to a reduction in the purchase price. SKLT still needs to raise $4,400 to completely fill the gap. The strong grassroots community support for the project was evident, with gifts from individuals ranging from $5 to $10,000.

“On behalf of our board and staff at SKLT, I want to thank everyone who contributed to this project, especially in these difficult times. This was a one-time opportunity to protect a true village gem, and we are grateful that so many people pitched in to make this project a success,” commented Mike Sherry, president of the board of trustees of SKLT.

For more information about the South Kingstown Land Trust’s programs, or how you can contribute to preserving South Kingstown’s special places, call SKLT at (401) 789-0962.

A Close-up of Browning Woods Trail

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday afternoon in late October 2008 when 19 hardy hikers took to the woods on South Kingstown Land Trust’s Browning Woods Farm Trail. Under the able leadership of Clarkson Collins, SKLT’s Land Management Director, we gathered to explore the historic lands that were preserved by SKLT. This trail crosses three parcels of land. The largest, the 165-acre Browning Woods Farm, was purchased from Harold Browning, Jr. in 1999. In 2001 and 2003, the adjacent lots were purchased from the Kenney family and the Animal Rescue League, together encompassing 21.8 acres. These acquisitions were funded by The Nature Conservancy (with funds from the Champlin Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation); RI Department of Environmental Management’s Forest Legacy and local open space bond programs; the Town of South Kingstown’s open space bond program; and the RI Greenways grant, which helped to fund the trail construction and signage.

The trail begins at about 100 feet above sea level, comfortably passing over a swamp and intermittent stream, due to impressive trail work, before ascending to almost 200 feet through wooded uplands for 2.6 miles. Stately white and pitch pine offer soft needles underfoot. Looking closely, we found the fragrant red berries of the wintergreen and outcrops of protected princess pine along the trail. Red squirrels darted through the oak leaves looking for robust acorns, which were plentiful. The well-marked trail is easily navigable, as our team of land stewards has done an impressive job of keeping the greenbrier at bay. Clark pointed out some of the ‘not so obvious’ remains of the Browning homestead, among them, three large, flat stones of varying height lined up next to each other, for horseback riders of different heights, to assist them in their mounts (see photograph). The Woods farm was part of the original Pettaquamscutt Purchase dating from the 1650s and remained in the Browning family for 10 generations before it was protected by SKLT. Along with the purchase of the land came a family history, complete with samples of fabric that was woven from flax raised on the farm.

To learn more about the sense of place that is South Kingstown, check our Events Calendar and join us on future hikes with SKLT. We hope to see you there. (For details and to register, contact Jane Baumann at jane.baumann@sklt.org.)


At the Browning Woods Trail Head


Browning Woods Hikers, 10-25-08


Browning Homestead "Stepped Stones"


Wintergreen

A Report on Monitoring Day, November 28, 2008

November 2008 Monitoring Day photos

On a glorious autumn day, some 65 volunteers descended on the farms, fields, and woodlands of the South Kingstown Land Trust to perform an annual inspection of the properties we protect. The volunteers first met at the Land Trust Barn on Matunuck Beach Road, where a series of property maps were displayed on bulletin boards throughout the room, for an overview of the project and to learn how to complete the forms they would be taking into the field. Clarkson Collins, SKLT’s Land Management Director, explained the process to everyone present, and then assigned properties to each of the teams (2 or more inspection sites per team).

By midday, everyone was on the way to one or more of the 129 properties either owned or otherwise conserved by the Land Trust. The teams reported back to the Barn later in the afternoon, with their completed forms. Each property was photographed, and this visual data will be filed along with the reports taken each year by our volunteer teams.

At the end of the day, all participants were treated to a hot chili dinner in the Barn and lots of good conversation about the day's activities. A giant bonfire blazed away in the nearby field, warming all who wanted to linger just a little bit longer before heading home.

Although this was our first effort to involve large numbers of volunteers in a single project, it was an extraordinary day for all of us at the Land Trust and, we believe, for all who participated. This important and necessary monitoring task could not have happened without the dedication, perseverance, and participation of so many of our members. We are extremely grateful for your hard work that day. Stay tuned -- more to come in the future. And many thanks to our SKLT site monitors for a job well done!