Habitat Restoration

We are wrapping up our habitat restoration work at Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond with just two work sessions remaining before we move into the farm to work on the Canonchet Farm Trail:

Friday morning, September 9, from 9:00 to 1:00

Saturday morning, September 24, from 9:00 to 1:00

Canonchet Farm Habitat Restoration is located on Boston Neck Road in Narragansett.

Look for the Friends of Canonchet Farm Restoring Habitat and Master Gardener signs on the sandwich board. Sign in at the volunteer table under the blue canopy on Anne Hoxsie Lane. We provide instruction, tools, gloves, snacks, coffee and lunch.

Or just stop in to learn about identifying and removing invasive species from your garden.  Discover what native plants do well in a coastal environment and where to buy them.  We always have time for visitors.

An easy hike with gorgeous views

"If you think the only place to walk in Narragansett is the sea wall," advises Betty Cotter in a feature article about Canonchet Farm in the February 10, 2016 Narragansett Times, "you might want to take a detour into the woods behind South County Museum." Click the image to read the full article.

Download a map of Canonchet Trail.

On Pettaquamscutt 2016

Join us on Sunday, March 20 as Archaeologist Jay Waller describes 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.

On Pettaquamscutt: Presentations on the Environment and the History of the Narrow River Watershedis a joint project of Friends of Canonchet Farm, Narrow River Preservation Association, South County Museum and the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library, with generous support from Trio Restaurant.

The presentation is on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library, 35 Kingstown Road, Narragansett. After each talk, you are invited to continue the conversation next door at Trio, 15 Kingstown Road.

The series is free and open to the public. However, you are asked to register in advance for each presentation as space is limited. Click the Register button to sign up for this month's presentation.

Restoring Habitat at Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond

It's a Wrap!

Although there was one more work session on the following Saturday, the Friends of Canonchet Farm marked the successful completion of another year of habitat restoration at Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond with the Fourth Annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening at the South County Museum on Wednesday, September 23.

(l-r) Libby Lamarre of North Kingstown, Mary Beth Dumouchel of East Greenwich, and Colleen Kenyon and Sandy Koerner both of South Kingstown were among the 46 volunteers who worked a total of 762 hours along the two coastal ponds across from the Narragansett Town Beach. John Miller of Narragansett, who logged 34 hours this season, receives a commemorative photo from Kathie Kelleher at the Volunteer Appreciation Evening. Many thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who enabled remarkable changes at Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond.

Volunteers Plant 132 Rhody Native Plants
at Lake Canonchet

More than two dozen volunteers planted 132 Rhody Native plants across from the Narragansett Town Beach on Saturday, September 12, as part of a Friends of Canonchet Farm habitat restoration project at Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond. The plants, which included Virginia rose, shadbush and chokeberry grown from seed harvested from local plants, were purchased with a grant from the South County Garden Club. The habitat restoration project now in its fourth year consists of the removal of invasive vegetation from edge of the coastal ponds to promote the growth of native species. The project is funded by the Friends of Canonchet Farm, with additional support from the Greenway Alliance of Rhode Island for equipment and supplies. Click any thumbnail below to enlarge the image. (Photos by Rosemary and David Smith)

Need more information? E-mail Kathie Kelleher and she will fill you in on Restoring Habitat at Lake Canonchet and other volunteer opportunities.

Watch a new YouTube video by Brien Jennings
about habitat restoration at Lake Canonchet.

Here are links to two slide shows that show the progress we have made:

• Restoring Habitat at Lake Canonchet 2013
  
• Wildflowers Along Lake Canonchet 2013

The future of Lake Canonchet, as envisioned 41 years ago...
(click the image to zoom in)

New Sign Honors Charlie Lee, Celebrates Native Plants Along Lake Canonchet

The Friends of Canonchet Farm has donated the first in a series of interpretive signs on Canonchet Farm, this one describing the native plants that are thriving along the eastern edge of Lake Canonchet.

Installed near the intersection of Boston Neck Road and Anne Hoxsie Lane, the sign features an illustration by Frances Topping and honors the memory of Charlie Lee, founding member the Friends of Canonchet Farm.