Spring 2025
Newsletter

Invasive Plants in
Canonchet Farm

View Canonchet
Farm Video

Plans for the
Linear Park

Trail Work at Canonchet Farm

Guided Walks
this Spring

Sunday, April 6
The Gealogy of Canonchet Farm

Satrurday, April 19
Vernals Pools

Saturday, May 24
History of Canonchet Farm

Sunday, June 1
Edible Foraging in the Forest

 

Posted June 6, 2025

Sunday, June 1, 1:00 p.m., Narragansett Community Center

2025 Friends of Canonchet Farm
Annual Meeting

Please join us for the 2025 Friends of Canonchet Farm Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition Event on Sunday, June 22, starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Narragansett Community Center at 53 Mumford Road.

We will serve food and drinks, and we will feature a short presentation from Sonia Silva Thomas, a URI Master Gardener, leader of the Pettaquamscutt Community Garden and member of the Narragansett Tribe. Sonia will discuss the history of the Narragansetts in South County, their famous sachem Canonchet, the achievements of the current Pettaquamscutt Community Garden and what to expect from the additional location soon to open in Canonchet Farm in 2026.

Come join us to meet fellow members and Board members and hear more about the exciting next steps for the Friends of Canonchet Farm.

Thomas Hoagland, President
Friends of Canonchet Farm


Posted May 24, 2025

Guided Walk: Sunday, June 1, 1:00 p.m.

Edible Foraging in the Forest

Brett Mayette, local natural foods expert, will lead a walk along part of the Canonchet Farm Nature Trail and along the fields identifying native edible plants and explaining their preparation and nutritive value.

Brett Mayette as seen in the "Where the Wild Things Are,"
South County Life, August 1, 2014.

We will meet in the South County Museum parking lot for a brief talk and perhaps a tasty sample of a native plant.

Friends of Canonchet Farm is sponsoring this walk and it’s free and open to the public. Please register at Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/edible-foraging-in-the-forest-tickets-1378367216449?aff=oddtdtcreator


Posted May 7, 2025

Talk and Walk: Saturday, May 24, 1:00 p.m.

History of Canonchet Farm

Jim Crothers, Executive Director of the South County Museum emeritus, returns with his popular and informative history of Canonchet Farm from colonial days to the 20th century. Meet us inside the South County Museum‘s Metz Exhibition Hall for a brief talk before taking the walk. Friends of Canonchet Farm is sponsoring this guided walk and it’s free and open to the public.

Please register at Eventbrite:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/history-of-canonchet-farm-tickets-1355811431489?aff=oddtdtcreator


Posted March 23, 2025

Sunday, April 6, 1:00 p.m.

Canonchet Farm Geology Rocks!

Join Beth Laliberte, Teaching Professor in the URI Geosciences Department, for a brief presentation on the geologic history of Rhode Island followed by a guided walk along the Canonchet Farm Geology Trail. Highlights include a “sheep rock,” puddingstone, a historic cemetery and a granite quarry.

Meet at the picnic tables by the South County Museum parking lot, 115 Strathmore Street in Narragansett. The walk is sponsored by Friends of Canonchet Farm and is free and open to the public.To register for this event, click this Eventbrite link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/canonchet-farm-geology-rocks-tickets-1298086805579


The Sheep Rock at Canonchet Farm


More Walks this Spring

Saturday, April 19, 1:00 p.m. -- Vernal Ponds

Ethan Paiva from the Audubon Society will lead a walk to Canonchet Farm’s large vernal pond where he will describe this year’s monitoring program and identify various reptiles and amphibians which inhabit such ecosystems. Friends of Canonchet Farm is sponsoring this talk and walk, and it is free and open to the public.

Saturday, May 24, 1: p.m. -- History of Canonchet Farm

Jim Crothers, Executive Director of the South County Museum Emeritus will return with his popular and informative history of Canonchet Farm from colonial days to the twentieth century. Meet us inside the South County Museum’s Metz Building for the talk. Friends of Canonchet Farm is sponsoring this talk and walk, and it is free and open to the public.

Sunday, June 1, 1:00 p.m. -- Edible Foraging in the Forest

Brett Ayette, local natural foods expert, will lead a walk along the Nature Trail identifying native edible plants and explaining their preparation and nutritive value. We will meet and begin our walk at the South County Museum parking lot. Friends of Canonchet Farm is sponsoring this walk, and it is free and open to the public.

Also in the works:

Watch the space or Friends of Canonchet Farm on Facebook for times and registration information.


Posted January 2, 2025

Join us for the 2025 season of On Pettaquamscutt
with three great Sunday afternoon presentations:

January 26
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.

February 23
Mending Matters, Historical Perspectives on Textiles and the Environment
Rebecca Kelly

Rebecca Kelly is the Deputy Director and Curator at the South County Museum, which sponsors this talk.

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.

Registration opens on January 1.

Registration opens on February 1.

Registration opens on March 1.

On Pettaquamscutt talks are presented at the
Maury Loontjens Memorial Library in Narragansett,
25 Pier Marketplace, Narragansett, starting at 1:00 p.m.

On Pettaquamscutt is a collaboration between the Friends of Canonchet Farm, Narrow River Preservation Association, South County Museum, and the Maury Loontjens Memorial Library. All talks are free and open to the public. 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.


 

Updated December 17, 2019

Improving the Canonchet Farm Trail

In October, Friends of Canonchet Farm volunteers returned to working along the Canonchet Farm Trail, removing invasive vegetation and making the trail safer and more enjoyable. The work continues every Saturday (whether permitting through the spring, when work shifts back to restoration of the area along Lake Canonchet and Little Neck Pond.

Please meet at the Friends of Canonchet Farm trailer located on the grounds of the South County Museum at the end of Strathmore Street, which is off Kingstown Road in Narragansett. We will gather at 9 a.m. and walk to the area of the trail where we will be removing privet, multiflora rose, bittersweet and other invasive plants. As always, we provide tools, snacks, drinks, gloves, instruction and fun. You'll meet wonderful people who share your concern for the preservation and improvement of Canonchet Farm.


Map of Canonchet Farm
Shows trail heads and points of interest
For more information about the Friends of Canonchet Farm,
email Tom Hoagland (tom.hoagland963@gmail.com).
Copyright © 2007-2025 Friends of Canonchet Farm
Last modified: June 4, 2025