2012 Annual Meeting

Volunteers planting shrubs at Godena

The Conanicut Island Land Trust had its 23^rd Annual Meeting on Thursday, December 13, 2012. The President of the Land Trust, Quentin Anthony, reviewed the highlights of a busy year. He explained that the Godena Farm Nature Trail, which had been in the planning stages for approximately 2 years, was now well under way. The Land Trust Board and as many as 25 volunteers planted approximately 1,000 native shrubs including viburnums, inkberries, elderberries, blueberries, and shadblow. He thanked Archie Clarke on behalf of the Board for the extensive amount of work in clearing both sides of the trail that made planting much easier. Anthony then went on to discuss the process by which the Land Trust planted 2 acres of native wildflowers. Plowing and harrowing had been done by Louis Godena to prepare the soil, and on August 7^th the Jamestown Litter Corp. hand-broadcast the native wildflower seed. The seed had been paid for by the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Anthony explained that the wildflower seed is so light that it cannot be mechanically deposited, and 7 teenagers from the Litter Corp. walked the fields broadcasting the seed by hand from 5-gallon buckets. Louis then pulled a chain link fence through the field making contact between the seed and the soil. Three days of rain followed, and despite the late planting, the wildflowers were up and blooming by late September. Anthony went on to talk about our fourth Halloween event. He explained that children of the Jamestown school had made scarecrows as part of a school project, and the Land Trust had erected the scarecrows in the fields at Godena. Over 200 children and their families attended for a night of wagon rides, bonfires and songs.

New sign at Parker Farm

Anthony then talked about the success of the management program at the Parker Farm off East Shore Road. He explained that there had been an on-going, multi-year NRCS grant for warm season grasses. At the annual NRCS review of the Parker property, the state biologist said it was the best example of warm season grass management he had ever seen. The Land Trust finished up the 2012 season with 160 native shrubs planted at Parker.

Finally, Anthony went over the extensive work done by Director Jim Turenne on digitizing the Land Trust properties. Anthony said Jim had created a digital database that allowed anyone with a cell phone or GPS to locate Land Trust properties and boundaries. Never before was it possible to stand with a cell phone and identify the corner of a property. Anthony thanked Jim for bringing property management into the 21^st century.

Archie Clark, Vice President

Following this summary, the election of officers took place. Archie Clarke was voted Vice President, Lowell Thomas, Treasurer and Quentin Anthony President. Following this, a motion was made to make Louis Godena a lifetime member for his years of commitment and work on the Godena Farm. Two young volunteers, Meryl Nelson-Lee and Ben Lee, were recognized for their contributions during 2012 with the nature trail and other work for the Land Trust.

Dr. Scott McWilliams

 The meeting ended and the floor was turned over to Dr. Scott McWilliams, a professor of ecology at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. McWilliams has written and spoken extensively on the nutritional requirements of migrating songbirds. Much of his conversation concerned the black pole warbler and how it was able to fly nonstop over 2500 miles of open water to reach South America without refueling. He discussed the nutritional value of most of the native shrubs planted at Godena and how they contributed to bird survival. For example, he explained that the black pole warbler’s remarkable flight was due, in large part, the small blue berries produced by native viburnums. On the other hand, very few birds can digest the waxy coating on bayberries. Yellow-rumped warblers are able to overwinter because they tend to utilize the rich coating of the berry. Others such as tree swallows, cat birds, mocking birds, and the common chickadee are birds that can utilize the waxy fat source.