Environment Council of Rhode Island

2008 John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Award Recipient

The Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust

The Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust is the recipient of the 2008 John H. Chafee Conservation Leadership Award for preserving five diverse and invaluable parcels of land totaling more than 300 acres, during 2007.

Working with various partners, the Trust is being honored for acquiring development rights to 115 acres of the historic Treaty Rock Farm, 95 acres of Sakonnet Vineyards, and 10 acres of the Boddington Parcel, while purchasing 28 acres of the Peckham parcel, 19 acres of the Goulart parcel, and 49 acres of the Boddington Parcel.

These purchases of land and the acquisition of development rights have preserved farmland, protected watersheds including a major source of drinking water for the City of Newport and the watersheds of the near pristine Tuniper’s and Quicksand salt ponds. The Trust conserved key wildlife habitat including areas inhabited by endangered species, as well as providing open space and viewsheds for the community.

Throughout its 22 year history, The Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust has preserved 1560 acres of land, of which 987 acres are in open space, and 573 acres are working farmland, with more than 1/5 of this total being preserved in 2007. The Trust is being honored for its efforts to protect the historic rural character, working farms, landscapes, and sensitive habitats of Little Compton.

Outstanding 2008 Conservation Projects and Programs

Amgen Resource Conservation Program

Biotechnology pioneer Amgen has developed an ongoing Resource Conservation Program that has considerably reduced the use of natural resources at the its West Greenwich, RI facility. Continuing work by the Energy Reduction team and the Recycling team has already reduced water use by approximately 150,000 gallons a day and electricity consumption by 2.2 million kilowatt hours per year while increasing the recycling rate at the plant from 33% to 54%. They continue to look for ways to improve performance.

Fidelity Wildlife At Work

At the Fidelity Investments campus in Smithfield RI, employees, as volunteers, have developed a program to green Fidelity called Wildlife at Work. Beginning with projects to enhance wildlife habitat including the creation of a bluebird trail, continuing monitoring of fledged bluebirds, planting a butterfly garden and other native plants attractive to pollinators, and the installation of a bat house and the creation of a bat education program, the volunteers have branched out into other environmentally friendly projects such as an energy efficient lighting retrofit of the campus and the installation of bathroom paper towel dispensers with motion sensors that reduced towel use by 38,286 pounds over the course of a year.

Scituate High School Community Energy Project

The Scituate High School Community Energy Project combines its academic curriculum with study of the use and conservation of energy and other resources in the greater community. The project was first conceived as an academic effort to help students learn about environmental and energy issues; research techniques; and develop presentation skills. It has become a community wide partnership in which students, through their research and presentations, have brought an ecological freshmen, the Community Energy Project now encompasses the High School and its community partners, including People’s Power and Light and the RI Office of Energy Resources, while becoming a model program in The National Energy Education Development Project.

Read about winners from previous years.