The Westerly Land Trust

10/05/2026

October is here🥾🍂
🎃⏩Scroll through to see what’s happening at the Westerly Land Trust this month!

✨Wednesday Wonder Walk✨
Wednesday, October 7, 10-11am
📍Winnapaug Farm Preserve

Join Anneke Huyghebaert - Founder and the Westerly Land Trust once a month for Wonder Walks, a guided family hiking series designed to spark curiosity and nurture a lifelong love of nature.

This month we will be exploring wind at Winnapaug! 💨🌾

Wonder Walks are no cost to families but registration is required. An adult must accompany their child, this is a great opportunity to adventure together!

For more info and to sign up, follow the link in our bio to purchase Calendar of Events or copy and paste the following link into your browser:
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/wonder-walk-at-winnapaug-farm-preserve/

🍄Fungal Foray🍄
Wednesday, October 7, 4:30-6pm
📍Dr. John Champlin Glacier Park

Join Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Westerly Land Trust to learn about local mushroom foraging. We will begin with an introduction to mushroom foraging, followed by a hike to identify local mushrooms on the trail. 🥾🍄‍🟫

Registration is required for this program, it is no cost for WLT members and $10 for not-yet members. Follow the link in our bio to our Calendar of Events to learn more and sign up or copy and paste the following link into your browser:
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/fungal-foray/

Thursday Hikes on WLT Properties🥾

📍Crandall Family Preserve
October 8, 10-11:30am

📍Riverwood Preserve
October 22, 10-11:30am

This group visits WLT properties, plus preserves all over RI and SECT. To view the full Thursday Hike schedule follow the link in our bio to our Hikes, Paddles, and Wellness page or copy and paste the following link into your browser:
https://westerlylandtrust.org/connect-enjoy/hikes-paddles-wellness/

🦇The World of Bats🦇
Thursday, October 29, 5:30-7pm
📍Barlow Nature Preserve
�
Just in time for Halloween! Discover the truth about one of nature’s most misunderstood mammals with bat expert, Julia Chase-Brand, a truly remarkable woman whose life has been defined by curiosity, perseverance, breaking barriers, and changing history.

This inspiring program celebrates a lifetime of exp

09/17/2026

What. A. Night! All the stars aligned and Saturday night was pure magic. Thank you for joining us at the table for the Farm Dinner at Barlow Nature Preserve. ✨🍽️

One of our favorite recollections of the evening was walking along the table and seeing people of all ages and backgrounds sharing a meal and conversation. This event is all about community, and our community truly shined. The farmers shared their stories, and we could taste their respect and connection to both land and sea in every bite. 🥬🥩

We were honored to partner with Chef Johan Jensen and his wife Abbey Hemmann of Whitecrest Eatery and The Back Door Kitchen & Pizza in Stonington, CT. Not only did their culinary creativity astound us, but they exuded positive energy and good vibes. Cheers to Abbey and Johan for welcoming their third baby just a week prior to the event. We are so happy for their beautiful, growing family. 💚

Thank you for supporting our conservation work through this special event. Your presence directly impacts our mission to protect local habitats, sustain community agriculture, and preserve open space for generations to come. If you enjoyed the fresh local ingredients highlighted during dinner, we encourage you to continue supporting our regional farm partners who made the evening possible. Buying local helps sustain our agricultural economy while keeping active farmland protected. 🚜🧑‍🌾

Beriah Lewis Farm
BRIGHTSIDE SEAFOOD
Carpenter’s Farm
everbreezefarm
Narragansett Creamery
Smith's Acres LLC
WatchHillOysters
Wehpittituck Farm
West Farm Organics

📸 Thank you to Paul B for capturing the beautiful night!

09/09/2026

What’s your favorite color to notice in nature? 🌈🌿

We spent this morning exploring the trails at Flora Whiteley Preserve with local families. To slow down our adventure and really notice our surroundings we used paint chips to match against the beautiful natural colors of the changing seasons. 🍁🍄🌸

✨Join us for our next Wonder Walk on October 7th at Winnapaug Farm Preserve starting at 10 am. ✨

Wonder Walks is a guided family hiking series hosted by Westerly Land Trust🌳 and Anneke Huyghebaert - Founder designed to spark curiosity and nurture a lifelong love of nature. All walks are offered at no cost to you and your family but registration is required. An adult must accompany their child(ren) during program. This is a great opportunity to adventure together!

Follow the link in our bio to our Calendar of Events or type the following link into your browser to learn more and sign up!
https://westerlylandtrust.org/events-calendar/

09/01/2026

Save this post for later and scroll through to see what’s happening in September at the Westerly Land Trust! 🌳

🚣🥾Thursday Hikes & Paddles
To view the full Thursday Paddle and Hike schedules, click the following link: https://westerlylandtrust.org/connect-enjoy/hikes-paddles-wellness/

✨Wednesday Wonder Walk
Wednesday, September 9, 10-11am
Flora Whiteley Preserve
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/wonder-walk-at-flora-whitely-preserve/

☕️🪚CCC is Back in Action!
Tuesday, September 15th, 8:30 am
Barlow Nature Preserve

🪨Rhode Island Stone Walls
Thursday, September 17, 5:30-6:30pm
Barlow Nature Preserve
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/rhode-island-stone-walls/

🪶Hawk Migration
Thursday, September 24, 5:30-7pm
Barlow Nature Preserve
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/hawk-migration/

🧭🗺️Trails to Treasure Girl Scout Adventure
Saturday, September 19, 10am-12pm
Barlow Nature Preserve
https://westerlylandtrust.org/event/trails-to-treasure-girl-scout-adventure/

🧘‍♀️Fall Equinox Yoga on the Farm with BarreCoast
Tuesday, September 22, 6-7pm
Winnapaug Farm Preserve
https://barrecoast.union.site/events/barre-coast-fall-equinox-yoga-on-the-farm-at-winnapaug-farm-preserve

🦇🦫Living Laboratories After School Programs
No cost, hands-on, outdoor, after-school adventures for students in K-4 who attend Westerly Public Schools State Street School Springbrook Elementary School Dunn's Corners School
Various WLT preserves
https://westerlylandtrust.org/portfolio/wps-living-laboratories-afterschool-enrichment-spring-2026/

🦇🦫Homeschool Adventures
No cost, hands-on, outdoor, adventures for homeschool students in our community. ENRICHri Information Page
Various WLT preserves
https://westerlylandtrust.org/portfolio/homeschool-group-adventures/

🌻Date Night Picnics hosted by Echo Rock Flowers
Saturdays, September 19 and 26th
Barlow Nature Preserve
https://www.echorockflowers.com/date-night-picnic/date-night-picnic

08/18/2026

Stop scrolling and appreciate the bees. They’re working hard!🐝🌼

07/31/2026

We wrapped up Farm Squad 2026 this week!

Thanks to all of our partners who helped make this summer so fun and magical!! 💚🥒🌳

Stayed tuned for more photos and videos of students in action this summer!! 📸

07/27/2026

The Farm Dinner is our favorite event of the year; an evening spent enjoying good company and celebrating the bounty of the land. On Saturday, September 12th, we’ll set our table at the Barlow Nature Preserve, the 80-acre parcel that over the past 6 years has evolved past Westerly Land Trust’s homebase into our home. We’ve watched the two working farms here, Frontier Farm and 🌿Echo Rock Flowers🌿, mature over the years, luring residents and visitors with the promise of fresh, local, nutritious food and beautiful flowers. Year-round, tiny, giddy voices can be heard, as young students chase bees and marvel at how a seed becomes a plump tomato. This land and all 1,900+ acres in WLT’s charge are worthy of a night like the Farm Dinner!

With this in mind, we have invited the inspiring husband-and-wife team behind Whitecrest Eatery and The Back Door Kitchen & Pizza, Johan Jensen and Abbey Hemmann, to plan and prepare our entire 2026 Farm Dinner menu. Johan is known for his globally influenced flavors and “dishes that are as exciting as they are delicious.” Abbey’s idea of a perfect dining experience is “a place where every guest feels right at home, everyone feels like they’re part of the family, and every visit feels like a celebration.”

So join us for our 2026 Farm Dinner on Saturday, September 12th beginning at 3:30pm — gather with friends and neighbors out on the land and enjoy a fabulous meal prepared entirely with local ingredients. Many thanks to our 2026 Farm Dinner Presenting Sponsor South County Tourism Council for helping bring this event to life.

To reserve your seats, please visit www.westerlylandtrust.org

We look forward to seeing you at the table!

07/23/2026

07/22/2026

On Monday night, Westerly Land Trust hosted our annual President’s Circle event at Barlow Nature Preserve to honor our closest supporters. ✨🌳

Our guest speaker was Lee Eastbourne, the Executive Director of the Jonnycake Center of Westerly. Lee shared the story behind the current agricultural partnership between our two organizations, which is allowing for exciting progress at WLT’s Haggerty Family Preserve, just down the road from where we were celebrating. Thanks to a generous grant from the Champlin Foundation, WLT and Jonnycake Center of Westerly are working together to convert a portion of a 9-acre hay field into a productive farm dedicated to supporting local food-insecure families. The night was made even more special with Debbie Haggerty and her daughter Brona in attendance. The Haggerty family worked with the Westerly Land Trust in 2014 to permanently protect this acreage. 💚

Thank you to The Cooked Goose and The Cheese Corner Westerly for creating a beautiful veggie platter and cheese tray, and to Grey Sail Brewing of RI for donating refreshing brews for everyone to enjoy.🥃🥒🥕🧀

06/03/2026

✨Save the Date for Westerly Land Trust’s Annual Farm Dinner!!✨

🗓️You’ll want to mark this date in your calendar:
Saturday, September 12th at Barlow Nature Preserve

The Westerly Land Trust’s Annual Farm Dinner is a night to come together with friends and neighbors, dine al fresco, and celebrate our local agricultural land and the people who grow and prepare our food.🧑‍🌾🧑‍🍳🥗

🍽️ Information on how to save your seat at the table is coming soon. In the meantime time, enjoy some snap shots from last year’s Farm Dinner taken by .events 📸