The Westerly Land Trust

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 📸

06/02/2026

🌸Thanks to an early Memorial Day and a late Labor Day, 2026’s “unofficial” summer will last a whopping 106 days, the maximum stretch until 2037. This seems only fair after the winter we endured in New England. But how should you spend your bonus seven days of summer? We’ve got some ideas...

🌿Active Hope: Emotional Support for Eco-Grief
Wednesday, June 3, 4:30-6pm
Barlow Nature Preserve

Eco-grief is our emotional responses to climate change and environmental loss. This workshop, led by WLT friend Dr. Zoe Hanley, will include a mix of group practices, journaling and one-on-one discussion to honor our pain for the world.

🥾Thursday Hike
Thursday, June 4, 10am-12pm
Wahaneeta Preserve

This 4-mile walk goes through Wahaneeta Preserve and adjacent Woody Hill Management area, past interesting geological features and foundations from the 1800s.

🏞️National Trails Day Hike
Saturday June 6, 10am-12pm
Champlin Farm Preserve

Join WLT for a hike in honor of National Trails Day, a nationwide initiative established by the American Hiking Society to celebrate and protect the trails that connect us to nature and one another.

🐝Wednesday Wonder Walk
Buds and Bugs
Wednesday, June 17, 10-11:15AM
Avondale Farm Preserve

Every month, WLT teams up with .ri for a guided family hike curated to spark curiosity and nurture a lifelong love of nature. June’s theme is Buds and Bugs.

🌅Summer Solstice Yoga with BarreCoast
Sunday, June 21, 6-7pm
Winnapaug Farm Preserve

Celebrate the summer solstice with a special outdoor yoga class led by Register through the BarreCoast website. WLT members, contact Erika Lebling at [email protected] for a reduced registration of $10

🪦Historic Cemetery Hike
Wednesday, June 24, 6:30-8pm
Champlin Farm Preserve

Step into history for this guided hike and historic cemetery tour led by WLT volunteer and RI Historic Cemetery Commissioner Larry Hunter.

We hope to see you at a WLT event or out on the trails this June!💚🥾

05/13/2026

We’ve officially wrapped up our Spring Living Laboratories after-school program with Westerly’s three elementary schools! 💚

Together we identified the feathered friends that call our preserves home and explored the amazing world of plants and how they support our ecosystem. 🦅🌱

We love watching and helping these growing minds connect with the land! 🌎

05/08/2026