This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Connecting Corridors: Restoring Native Habitats One Native Plant at a Time

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. at the Little Compton Town
Hall, 40 Commons, Little Compton, with an hors d’oeuvres/dessert reception. The
lecture begins at 7:00p.m. with an introduction by Hope Leeson, botanist and
coordinator of the RINHS Rhody Native Initiative, providing a basic context for
the importance of locally sourced native plants in our landscapes. The event is
free and open to the public and is graciously hosted by the Sakonnet
Preservation Association with additional support from the Sogkonate and Little
Compton Garden Clubs.



            Boland,
a plant ecologist, author and photographer, launched Polly Hill Arboretum’s
model program, MV Wildtype, in 2006. This native genotype production program
uses wild plant seeds collected from Martha’s Vineyard to grow more than 40
native species of plants for use in habitat restoration and home gardening.
With the help of partner The Nature Conservancy, the program has had a
noticeable effect on healing fragmented landscapes on Martha’s Vineyard in only
seven years.



In his talk, Boland
will also discuss the health of native insect pollinators on Martha’s Vineyard
and how gardens, agriculture, and natural areas play a vital role in
maintaining animal diversity on a finite piece of land. Boland will hold a
workshop on native plant propagation the following day, see www.rinhs.org for details.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.



            The theme of the 2013-2014
lecture series is “conservation of rare plants and animals in a changing
world.” Other speakers in the series are Eric Dinerstein, vice president for
conservation science at the World Wildlife Fund, speaking on “The Kingdom of
Rarities: Why Some Plants and Animals are Rare and Others Common,” on Nov. 8 in
North Kingstown; David Blockstein, senior scientist at the National Council for
Science and the Environment, on “The Passenger Pigeon: Lessons for Today from
an Extinction a Century Ago” on Feb. 27 at URI; and Phil Edwards of the R.I.
Department of Environmental Management’s Freshwater Fisheries Division, on “Can
Alewife and River Herring Restoration Efforts Succeed in New England?” in May
in Providence.



            For more information on any of these
events contact Kira Stillwell at 401-874-5800 or programadmin@rinhs.org.

Find out what's happening in Tiverton-Little Comptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?