The East Greenwich Land Trust and the Town of East Greenwich recently unveiled the Trail Adoption Program (TAP), in which local organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and church and community groups can volunteer to maintain local trails.

The program, inspired by a similar initiative in South Kingstown, requires a two-year commitment to maintain the trails and conduct cleanups in spring, summer, and fall typically involving brush and branch clearing and litter removal. Participants would be acknowledged by the Land Trust and by having their name posted on a sign at the trail head; they will also be encouraged to make suggestions for the improvement of current and future Land Trust properties. And they would of course have the satisfaction of improving their favorite wild space.

The Land Trust hopes that this program will not only improve trail maintenance but also reduce vandalism, increase a sense of ownership of Land Trust properties, and foster a sense of community pride.

There are seven publicly accessible properties with established trails or the potential to create them: Folger’s Woods, Fry Family Nature Preserve, Laurel Wood, Frenchtown Park, Bleachery Woods, Briggs-Boesch Farm, and the Hunt River Preserve.

Interested in adopting a space? Contact Juliana Berry at the EG Planning Department, 401-886-8645 or jberry@eastgreenwichri.com. 

This story was reported and written by Alice Palmer, a senior at East Greenwich High School.