Friends of Canonchet Announce Guided Walks

The Friends of Canonchet Farm announced today its next series of guided walks on Canonchet Farm, featuring the cultural and natural history of the farm.

The first walk will be on Sunday, September 25, when Friends of Canonchet President Tom Fortier will discuss the transition of abandoned farm fields to forest.

Canonchet Farm, which was once the home of Senator William Sprague and his wife Kate Chase Sprague, is an extensive woodland area owned by the town. it is situated between Narragansett Elementary School on Mumford Road and the Narragansett Town Beach. A small portion of the farm is the home of the South County Museum, and the remainder of the property consists mostly of wooded areas with numerous trails.

This is the sixth year that the Friends of Canonchet Farm has been conducting guided walks on the property to acquaint the public with the beauty, ecology and history of Canonchet Farm.

The walks are free and open to the public, and generally take about two hours. Unless otherwise indicated, these programs begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, and leave from the Anne Hoxsie Lane entrance to the property directly across from the Narragansett Town Beach. Walks are held rain or shine.

Following are the guided walks scheduled for 2011-2012 Series: 

• September 25: Thomas Fortier, President of the Friends of Canonchet Farm, Forest Transitions after Abandonment
• November  13 : State Archaeologist Jay Waller, Finding Evidence of Native American Use of Canonchet Farm.
• January 1:  Kathie Kelleher, Secretary of the Friends of Canonchet Farm, Keeping That Fitness Resolution on Day One of the New Year
• January/February Sunday to be announced: Thomas Fortier, Walking the Frozen Marsh
• March 18: John Miller, Narragansett resident, Reminisces about Canonchet Farm
• April, Sunday to be announced:  Jim Crothers, Director of the South County Museum, The Sprague Era
• May – Weekday to be announced:  Bird Walk led by Mike Tucker of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island
• May 20 – John Campanini of the Rhode Island Tree Council, Specimen Trees at Canonchet Farm

For additional information about the walks or the Friends of Canonchet Farm, contact Kathie Kelleher at (401) 783-3951 or FriendsCanonchet@aol.com, or visit the organization’s web site.