Under a Park Use Agreement with the Department of Environmental Management, the City of Warwick has assumed responsibility for the maintenance of Salter Grove for 20 years until 2034.
Stormy weather and careless visitors have added to the demands of this agreement. A large shade tree that just missed falling on one of the benches on Audubon Hill and a shattered wooden guard rail near the playground were the latest challenges.
Hats off to Warwick’s DPW for promptly addressing these incidents!
The lower-than-usual rainfall combined with higher-than-usual temperatures during the growing season in 2022 greatly reduced fruit production at Salter Grove to a level not seen in many years. It was alarming because many insectivorous birds and their fledglings include large amounts of fruits in their diet after at the end of the breeding season.
However, the bumper crop of juicy and plump berries this year should convince fruit-eating birds that Salter Grove is a great place to raise their families!
Just two weeks ago, a Baltimore Oriole was already pokoing through ground vegetation to get at fruits of twice-leaved blackberry that creep through low vegetation.
Soon, the hedges of leafy-flowered blackberry, and wine raspberry that line the lawn south of the parking lot will be filled with ripe fruits.
Salter Grove recently hosted high school students who fulfilled their community service hours towards their graduation requirements. The experience proved to be mutually beneficial.
Two equally effective approaches were taken. Starting in late May, Alexandra Dickinson, a senior from Lincoln School in Providence dedicated 40 hours over a two-week period to assist with maintaining the vegetation and signage along the nature trails.
Using both field observations and the Guide to Salter Grove, she learned to identify many of the common birds and plants that occur in the park.
In early June, Cole Robinson and his class of 14 sophomores from the MET High School devoted two hours to: 1) install signage along the Upland Trail, 2) clear vegetation to provide access to a patch of heavily fruiting blackberry, and 3) remove Japanese knotweed throughout the park to deter further invasion.
All of the students were first introduced to the impenetrable patch of Japanese knotweed on Audubon Field. Witnessing the aggressive growth of this introduced species helped them realize how their respective tasks contribute to the overall care of the park.
See more photos from the MET students’ work at Salter Grove below:
(MET visit photographs by FoSG member Jason Major)
On June 1st, 2023, 4th- and 5th-graders from St. Peter School walked to Salter Grove accompanied by three teachers and five 8th-grade honor students.
During the 90-minute visit, information from the Guide to Salter Grove was accessed by smartphone to to explore and learn about the ecological assets of the park.
Science topics discussed in the classroom came to life for students and teachers alike.
Organized into small groups, they walked along nature trails to observation stations that featured examples of: glacial history and geology of Rhode Island; native versus introduced plants; impact of invasive plants; different kinds of aquatic and terrestrial habitats; tolerance of marsh plants to brackish water; and human impact on the environment.
And all this, from just six of 23 observation stations!
Dr. Susan Unger, the science teacher who organized this field trip, would like to continue using Salter Grove as an outdoor classroom. Future field trips would focus on fewer topics so students can dive more deeply into the subject matter. Instead of simply noting down observations, they could collect data to answer specific questions formulated during classroom discussion.
See more photos from the St. Peter School field trip below:
(Photos by FoSG member Jason Major)
Early on the morning of May 6th, a group of five explorers began an observational journey through the trails of Salter Grove.
The youngsters met at a cozy picnic table along Upland trail. They were shown a series of pictures of the same location at different times of the year. The explorers noted how the features of the pictures changed seasonally.
With the pictures in mind, the explorers next set out to find an interesting location in Salter Grove. Having chosen an appropriate spot, they began the process of documenting the area. Armed with pencils, crayons, and markers they drew their chosen location with great detail.
Back at the picnic table, the explorers displayed great enthusiasm while describing the features in their pictures that they found most interesting.
The explorers will keep their pictures in a safe location for a future adventure. During the summer, they will draw another picture of the same location to see how it has changed over time.
This was the second outing of a program being developed by the Friends of Salter Grove. This program aims to show that outdoor recreation and education with minimum technology is fun.
Like Scandinavian forest schools, the program aims to instill a sense of respect for the environment and the importance of having minimal impact while demonstrating how to use a shared space without impairing others’ enjoyment.
Turn! Turn! Turn!
The 2023 cleanup season at Salter Grove got off to a strong start on March 18, thanks to a big turnout of volunteers, including many first-timers.
Cold, grey, and windy conditions didn’t diminish the enthusiasm of families and individuals who had signed up for some outdoor activity in anticipation of Spring.
Nearly 30 people worked together to collect 302 pounds of trash and other debris blown in by winter storms.
Organized by Save the Bay, large volunteer groups contribute to the regular efforts of nearby residents to keep up Salter Grove and its surrounding shorelines for the public to enjoy.
Teams come out at least monthly from March to November.
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Friends of Salter Grove 