Public Health & Recreation

Woony River Council Receives Donation of 30 Trees for Greenway

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Tree planting along the Woonasquatucket River Greenway. (Bonnie Phillips/ecoRI News)

JOHNSTON, R.I. — There’s been a lot of growth lately at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.

On May 10, 30 trees were donated and planted along a stretch of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway by employees of Citizens Bank and Eurest, the bank’s food service provider.

More than 50 employees of the two companies and volunteers with the WRWC helped plant yellow birch, mountain laurel, and white pines along the Greenway.

The effort by Citizens Bank was a way to mark its collaboration with The Plant-It Food Co., which will offer its plant-based meals to employees on the bank’s Johnston campus. The company supports tree planting and reforestation projects.

volunteers with tree
One of the white pines planted along the Greenway. (Bonnie Phillips/ecoRI News)

“By making plant-based food options available at our Johnston campus and supporting the maintenance of the green areas in the communities where we live and work, we strive to improve the well-being of our colleagues and communities.” said Michael Knipper, head of property and procurement for Citizens Bank.

The WRWC also recently announced a partnership with the town of Smithfield, the Smithfield Conservation Commission, and the Smithfield Land Trust to obtain permission to share an expanded Leo Bouchard Conservation Center, at 5 Waterview Drive on the Stillwater Reservoir. The WRWC will use the facility to provide educational programming to students throughout the Woonasquatucket River watershed — an area that drains water to the lakes and reservoirs in Smithfield and the Woonasquatucket River.

The funding for the Leo Bouchard Conservation Center upgrades was provided through direct investment from Smithfield, with the help of many local volunteers, and through $125,000 in grant funding to WRWC from the Annenberg Foundation and the James M. Cox Foundation. The center now includes amenities such as indoor and outdoor classroom-style seating, a kayak and canoe rack, and hands-on educational exhibits.

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