Block
Island, Rhode Island
Now celebrating our tenth year of environmental education
year-round for both the Island community as well as
for its visitors.
 The Foundation
has preserved four properties on the Island. The most
visible and the first project encompasses a little over
an acre, on a beautiful site, overlooking the Old Harbor.
It was once the grounds of a grand late 19th century
Victorian hotel. The Ocean View Hotel was originally
created as a swell destination for long summer holidays.
Now all that remain are the low stone ruins of its foundation.
By acquiring this commercial land and protecting it from
development, the Ocean View Foundation has created a
new destination providing views, rest, peace, and quiet.
On the meadow now stands a small open-air pavilion, completed
in 2000, which is open to the public from dawn to dusk. (See Home
Page photo.)
In addition to the public open space provided by the site above the Old Harbor,
two other properties have been preserved on the west side of the Island overlooking
10 wild acres of protected land with 2 ponds and a rocky coast. A simple cottage
built in the 1840s by a fishing and farming family was reconstructed and restored
in the summer and fall of 2001, with additional renovations done in 2008. The
house is a model for building in scale with the Island's cultural heritage, and
in preserving the inherent spirit of making due with what is available. Much
of the house was originally constructed from material washed up on shore. In
its new life electric and hot water energy come from the sun as much as possible,
through photovoltaic and solar hot water panels.
 Another
is a two-acre property with a single story home built
in the 1960s. The original structure has been saved and
moved to a different site on the property allowing for
a second home finished in 2007. This house has been built
utilizing the latest in green and sustainable building
principles, and provides year-round housing for a young
BI family and summer employee housing for the foundation.
The original house renovation also with green sustainable
building practices will provide additional year-round
housing.
The foundation has also produced four films: "A
Block Island Conversation" (2002), introducing visitors to the Block Island
community, "Block Island Rescue" (2003), telling of the long history
of sea rescue as well as bird study on the Island, and "Block Island Blankie" (2004)
which illustrates the path of trash & treasures traveling from a BI recycle
bin to the off-island Rhode Island Resource Recovery Center in Johnson, RI. BI
Shuffle, (2007) discusses the problem of affordable year-round housing for the
islanders. All four films are now available on one DVD. These films can be seen
on the passenger boats of Interstate Navigation sailing from Point Judith to
Block Island during the "visitor season."
In 2004, OVF introduced the Footprint Film Festival.
This program of film presentations focused on issues addressing the human footprint
on earth with the theme of Garbage. "Block Island Blankie" was introduced
at the festival and the winner by popular acclaim was “Flip Flotsam (www.journeyman.tv).
The OVF is host to annual community events held at the Pavilion: Earth Mother's
Day in May and a Community Pot Luck in October. During the summer, the Pavilion
is the venue for a weekly schedule of programs that include a Nature Walk around
the site, Bird Banding, and an Art & Nature drawing program. (See Program
Schedule for the latest offerings).
During the quiet season Block Island students
are invited on a one-day trip off the island. These excursions have included
outings to the Manshantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Norwich, CT,
the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Environmental Education Center in
Bristol, and the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT.
Finally, an old Block Island
tradition has been reintroduced – The
Community Bird Census – and
is held annually on December 26th. |
Connecting People and Nature