Sue Sosnowski honored by RI Food Policy Council

Rep. McGaw, Sen. Sosnowski honored as ‘Changemakers’ by R.I. Food Policy Council

From left, Rep. Michelle McGaw, R.I. Food Policy Council
President Diane Lynch, Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski and
RIFPC Executive Director Nessa Richman

Sen. V Susan Sosnowski and Rep. Michelle McGaw were honored today by the Rhode Island Food Policy Council for their work to protect the local food system.

The organization presented the legislators with its Changemaker award at its annual policy retreat, held today at the Providence Public Library.

According to Rhode Island Food Policy Council Executive Director Nessa Richman, the organization selected Senator Sosnowski (D-Dist. 37, South Kingstown) for the honor because of her longstanding support for Rhode Island’s farms, fisheries and local food system. 

She was an early leader in the creation of the state Local Agriculture and Seafood Act (LASA) Grant program. She is a farmer herself, and her support for the state’s farmers and fishers has never wavered.

Trump’s Department of Labor Continues Its Onslaught against Workers

Flurry of rule roll-backs hurt workers

By Century Foundation staff Julie Su, Senior Fellow; Rachel West, Senior Fellow and Andrew Stettner, Director of Economy and Jobs

The Trump administration is doubling down on the president and his Department of Labor’s (DOL) deep hostility toward workers. 

Over the past six months, Donald Trump, his inaptly named Department of Government Efficiency (whose efforts to cut the federal budget by $2 trillion was a colossal failure and which reversed itself on many occasions, actions that cost more than they saved), his union-busting cronies, and his Department of Labor leadership have actively—and in many cases illegally—cut funds for programs that support workers, worker organizing, worker safety, and job training. 

Trump’s DOL has reversed commitments to states to build an effective unemployment insurance system; undercut its own ability to fight wage theft, international worker exploitation, and discrimination; and actively dismantled the department from the inside by slashing 20 percent of its staff.

Just before the July 4 holiday—as the nation was focused on Republicans’ efforts to pass the largest-ever cuts to Medicaid and food assistance—Trump’s DOL issued a new barrage of attacks on workers, promising to turn a blind eye to stolen wages, safety violations, and corporate overreach. 

In total, the DOL announced sixty-four regulatory actions, the vast majority of which would reverse critical standards that ensure workers get a just day’s pay and come home healthy and safe (see Table 1 and Appendix). 

These actions would put the lives of workers across the economy at risk, deprive millions more of minimum wage and overtime protections, and sanction discrimination against workers of color, women, and workers with disabilities. 

At a time of rising prices, increased economic anxiety, and heightened dangers from climate change, the DOL should be doubling down on its mandate to protect and empower workers. Instead, the Trump administration is making workers more vulnerable to abuse and less safe on the job.

This factsheet highlights just some of the key deregulatory actions that will harm workers, identifying those that are particularly important to push back on through notice and comment procedures where available.

If you're going to lose your Medicaid coverage, the Trump regime has an solution

Here are USDA food and farming programs whose funding has been canceled or frozen

King Donald bites the hands that feed us

Ayurella Horn-Muller & Lyndsey Gilpin

In the first seven months of Donald Trump’s second administration, the federal funding landscape has been radically changed — especially for the people who grow, harvest, and distribute food. Thousands of government staffers were terminated; entire programs have been stripped down; and a grant freeze has immobilized state, regional, and local food systems that rely on federal funding. 

In all of the turmoil, the communication from the Department of Agriculture itself has lacked transparency and comprehensiveness. 

We’ve heard over and over from our sources — farmers, food organizations, agricultural networks, and advocates across the country — that they remain confused and in search of reliable information. 

Folks need clarity about what is happening, support during a difficult moment, and alternatives to the current faltering system.

So, in response to those needs, we’ve put together this information guide. Below you’ll find more details about the status of various USDA programs; resources for those struggling with financial and/or mental health hardships; and some conversation starters to help you envision a more resilient food economy.  

The information below is based on Grist’s previous reporting on cuts to federal programs run by the departments of Agriculture and the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies; and compiled from sources including congressional documents and third-party funding trackers, in addition to reporting published by Civil Eats and Politico.  This information guide was first published on August 6, 2025, and the lists of cancelled and frozen grants will be updated as the status of policies and funding programs change.

If you have information or tips regarding funding changes at the USDA, please contact ahornmuller@grist.org. 

Cancelled USDA food and farming funding 

The grants and programs below have been cancelled — in part or whole — by the Trump administration. 

Trump’s rollbacks and funding cuts are affecting your food, water, and air — even if you don’t realize it.

How Donald Trump is affecting Americans' everyday lives

Grist staff

The cost to Rhode Island so far

• Over 47,000 Rhode Islanders will lose health insurance
  
• 10,000 Rhode Islanders are at risk of losing food assistance
  
• Nearly 6,000 Rhode Islanders could lose their job
  
• Combined with Trump’s reckless tariff agenda, the median household in Rhode Island will lose $1,300
  
• Rhode Islanders’ electricity bills will rise by 10.5%
• Trump’s reckless tariffs have already cost Rhode Island businesses $231.9 million

Lucas Burtin / Grist

Over the last six months, Americans have been inundated with a near-constant stream of announcements from the federal government — programs shuttered, funding cut, jobs eliminated, and regulations gutted. 

Donald Trump and his administration are executing a systematic dismantling of the environmental, economic, and scientific systems that underpin our society. The onslaught can feel overwhelming, opaque, or sometimes even distant, but these policies will have real effects on Americans’ daily lives.

In this new guide, Grist examines the impact these changes could have, and are already having, on the things you do every day. Flipping on your lights. Turning on your faucet. Paying household bills. Visiting a park. Checking the weather forecast. Feeding your family.

The decisions have left communities less safe from pollution, more vulnerable to climate disasters, and facing increasingly expensive energy bills, among other changes. Read on to see how.

— Katherine Bagley 

How wind and solar power helps keep America’s farms alive

It's not just the Midwest

Rhode Island just awarded grants for green energy to 23 local farms including several in Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly

Paul Mwebaze, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Drive through the plains of Iowa or Kansas and you’ll see more than rows of corn, wheat and soybeans. You’ll also see towering wind turbines spinning above fields and solar panels shining in the sun on barns and machine sheds.

For many farmers, these are lifelines. Renewable energy provides steady income and affordable power, helping farms stay viable when crop prices fall or drought strikes.

But some of that opportunity is now at risk as the Trump administration cuts federal support for renewable energy.

Over $370K Grants Awarded to Local Food System Businesses

Funding may be the last from USDA program killed by Trump

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) have announced over $370K in Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) grants to seven local food businesses and organizations. Funded by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP), these equipment grants support supply chain resilience and food system sustainability.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This program is one of dozens wiped out by the Trump Regime. These may be the last grants we will see for the foreseeable future. For a complete list of USDA food programs axed by trump, CLICK HERE.  – Will Collette

“I'm glad the state is distributing these federal RFSI funds that were made available under the Biden Administration to local projects that will strengthen the resilience in Rhode Island’s food system and create new revenue streams for small and mid-sized farmers and producers,” said Senator Jack Reed. “This federal investment will benefit food producers statewide and help get more fresh, Rhode Island-grown food and products to tables, grocery stores, and restaurants across the region and beyond.”

“Families across the Ocean State deserve access to affordable, healthy food,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “This latest round of funding will support six small businesses as they connect more Rhode Islanders with fresh products from local farmers and fishermen.”

“This funding for Rhode Island’s food infrastructure is a win for local farmers and consumers. By strengthening our state’s food supply chain, we’re not only supporting small businesses but also ensuring that more locally grown food reaches Rhode Islanders,” said Representative Seth Magaziner. “I’m glad to see these federal dollars at work, and I’ll always fight to bring more of our tax dollars home to strengthen Rhode Island’s food supply and lower food costs.”

“At a time of rising prices — from eggs to produce and other grocery staples — it’s important that we bolster Rhode Island’s food supply chains and infrastructure,” said Representative Gabe Amo. “This funding will help support farmers in our state who rely on local markets to sell their products while also delivering fair wages for laborers and fair prices for consumers. I look forward to continuing to work as a delegation to bring these federal resources home to help bring down prices and put healthy on the table for families.”

These grants will help expand the production and distribution of RI Grown products by improving local capacity for processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, and selling products like specialty crops, dairy, grains, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry. The grant awardees are:

Food and farming group scores major food companies for support of green farm practices

Kellogg, Hershey among the worst, PepsiCo near the top

By As You Sow

Regenerative agriculture has received significant attention in recent years for its potential to increase the health and resilience of our global food system, and mitigating industrial agriculture’s adverse impacts on soil health, biodiversity, water quality, crop nutrient density, and human health.

Major food companies have begun promoting regenerative agriculture practices within their supply chains and supply sheds, but the lack of universal standards and regulations makes it difficult for investors to measure the success of companies’ regenerative programs.

This report benchmarks major food manufacturers and suppliers on their regenerative agriculture programs, policies, and goals, providing a pathway for investors to assess company performance and long-term value.

The scorecard grades 20 major food companies on 15 key performance indicators designed to assess the companies’ regenerative agriculture strategies and disclosures, display the industry’s overall performance, distinguish leaders from laggards, and highlight notable practices.

Company scores are based on a thorough review of publicly available information, including companies’ published reports, webpages, and press statements.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Top-rated McCains is a $16 billion Canadian company whose products are mainly potatoes, especially French fries. The second-ranked company, Lamb Weston, is an Idaho-based company that also sells potato products. Bottom-ranked B&G Foods sells a variety of well-known brands including Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Green Giant, Ortega, Polaner, B&M baked beans and their own brand of pickles. - Will Collette

How Climate Change Is Brewing a Coffee Crisis

The Rising Cost of Your Morning Brew

 Kate Petty

Severe weather, shifting trade policies, and a lack of support for small farmers are driving coffee prices sky high. Without urgent investment, your daily brew could become a luxury.

In January 2025, the price of coffee reached an “all-time high” for consumers in the United States; it is now poised to rise throughout the world. In May 2025, an article in Deutsche Welle stated that “the era of cheap coffee may be over.” This anticipated outcome is due to a combination of factors, including extreme weather, shrinking harvests, shifting trade policies, and rising production costs, which are straining the global supply chain. Meanwhile, the demand for coffee continues to rise.

Climate disruptions, such as prolonged droughts followed by excessive rain, are being seen in Vietnam and Brazil, the two largest coffee-producing countries. They are responsible for nearly 50 percent of the world’s coffee supply, and their losses have led to a decline in yields and an increase in prices. In November 2024, Coffee Intelligence reported that coffee prices had surged to a 47-year high.

At the same time, farmers have had to pay more for fertilizers, transportation, and labor. All these factors have contributed to the rising retail prices. “Many producers are grappling with increased production costs due to inflation and climate-related disruptions,” explained a March 2025 article in Coffee Intelligence.

The situation is likely to worsen owing to climate change. “Coffee plants will grow less productive as the earth’s temperature continues to rise, and practices like deforestation will continue to threaten the sustainability of the industry,” stated a January 2025 article in the New York Times.

Fluctuating Coffee Prices

Coffee is one of the world’s most widely traded commodities, second only to oil. Grown primarily in tropical regions, it is consumed across every continent. 

Historically, coffee prices have fluctuated, spiking during crop failures caused by extreme weather conditions or political instability in major coffee-producing countries, such as Brazil and Vietnam, and plummeting during periods of oversupply.

Romaine lettuce doesn't have to be a health risk

Dirty water, warm trucks, and the real reason romaine keeps making us sick

Cornell University

Romaine lettuce has a long history of E. coli outbreaks, but scientists are zeroing in on why. A new study reveals that the way lettuce is irrigated—and how it’s kept cool afterward—can make all the difference. 

Spraying leaves with untreated surface water is a major risk factor, while switching to drip or furrow irrigation cuts contamination dramatically. Add in better cold storage from harvest to delivery, and the odds of an outbreak plummet. 

The research offers a clear, science-backed path to safer salads—one that combines smarter farming with better logistics.

E. coli outbreaks in romaine lettuce have long been a public health concern. and now a new Cornell University paper suggests that a combination of efforts in the field, and even postharvest techniques, can minimize risk to human health.

Co-authored by Renata Ivanek, a professor in the department of population medicine and diagnostic sciences, and Martin Wiedmann, professor in food safety, the paper outlines interventions likely to make a concrete difference in the safety of the nation's romaine.

Climate change cuts milk production, even when farmers cool their cows

On the other hand, warm milk helps you sleep

University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute

A new study finds extreme heat reduces milk production by up to 10 percent and adding cooling technologies only offsets about half of the loss.

While recent studies have shown climate change will cut crop production, there has been less research into its impacts on livestock. Dairy farmers already know their cows are vulnerable to heat. What will more heat mean? 

In one of the most comprehensive assessments of heat’s impact on dairy cows, a study in the journal Science Advances finds one day of extreme heat can cut milk production by up to 10 percent. The effects of that hot weather can last more than 10 days later, with efforts to keep cows cool being insufficient.

This I'd like to see

Charlestown Farm Day, August 29

State funds green energy projects at local farms

Farmers in Charlestown, Westerly and South Kingstown among the grantees

Bee Happy Homestead in Charlestown is one of the grantees

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) awarded more than $400,000 in funding to support 23 agricultural businesses across the state. 

These grants, distributed over the last two rounds of the Agricultural Energy Grant Program, will help farms invest in clean energy, lower utility costs, and advance the state’s climate goals.

“The Agricultural Energy Program supports farms in pursuing both energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades,” said Acting Energy Commissioner Chris Kearns. “These grants help advance our Act on Climate goals while lowering energy bills for Rhode Island’s farmers.”

“The most recent USDA Census of Agriculture ranked Rhode Island as having the highest percentage of beginning farmers in the nation, and our goal is to continue that growth by ensuring the long-term viability of our state’s agriculture,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “These grants will enable 10 of those farms to adopt energy-saving practices while continuing to grow a vibrant network of new farmers.” 

Grant Recipients

Barrington: Bayside Apiary — $20,000 

A family-run beekeeping operation with more than 80 hives adjacent to the Barrington Community Garden. This 8.72 kW solar expansion builds on an existing system and will fully power their climate-controlled honey processing facility.

Charlestown: Bee Happy Homestead — $20,000 

Owned by master gardeners, this farm grows produce, raises bees, and crafts bath products. A 6.02 kW solar system will offset 81% of its electricity use.

Charlestown's Earth Care Farms expands with a great new project

Abandoned Connecticut Quarry to be Transformed Into Soil Farm

By Frank Carini / ecoRI News staff

Jayne Merner with her father, Mike, and Birdie at
Earth Care Farm’s Connecticut site.
(Sterling Tougas)

The first family of Rhode Island composting, in search of land to expand their 48-year operation, wound up across the border in the Constitution State.

Jayne Merner, daughter of Mike, the founder of Charlestown, R.I.-based Earth Care Farm, recently told ecoRI News the decision to move to Connecticut was based on land availability, lack of neighbor pressure, and costs. She also said the search was narrowed because they didn’t want to use “good land” and they didn’t want to cut down trees.

They found just the spot, on Newport Road in this small Windham County town. The former gravel pit in northeastern Connecticut was just what the second-generation compost farmer was searching for. 

The 241-acre site needs plenty of work, but the transformation from abandoned gravel yard that features cornfields lost to meadows of mugwort and a cemetery of rocks of all shapes and sizes will begin on 14 acres at the property’s entrance.

For nearly five decades, the Merner family, led by Mike, has played the role of an organic alchemist, making a living turning zoo and stable manure, wood chips, leaves, straw shavings, seaweed, fish guts, coffee grounds, and food scrap into soil.

This nutrient-rich compost helps meet the needs of New England farmers looking for soil enrichment. The Earth Care Farm operation currently generates about 5,000 cubic yards annually of compost certified by the Organic Materials Review Institute. Some 25,000 tons of yard debris, manures, and food scrap is processed to make that compost.

The benefits of organic compost include increased soil fertility, better balanced soil pH, and improved chemical makeup of the soil. It also creates a healthy habitat for microorganisms, and increases drainage, aeration, and the water-holding capacity of soil — all factors that help plants better withstand weather extremes and disease.

Earth Care Farm’s existing composting operation in southern Rhode Island uses 3 acres for its six-stage compost production process and employs four full-time staff and seasonal help.

Merner noted that, with a customer base of 5,000 regional growers, demand has increasingly exceeded production capacity. Hence, the search for more room.

Don't you just hate ticks!?

Ticks carry decades of history in each troublesome bite

Sean Lawrence, West Virginia University

When you think about ticks, you might picture nightmarish little parasites, stalking you on weekend hikes or afternoons in the park.

Your fear is well-founded. Tick-borne diseases are the most prevalent vector-borne diseases – those transmitted by living organisms – in the United States. 

Each tick feeds on multiple animals throughout its life, absorbing viruses and bacteria along the way and passing them on with its next bite. Some of those viruses and bacteria are harmful to humans, causing diseases that can be debilitating and sometimes lethal without treatment, such as Lyme, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

But contained in every bite of this infuriating, insatiable pest is also a trove of social, environmental and epidemiological history.

In many cases, human actions long ago are the reason ticks carry these diseases so widely today. And that’s what makes ticks fascinating for environmental historians like me.

Forestry Bills Pass Through Both General Assembly Chambers

Legislation provides tax breaks to Rhode Island logging operations

By Rob Smith / ecoRI News staff

Will a small tax break for forestry vehicles lead to greater clear-cutting of Rhode Island’s forestland, or will it boost a flagging industry?

It’s been a minor, but lasting debate in the General Assembly this year. Legislation (H5098/S0679) introduced by Rep. Megan Cotter, D-Exeter, in the House and Sen. Jacob Bissaillon, D-Providence, in the Senate would provide foresters and logging companies with a tax break on their vehicle registration, similar to an existing break already given to the state’s agricultural sector.

Forestry businesses reporting gross revenue less than $2.5 million would be eligible, receiving a special license plate to affix to company vehicles used actively in forestry operations. Both pieces of legislation were approved by both chambers on Wednesday.

The tax break given to forestry businesses is far narrower than what was originally proposed, at least in one chamber. A previous draft of the Senate bill, for example, expanded the tax break to forestry product operations equipment, parts, and other related industrial goods used by forestry businesses.

Supporters say the legislation would provide relief to a small industry of micro-businesses and large landowners, such as the Department of Environmental Management, who contract out logging work to help manage woodlands.

“If we want our forests to survive the next hundred years, we need to support the people who are willing to do that work now,” Cotter said during a House floor debate Wednesday. “We do not protect our forests by ignoring it, we protect our forests by actively managing it and that means protecting the people who do the work.”

Some environmental groups expressed concerns about any tax breaks to boost the state’s logging industry. In a letter submitted to lawmakers about both parity bills, some groups protested equating logging to agriculture, and warned lawmakers it could mean destroying Rhode Island’s biodiversity, expand invasive species populations, and damage soil health.

“Our native forests are not crops on a farm,” the letter read. “They are not tree plantations. Forests are shaped by nature, self-perpetuating, and able to survive without human interference. Logging natural forests is not farming.

“We are not opposed to logging taking place in areas that are not old growth forests, natural heritage areas, or other rare forest habitats,” the letter continued. “Nor are we opposed to logging planted tree farms. However, taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay more taxes so the timber industry pays less in taxes.”

The letter was signed by the Old Growth Tree Society of Rhode Island, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council, the Rhode Island Nursery and Landscape Association, and the North Smithfield and Cumberland Land trusts, among others.

Despite its Ocean State moniker, Rhode Island contains vast tracts of forest. The latest Forest Action Plan completed by DEM estimated Rhode Island has some 366,958 acres of forest, about 53% of the total land area of the state. Most of it is considered second-growth forest, and almost all of it, 96% is classified as timberland, meaning it exceeds the minimum level for productivity and can be harvested.

Much of the forestland in Rhode Island, about 70%, is held in private hands. DEM only owns and manages some 57,000 acres of state-owned forests. Nearly 60% of all woodlands in the state is classified as core forest, unbroken, unfragmented areas greater than 250 acres in size.

While the numbers sound, and are big and impressive, compared to other New England states, Rhode Island’s forests, and by extension, the logging industry, remains a dwarf among giants. The state only has about 90 jobs in the forestry and logging sector, and as of 2019 gross annual sales were only $11.6 million.

That’s not to say Rhode Island forests aren’t under threat. A key point of controversy over the past decade in many municipalities across the state has been the clear-cutting of forestland for ground-mounted solar installations. A 2024 study by the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program estimated the state had lost nearly 4,000 acres of undeveloped forestland to solar development.

There is some protection for state forests, at least from solar development. In 2023 lawmakers passed protections that prohibited core forest areas, which typically carry stronger local protections as well, from being axed to build solar projects.

Meanwhile, supporters of the parity legislation, which includes members from both parties, characterized opposition to the bills as misinformation, and maintained on the floors Wednesday it would boost the state’s smallest businesses.

Rep. Michael Chippendale, R-Foster, said the bill was hardly going to attract new logging companies to start chopping down Rhode Island’s forests.

“It would cost more to set the corporation up than you would save under the tax break,” he said. “These are small businesses that are using the byproduct of other businesses.”

Two DiMario bills get passed

South Kingstown Senator Alana DiMario bills on ADHD drugs and PFAS in fertilizers pass

Lawmakers approve bill allowing 90-day prescriptions for ADHD medications 

The General Assembly today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Michelle McGaw and Sen. Alana M. DiMario to help relieve a burden on patients, parents and physicians by tripling the amount of non-opioid, non-narcotic Schedule II prescription drugs — including most commonly prescribed ADHD medications — that can be dispensed at one time.

The legislation (2025-H 5866B, 2025-S 0795), which now heads to the governor’s office, will allow up to a 90-day supply of such drugs to be dispensed at a time.

Currently, Schedule II drugs are limited to a 30-day supply. The result is that those who rely on such drugs for chronic conditions such as ADHD must contact their prescriber every 30 days, and the prescriber must then contact the pharmacy to provide authorization. If the pharmacy does not have the proper dosage of the drug in stock, the pharmacy must notify the patient, and then the patient or prescriber must find a pharmacy that does and repeat the process.

Over the last two years as the nation has experienced a shortage of the prescription drugs to treat ADHD, the 30-day limit has meant a time-consuming monthly hassle for those who rely on them, sometimes resulting in hours of phone calls and long drives to locate a pharmacy that has the drug at the proper dosage in stock.

Trump’s Big Bill Is Filled With Hundreds of Billions in corporate welfare

Children will starve but fat cats will get fatter

By Brett Heinz 

Here's $45 million down the toilet

Donald Trump and his allies in Congress claim their “one big beautiful bill” will cut government waste. Former White House official Elon Musk disagrees, slamming the bill as a “disgusting abomination” containing a “MOUNTAIN” (in all caps) of waste.

Musk is no expert on waste — his DOGE cuts did untold damage to the federal government while failing to actually reduce any waste. But Musk and other critics like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) are correct that this bill is chock-full of wasteful spending.

The topline items are tax cuts for the wealthy and historically large health care cuts for everyone else. Those are bad enough. But tucked away inside of the bill, there’s also a massive amount of wasteful spending and corporate subsidies.

Lobbyists are working overtime to fill the bill with giveaways to their clients, adding hundreds of billions in waste that will significantly increase the national debt over the next 10 years. Many of the bill’s corporate subsidies are disguised as tax cuts, a common tactic Congress uses to hide how much money it spends.

For instance, hidden on page 916 of the bill is a subsidy for the indoor tanning industry that will cost $365 million. A few pages later, a new benefit gives the entertainment industry $153 million to buy recording equipment. Even deeper in the bill, a new tax break for firearm silencers will cost $1.4 billion.

Unnecessary provisions that further complicate the tax code are everywhere: a $58 billion subsidy for auto loans, a $20 billion subsidy for private schools, and a $5 billion extension for flawed “opportunity zones” that only benefit real estate investors. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

URI Master Gardeners open their gardens to visitors for statewide garden tour this July 19-20

Buy tickets now

Kristen Curry 

Eighteen private and public gardens tended by URI Master Gardener
volunteers will open their gates for the 12th Gardening with
the Masters Tour this July 19-20. Tickets are on sale now.
 (URI Photo / Alice LaBelle)

Gardens are constantly evolving, but the state’s most dedicated gardeners will pause their planting, weeding, and dividing to open their gardens across the state to the public this summer. 

Eighteen private and public gardens tended by University of Rhode Island Master Gardener volunteers will open their gates for the 12th Gardening with the Masters Tour, a biennial event.

This year’s garden tour takes place Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and July 20, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The two-day event lets ticket holders visit some of the state’s most beautiful public and private gardens tended by certified URI Master Gardener volunteers. Environmentally-friendly garden practices on display include composting, native plant pollinator gardens, hugelkultur, low-input vegetable growing, small-space and container gardening, and more.

URI Master Gardeners will greet visitors in all gardens, ready to answer questions and share science-based horticultural information about best gardening practices. This year’s tours include gardens from Chepachet to Charlestown, and in nearby North Stonington, Connecticut.

There’s even a castle.