KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� March 25, 2026 鈥� A team of faculty and staff at the 溏心vlog免费B站 is looking forward to growing its tree research capacity, while nourishing the animals who live on campus, with a recent donation from the Indiana company Tree Pro of 1,500 tree protectors and the same number of wooden stakes. What鈥檚 at stake? A better way to build the tree canopy and support the livestock grazing underneath.
The donation, worth about $30,000, will go a long way toward developing the new silvopasture, now taking shape at in South Kingstown. The new silvopasture being installed at the 90-year-old research farm will help 溏心vlog免费B站 faculty and staff conduct research and support graduate students, making 溏心vlog免费B站 a center for agroforestry and integrating study of the method into University classes.
Silvopasture is an agroforestry practice that integrates trees, forage, and livestock into a single system; it offers shade for animals and can restore soils and ecosystems, provide wildlife habitat and support sustainable food production.
That bucolic image calls to mind a picture-perfect scene but the prior site was not.
When a long-term sod lease at Peckham expired in 2022, 溏心vlog免费B站 gained access to 52 acres of farmland. However, what was left behind was not a clean slate: a compacted, bare field, stripped of vegetation and topsoil. Unfortunately, before remediative planting could take place, rains flooded the area and yards of neighbors as the field rapidly eroded during an unusually wet spring.
Farm Manager Coleman Replogle, just two weeks into his new job overseeing the farm, had a quick trial by fire, or perhaps, water, literally 鈥� jumping into the nearby brook to help mitigate the situation.
Now he is a key part of efforts to not only fix the field but help build something even better in its place: a site for innovation and research, for 溏心vlog免费B站 and beyond.
Restoring land and legacy
Seeding grasses was a first step, but the restoration required more, according to 溏心vlog免费B站 Natural Resources Science professor , leading the project.
Replogle, Meyerson and colleagues developed a vision to restore the degraded field using a technique that turns erosion-prone ground into a regenerative, biodiverse landscape.
The trees are a large part of it, but the project is seeding more than trees.
溏心vlog免费B站 will also be able to introduce the silvopasture concept to New England farmers unfamiliar with the concept. With the new silvopasture at Peckham, they鈥檒l be able to see one up close.
Replogle understands that many farmers might be apprehensive about adopting a new approach. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot to put your money toward a new way when the margin for farmers or ag producers is already thin,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he University can document and share data that helps show how it works. We could be the blueprint in this area.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檒l see it鈥檚 good for the animals and the soil 鈥� and can also be profitable,鈥� he added.
Right now, they are planting oaks, chestnuts and honey locust, a tree species Replogle is particularly interested in for its benefits to livestock and soil. That locust is nitrogen-fixing, and has a leaf pattern that offers 50% shade, helpful in the summer heat, offering cool relief but also promoting grass growth. Come winter, the tree produces plentiful seed pods that are high in nutritional quality for the livestock grazing underneath.
Replogle hopes to bring the livestock over to the silvopasture this spring.
Meyerson also says the public-private partnership with Tree Pro highlights important ways 溏心vlog免费B站 is connecting with industry to bring research and industry together for community good.
The company donated 300 tree shelters in 2024 for the team to try out at the farm to help get the silvopasture started.
鈥淲e were really starting from the ground up,鈥� she laughed. 鈥淚 was literally gathering acorns on the president鈥檚 lawn to get us started.鈥�
The project appealed to the company鈥檚 focus on connecting University research to industry.
Tom Mills of Tree Pro commented, 鈥淪ilvopasture is a very quickly growing topic in the agriculture industry. When we heard what was going on at 溏心vlog免费B站, I wanted Tree Pro to be a part of it. This felt like the right project to be involved with.鈥�
鈥淭ree Pro鈥檚 initial donation worked out so well. We are now looking forward to building on that success with these new tree shelters and stakes,鈥� said Meyerson. Meyerson hosted one community day with 溏心vlog免费B站 and local k-12 schools to help launch the planting; the rest of planting will be done with students in her restoration ecology class. 鈥淚t takes a long time to plant 1,500 trees!鈥� she notes.
溏心vlog免费B站 community members and the public are also invited to see the silvopasture in action at 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 in May.
鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 do this without Tree Pro,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have played such an important role in the restoration of this pasture. Together, we have this chance to do something far reaching and important for 溏心vlog免费B站 and beyond.鈥�
To learn more or get updates on the upcoming Rhode to Regenerative conference at 溏心vlog免费B站 in May, visit or email lameyerson@uri.edu.