The 2024 Environmental Achievement Award Winner
Garry Plunkett
An Oklahoma transplant to the rural community of Tiverton about 40 years ago, Garry Plunkett has made his mark on Tiverton, the Sakonnet River and the RI community. He has been a leader and champion to strategic land protection and land use planning in Tiverton for decades. His devotion to land protection and habitat diversity in partnership with other local stewards has resulted in the protection of countless acres of the Bay’s watershed including unique relatively undisturbed forest, freshwater wetlands and streams that meander to Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound.
As a Planning Board member, he developed the Tiverton’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan. He became chair of the Tiverton’s Open Space Commission and has been instrumental in protecting contiguous tracks of forest since the 1980s in coordination with The Nature Conservancy and the Tiverton Land Trust. Once protected, he has developed stewardship and land management plans for the Town and the Land Trust and has overseen the stewardship of over 1500 acres of land.
He has been an active member of the RI Wild Plant Society and has led hundreds of walks to share his knowledge, love and passion for wild plants with the broader community.
Garry is always willing to lend a hand and share his knowledge in a humble way. He has provided his expertise to Save The Bay’s habitat restoration staff on a climate resilience project at Fogland Beach. Collaborator, educator, steward, local historian and champion of habitat protection are just a few words that describe Garry.