Author: Emily Olson

Revive the Roots is a non-profit organization located in Smithfield that teaches and practices permaculture, an agricultural philosophy that recognizes the inextricable relationship between people and nature and works within an ecosystem’s natural patterns. The non-profit provides space to visitors at Mowry Commons, land leased from the estate of Mary Mallory through the town of Smithfield. On the grounds are community gardens, walking trails along the Woonasquatucket River and an edible forest garden. Adjacent to the land is a 300-year-old farmhouse that’s slowly being brought back to life. This is where Bradford Adelard and Hannah Purcell Martin live with What Cheer Flower Farm professional flower growers Nick and Crystal. 

After two years of successfully working the 18 acres that comprise Mowry Commons, Revive the Roots approached the town of Smithfield and asked them to let the organization use the house as a base of operation. In return, the nonprofit agreed to restore the farmhouse under the historical curatorship of Preserve Rhode Island. Revive the Roots covers the cost of materials and provides the physical labor. “Our work kind of pays forward rent,” Adelard explains. “The last project we did was a porch restoration that paid our rent through February 2023.” 

Adelard is a woodworker who, after purchasing a sawmill with his friend Zach, began doing work with the Woonasquatucket Watershed Council. “The parks department cuts down a lot of trees, and then they just sit there,” Adelard says. “So we turn those trees into lumber that we use for park installations around the city.” The largest project he did was at Black Locust Pocket Park near The Steelyard. “We put in two arbors, four benches, a big deck and rainbox planters that have a hidden reservoir. The goal is to use local resources to improve public space and build community.” 

Woodworking isn’t the only type of art Adelard enjoys. He also does leatherworking and blacksmithing. “I’ve been doing a lot of fabricating for the farm,” he says. 

The farm also serves to inspire Martin’s art. Although Martin dabbles in different mediums — she recently discovered a love of glassblowing — she’s primarily a painter. “I spend a lot of my time on a 25-acre preserved piece of land, so that really influences a lot of my work,” she says. “Even something as small as the act of pulling weeds is an interesting experience of uprooting things and examining the root structure or the destruction of something nature creates. It’s caused me to learn so much more about plants and flowers.” She spends a lot of time studying what she cultivates. “No two flowers are the same,” she continues. “You might think one daisy looks like another daisy, but it doesn’t. It’s pretty mind blowing.”

Martin’s parents raised her and her sister with the understanding that much like the daisies, no two children are exactly alike, so they chose to homeschool their daughters. “My parents wanted us to do things that a typical school schedule really limits,” Martin explains. “Having time to myself and being self directed and self motivated allowed me to early on develop an understanding that self direction comes from a base of your own interest and passion. A lot of my friends were homeschooled as well, and I think each one of them has really succeeded in figuring out the profession-as-personality thing. When you get a little more freedom to explore, it leads to figuring some things out about yourself sooner rather than later.”

Martin’s personality led her into the profession of gallery management. “One of [Revive the Roots’] board members is a horticultural genius. He opened a store in Providence called Home Grown. Its outdoor nursery space has rare perennials with a focus on some native plants. The inside will have garden gear and home goods that are nature-focused and local.” Upstairs is a substantial gallery space that Martin will manage and a studio space that she hopes will allow her more time to paint.

Adelard and Martin both maintain studio space in The Reliquarium, a work/live artist collective in Lincoln whose members often do projects together; their current project is building TimeZone, a puzzle game that requires players to navigate a series of challenges, each set in a different period of time. It will be unveiled at R1 Indoor Karting in Lincoln. Martin enjoys the collaborative and supportive nature of working with the other Reliquarium members. “You need a funny skill set to work with the group,” says Martin. “You have to know how to use a drill and be on a ladder, but having an artist’s eye helps.” 

Adelard also enjoys the freedom that comes from collaboration. “We always have a project lead,” he says, “but there’s a lot of freedom to go forward and make the project your own.”    

Revive the Roots continues to grow and is taking steps to purchase the farmhouse that Adelard and Martin call home. “It’s a sweet spot and it takes at least a few individuals to keep navigating obstacles and pushing the project forward. I feel personally responsible for that,” says Adelard. 

Martin enjoys the continual access to the outdoors — and artistic inspiration — the farm gives her, no matter how busy life gets. “I get outside a few times every month to do a little painting from life, even if it’s a quick little watercolor or a sketch in my sketchbook. It’s a reminder that you have to take time for those things that are important.” 

For information on Revive the Roots, go to revivetheroots.org. For more information on Hannah Purcell Martin’s work, follow her @hannahpurcellmartin or hannahpurcellm.com. See Bradford Adelard’s work @brad_oza

In 2017, the Providence town council wrote an ordinance that allows Providence police to confiscate and destroy illegally ridden ATVs and dirt bikes. This October, the City of Providence, in a show of enforcement, publicly demolished 33 dirt bikes and ATVs. One week later, during a ride-out on October 18, 24-year-old Jhamal Gonsalves was involved in a vehicular incident with the Providence Police that put him in a coma where he remains today.

Before the #justiceforjhamal campaign forced it to take a back seat, the BikeLife Lives Matter movement was working toward gaining greater acceptance for the bike life subculture in Providence, counter to what many in the culture consider its unfair villainization.

Those within the bike community view it as a colorblind society that doesn’t ignore the issue of race, but understands it for what it is, and this understanding can provide society at large with lessons on racial diversity and unity. It’s similar to the hip-hop culture in that it intends to bring people of different backgrounds together through self expression and the riding art form.  

The bike community is simply a group of hobbyists pursuing their passion — a creative escape born from inner cities where people are directly affected by systemic injustices brought into sharp focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. But COVID restrictions and the resultant lack of human interaction aren’t the only reason riders seek the streets for escape. As a result of the pandemic, they are also dealing with an uptick in suicides and homicides. Many feel that the safest place to be isn’t their homes, but their bikes.   

BikeLife Lives Matter seeks to curb the problem on our city streets by including the riders in reaching a solution rather than excluding them. By involving our youth in programs that foster diversity, family and education right where they are. By changing the narrative, giving voice to the voiceless and removing the stigmas that plague the culture. The movement seeks to amplify hashtags like #BikesupGunsdown, a slogan used to curb inner city violence, or #RideoutRacism.

The small town of Shamokin, Penn., serves as an example of what can happen when bikers and the city work together toward a mutually beneficial solution. The former coal town of 6,984 residents had experienced a dramatic decrease in foot traffic in its business district, but as a result of a new ordinance that allowed riders to drive in the city on certain streets during certain hours, the city’s economy was revitalized, and they have dirt bike riders and their tourism dollars to thank.

Like many subcultures, bike life will challenge the status quo, and have to endure the growing pains of an acceptance phase. But as the negative perception of this art forms gradually abates, it is cementing itself as an important social justice movement. 

Jeremy Costa is the spokesperson for BikeLife Lives Matter. To learn more about the organization, go to bikelifelivesmatter.org

Governer Gina Raimondo held her weekly press conference at The Vets at 1pm today. She began her press conference with good news about vaccine efficacy and Rhode Island’s being chosen to be a pilot state in Pfizer’s vaccine delivery program before she got into the data.

The RI Department of Health today announced 921 new positive COVID cases out of 15,819 tests for a percent positive rate of 5.8%. There are 298 people hospitalized and 13 people on a ventilator. Hospitals are currently at 97% of their COVID bed capacity, and current trends point to the need for the Cranston field hospital by next week. Four Rhode Islanders lost their lives to COVID yesterday.

Raimondo said that community spread has made it hard to pinpoint where the surge is coming from. She said that at-home social gatherings are crystal clear spreaders, but when people have been to 15 places in a week, you can’t say which place has been the source of spread. Trends have been identified, however, and positive cases seem to come from people hanging out with people outside of their households. Because of this, the governor announced an upcoming pause, which will last two weeks: from November 30 through December 13. “We are beyond the idea of phases. This is the last mile,” Raimondo said, referring to the vaccine on the horizon. This pause in activity is designed to get our state to the end of the year “without catastrophe” by overwhelming hospitals and forcing healthcare workers to provide crisis care.

This pause entails several changes. The only change that begins today is that social gatherings are limited to one household. Beginning on November 30, high schools will be given the choice of moving to limited, in-person learning with in-person learning provided only to students with special learning needs. Restaurants will continue their early closings, with tables limited to one household only. Retail and big box stores will have to limit the number of shoppers allowed in the stores, and houses of worship will be limited to 25% capacity.

As of November 30, colleges and universities will be closed. Offices must be closed when possible with employees working remotely. Bars, recreational venues and indoor sports facilities all will be closed through December 13.

There will be no changes made to K-8 schools, personal care services (eg, salons), childcare, manufacturing and construction and healthcare services.

“None of this is going to be easy and I wish we didn’t have to do this,” the governor said. “If you’re wondering why I’m waiting, it’s because I want people to have time to prepare.”

She urged Rhode Islanders to keep in mind that this pause is only designed to last two weeks, however, cautions that, “This is only going to work if we decide to do it. If you’re asking yourself how you’re going to get around the rules, I’ll be back in three weeks planning a full state lockdown. If you’re going to do it, then this will work and in two weeks we’ll be able to slowly turn the dial back up.” Details of pause can be found at reopeningri.com.

Thanksgiving is celebrated next week, and the governor asked citizens to celebrate only with the people they live with and avoid travel. If, however, travel is unavoidable, get tested before and after you travel, and quarantine for two weeks after you return. Rapid testing will be made available at TF Green.

Governor Raimondo recognizes the difficulty people are having getting tested. As a result, new testing facilities are going to open and current testing facilities will increase their capacity. The governor’s goal is to double the daily number of tests performed before the pause begins on November 30. She urged people who get tested to check the portal rather than wait for contact from RIDOH, and get in touch with their contacts to let them know they were tested so that they, too, can get tested.

Governor Raimondo will hold her next press conference next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.