Thailand RPCV Edward S. Clement Jr., has been named the Aquidneck Land Trust's new executive director
Clement named director of Aquidneck Land Trust
Edward Clement, an environmental lawyer, has also worked with the Peace Corps, Outward Bound, and the Vermont Land Trust.
By Steve Peoples
Providence Journal
Providence, R.I.
May 9, 2005
MIDDLETOWN - He's already made a difference. Now, Edward "Ted" Clement can do even more.
Clement has been named the Aquidneck Land Trust's new executive director.
The environmental lawyer had been the nonprofit organization's interim director since Anne Garnett's resignation in March. The group's board of trustees selected Clement last week from a pool of several applicants, according to board vice chair Stuart MacNaught.
"He was a great candidate and he rose to the top," MacNaught said. "This is great news for us. He's got a great personality and a lot of enthusiasm."
Clement, 36, also has an established working relationship with many of the land trust's clients, having served as the organization's land protection director since 2000.
"I'm hoping it will be a seamless transition," Clement said Friday afternoon. "But there's still a lot for me to learn, which is exciting."
He played key roles in recent land acquisitions such as Portsmouth's 3-S deal along Sandy Point Avenue, Escobar's Farm, and the Thurston Tree Farm.
Portsmouth's town administrator, Robert Driscoll, said Clement is in regular contact with town officials, both for his work with the land trust and his participation with the town's west side task force, of which he is a volunteer.
"He's in daily contact with the Town of Portsmouth," Driscoll said. "Ted's been real good to work with for quite a while. I think the land trust is in good hands."
To date, the land trust has preserved 1,168 acres on Aquidneck Island. In the past year, the organization helped protect several parcels, including Portsmouth's 45-acre Town Pond area; Middletown's 15-acre Sullivan property, the 2.6-acre Harrison property, and the Clubhouse Partner land, 1.1 acres abutting the Norman Bird Sanctuary.
Clement said the land trust has been busy, and he hopes to keep it that way.
"It's been an amazing year," he said. "On this island, land values are extreme and so are the development pressures. We clearly have a lot of momentum, and we need to maintain it."
As another goal, he cites his desire to increase environmental awareness among the islanders.
"It's hard to be concerned about the environment if it's all at the theoretical level," he said, adding that the land trust is working hard to complete the Sakonnet Greenway Trail, a series of protected parcels that spans Portsmouth to Middletown. "It's a neat way for us to provide an experience for people where they can get that direct connection with nature."
Clement attended the Salisbury School, a prep school in Salisbury, Conn., before graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in environmental studies. Later, he became a Peace Corps national park volunteer in Thailand and an environmental educator for Outward Bound.
Clement worked for the Vermont Land Trust before coming to Rhode Island.
"I've always wanted to have a job that really made a difference, whether it was Outward Bound, the Peace Corps, the Vermont Land Trust, or the Aquidneck Land Trust," he said. "Those jobs are all about making a difference for others and nature. That makes up for not having large salaries and working long hours."
Clement lives with his wife Boonsuay and young children in Portsmouth.
"We live here on the island; we have two kids," he said. "Every time we preserve a new parcel, I know that my kids and a lot of other kids are going to be able to benefit. It sounds like a cliche, but it's really how I feel."
