{"id":64,"date":"2024-01-11T13:30:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T18:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/?page_id=64"},"modified":"2025-09-10T14:07:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T18:07:19","slug":"enrollment-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/enrollment-page\/","title":{"rendered":"Enrollment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Join Us<\/h1>

Do your part to protect the ponds you love!
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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

Thank you for your interest in Salt Pond Smart! By enrolling in this program, you are taking the first step towards a healthier salt pond. Read more about the steps to enroll in Salt Pond Smart below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is my property eligible to participate?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyone residing within the Salt Ponds or Narrow River Watersheds (designated as Critical Resource Areas by the RIDEM) is eligible to participate in Salt Pond Smart, although priority will be given to residents living in the Greater Allen\u2019s Cove and Eastern Ninigret Pond Pilot Watershed. Not sure if your property is located within the Salt Ponds or Narrow River Watersheds (meaning the water on your property drains to a salt pond or the Narrow River)? Click on the the map below to determine if your property is located within the Salt Ponds and Narrow River Watersheds boundary before enrolling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salt Pond Smart Fall 2025 Enrollment is now closed. If you are interested in joining our Wait List, please contact Lisa Hollister at lisa.hollister@uri.edu. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map<\/a>
Click on the image of the map to search for your property’s eligibility status!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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What if my property does not drain to a salt pond or Narrow River?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your property is outside of the RIDEM-designated Salt Pond and Narrow River Watersheds Critical Resource Area, you are not eligible to participate in Salt Pond Smart. We encourage you to explore and share our Resources<\/a> – best practices that protect local water quality in all watersheds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After I am enrolled, how does Salt Pond Smart work? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After completing enrollment, registrants will be contacted by email with more details and logistics – including an orientation to meet your fellow participants, introduce the project team, and review the steps to complete the online training. Participants will have the opportunity to work through the online training at their own pace and gather documentation needed to certify their property as Salt Pond Smart. In-person sessions will be available to provide assistance in navigating the online learning platform and\/or gathering documentation for the certification process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online Training<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will receive instructions to log into Brightspace Engage, URI’s online learning platform, to complete a series of five online training modules. Each training module will cover a different topic, and together these modules are designed to take about 3 hours to complete.  Module topics include an overview of the RI Coastal Salt Ponds, drinking water (drinking water protection and private well water testing), onsite wastewater treatment systems (septic system function and maintenance, including information on nitrogen reducing onsite water treatment systems), sustainable landscaping choices (lawn and garden care) and stormwater management (keeping rainwater on your property and native coastal planting). Salt Pond Smart participants can complete different training modules at their convenience over the summer – either spread out over multiple sessions or all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting Certification Criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After completing your online training, you will answer a series of questions in each module to assess your property and document your salt pond-friendly management practices with photographs or sketches, redacted receipts (e.g. septic pumping), and plans or other public information about your property available online (e.g. septic system permit). Don’t worry – Salt Pond Smart staff is available to guide you and answer your questions! Completing your property assessment and collecting the supporting documentation is expected to take approximately 2-3 hours in total – you may complete the assessment at your own time and pace. If you choose to make improvements to your property to meet Salt Pond Smart certification criteria, this will take additional time and resources, which vary considerably by project or property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enrollment Period<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you are enrolled in the program and begin your training, you will have 2 years to meet the requirements. If you cannot meet the certification requirements within 2 years, you will need to re-enroll and begin your training and certification again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting Your Salt Pond Smart Yard Sign <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you have answered all the questions sets for each module and uploaded the required documentation, Salt Pond Smart staff will review submissions and verify that the criteria have been met. Properties that meet the minimum requirements in each category (drinking water, onsite wastewater treatment systems, sustainable landscaping choices, and stormwater management) will earn a \u201cSilver\u201d Salt Pond Smart designation on their certification and sign, while properties that showcase additional, high-impact best practices will earn a \u201cGold\u201d designation on their certification and sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What materials or qualifications do I need to enroll and compete the training and certification process?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You will need an internet connected browser to access materials available on our website and online learning platform, as well as the ability to upload files and photos to the online learning platform (you will be provided with tutorials and guidance to assist you in collecting and submitting documents, as well as the opportunity to speak with Salt Pond Smart staff directly if you need assistance). Specific projects (e.g. rain gardens, native coastal planting) may require additional planning and landscaping skills. Salt Pond Smart staff is available to provide guidance and connect you with relevant technical assistance upon request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Phil Moreschi, Resident, Town of Charlestown <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Thank you for your interest in Salt Pond Smart! By enrolling in this program, you are taking the first step towards a healthier salt pond. Read more about the steps to enroll in Salt Pond Smart below. Is my property eligible to participate? Anyone residing within the Salt Ponds or Narrow River Watersheds (designated as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4751,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-64","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4751"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1530,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions\/1530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/saltpondsmart\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}