CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT

Nathan Cornell learned to identify Old Growth forests from arborist and Old Growth Forest expert Matthew Largess, who studied under Dr. Bruce Kershner. Since 2020, Nathan has been a leading voice calling for protection of Rhode Island’s remaining Old Growth forests and rare ecosystems. After realizing no other state environmental group was trying to protect forests and biodiversity on public land, Nathan co-founded the Old Growth Tree Society with ecologist Rick Enser. In addition to his forest advocacy work, Nathan served a term on the Warwick School Committee as the youngest person elected to a public office in Warwick’s history.

CO-FOUNDER

Rick Enser, a botanist and ecologist, is a retired employee of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (D.E.M.) where he worked from 1979 to 2007. Beginning in 1981, Rick served as coordinator of the Rhode Island Natural Heritage Program until its dissolution in 2007. Rick is a founder and past president of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey. He won the Distinguished Naturalist Award from the Rhode Island Natural History Survey in 2008.

ADVISOR

Matthew Largess is a certified arborist through the international Society of Arboriculture. He is the owner and founder of Largess Forestry, and has extensive knowledge and passion of trees and nature. Matthew has found hundreds of Old Growth Forest sites and was instrumental in preventing Portsmouth’s Oakland Forest from being cleared for land development.

ADVISOR & BOARD MEMBER

Carl Ross has been working to protect forests and indigenous forest people around the world since helping protect the local forest in his suburban village shortly after the first Earth Day in 1970. Carl started Save America’s Forests in 1989, and in his role as Co-Director organized and testified at many Congressional hearings and presentations, drafted forest legislation, organized or co-authored many peer reviewed papers and articles published in science journals, and created an international forest protection coalition of citizens, scientists and indigenous people.

BOARD MEMBER

Bruce Charron is an I.S.A. certified Arborist and founder of High Line Tree Service, where he has been working with RI homeowners for over 40 years to maintain their heritage trees. His passion for conservancy has its roots in his childhood as an avid tree climber in the once forested enclaves of Warwick, RI. His love for forests inspires him to fight for legislation to protect our natural right to a healthy planet.