the meo lodge

Thanks to a partnership with the Nature Conservancy, MEO has a beautiful home on the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) River. The MEO lodge is located on Narragansett land in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, at the King Benson Preserve. We're thrilled to steward this land and share its teachings with our community.

At the preserve

We share the land with a thriving community of non-human neighbors, including:

  • One of the largest river herring runs in Rhode Island

  • Populations of oysters and other shellfish

  • Migratory birds, osprey, and bald eagles

  • Frogs and salamanders

  • High-bush blueberry, witch-hazel, spicebush, and a beautiful blanket of ferns in the understory

  • Deer, coyotes, fishers, mink, and raccoons

Visitors to the land experience:

  • Public 3-mile hiking trail system

  • Public beach on Upper Pond with swimming access (no lifeguard)

  • Diversity of habitats and wildlife, including mixed hardwood forest, freshwater streams and wetlands, and the Narrow (Pettaquamscutt) estuary

Our vision

At the lodge, our vision is to create a home for Black & brown joy, where we can collectively imagine (and build!) alternatives to white supremacist cultures of being outdoors. The lodge is a space for:

  • Active learning: hiking, kayaking, yoga

  • Participatory science and stewardship: monitoring herring and oyster populations

  • Community gathering: youth team-building, campfires, intergenerational hikes

  • Creative reflection and expression: poetry, music, and community art-making

Directions to the lodge:

Want to visit? King Benson Preserve is open to the public! Take a walk through the trail system on your own, or join MEO on our next Intergenerational Hike.

Address: 518 Snuff Mill Road, Saunderstown RI

Coming from Boston Neck Road, turn onto Snuff Mill Road and drive about 1 mile. You will see a dirt road on the left just before Snuff Mill Road becomes Gilbert Stuart Road. Turn left onto the dirt road and look for the mailbox to 514. At that point, follow the dirt road to the right and drive until you reach a gate. Visitors can park past the gate, near the shed. Note that the gate (and the lodge itself) will only be open for official MEO events.