A legacy conservation project 50 years in the making.
Creating a model of land stewardship for Block Island and beyond using three main principals;
Rewild
Bring land back to its natural and uncultivated state. Use the reintroduction and protection of native species to promote overall land health.
Regenerate
Create a healthy ecological environment in which the land can begin to rejuvenate itself without obstruction.
Restore
Remediate the damage caused by generations of improper land use through innovative soil building, plant and animal biodiversity and community care.
Jesse Davis and Taylor Gendron at the McCluskey Property, Winter 2026. Photo by Nate Hoffman
Over many decades, Don and Dorothy McCluskey joined with the BI community to successfully protect the island’s land and environmental treasures as public open space, championing the original efforts that led to Block Island becoming a national leader in land conservation.
As he reached his 100th birthday, Don saw potential for Block Island’s open land to become a model of stewardship and innovative care for the soil, for biodiversity, and for the climate and community as a whole. Although he knew he would not live to see the results, he hoped to plant seeds that would inspire others to heal and sustain the land and climate for generations to come.
In 2021 he hired Jesse Davis and Taylor Gendron to bring his vision to life.
Together, Taylor and Jesse have over 40 years of experience in combined horticultural fields; from traditional plant medicine to large scale plant and tree installations and maintenance.
With a model that focuses on community care first, including paying above livable wages, centering Indigenous voices and giving back to the greater Block Island community and beyond, Taylor and Jesse are working to continue Don’s legacy of giving at a four acre property on Champlin road.
This project is a living and ever evolving example of what is possible in conservation when you look outside simply limiting development and instead reach towards radical and holistic land management.
Over the past four years Jesse and Taylor have worked with the McCluskey Family and The Nature Conservancy to make ReBlockIsland into what it is today, an ever evolving project of land stewardship, community care and radical conservation.
Don and Dorothy McCluskey at their Block Island home