Earle Perkins Trustee
I believe necessity and gardening go together. It was early April 1942, my mom and I, in our backyard, turning soil to construct a Victory Garden. As a 6 year old, this garden was the beginning of a life not only with an appreciation of the art of gardening, but also in the beauty of growing what we plant. Each spring reminds me of the renewal and a new growing season. Plants and vegetables or flowering shrubs, they all have their place in a landscape. The Foundation also believes in this balance, as the seeds we sow are the future we cherish.
Earle Perkins of South Kingstown, RI is a retired teacher and expert in sports medicine. A graduate of URI with bachelors and masters degrees in education, he taught in the Providence Public School Department. He was an athletic trainer at URI and sports medicine director of the Rhode Island Hospital Department of Orthopedics and in 1983 was medical liaison for the America’s Cup Sailing Regatta. He has been a URI Master Gardener since 2001 and together with his wife Ann, ran the Gardening with the Masters Garden Tours for a few years. He is in charge of nominations and bylaws for the Garden Foundation. He is a past president of the Appalachian Mountain Club, a volunteer for the Nature Conservancy and awards include the Providence Gridiron Hall of Fame, American Alpine Club (Emeritus) and the Master Gardener Hall of Fame. Married, he has two children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.