Aquidneck Island’s centuries-old, boundary-marking stone walls are a ubiquitous feature of the local landscape. But many have fallen into disrepair, blocking a window into Rhode Island’s often overlooked agricultural past. That’s why Preserve Rhode Island and the Preservation Society of Newport County launched the Aquidneck Stone Wall Initiative, a volunteer program through which people learn to restore walls under the guidance of Robert Faraone, an experienced mason.

“If we can repair the walls and show people that these are really special features of where they live, it increases the awareness [of the history],” Grace Gielink, Preserve Rhode Island’s program and property coordinator, says.

Below, the program by the numbers.