Grant Funding Helps Sustain Our Water Education Program and the Acquisition of the Humes Property

Grant Funding Helps Sustain the Long Island Water Education Program and the Acquisition of the Humes Property In April, the Land Alliance was awarded a $40,000 grant in support of our acquisition of the 28-acre Humes property in the Village of Mill Neck. This acquisition has the potential to be transformative by preserving one of the highest conservation priorities for the Land Alliance. Furthermore, the property’s central location in our designated area and potential community conservation uses – from passive recreation and appropriate public access to agriculture and habitat restoration – will provide the organization with unprecedented opportunities to demonstrate the values of connectivity for both wildlife and people. The New York State Conservation Partnership Program transaction grant will cover the indirect costs and expenses associated with this important acquisition, which will close in July. To learn more about the Humes Preserve, visit www.northshorelandalliance.org/places-to-visit/humes-preserve/ We also received $40,000 to cover two years of expenses for our educator, Karen Mossey (pictured at top), and supplies for our Long Island Water Education Program, which launched in elementary and middle schools in the 2014/15 school year. Our three-session program uses hands-on, interactive lessons both in the classroom and at a nature preserve to teach students about Long Island’s aquifer and surface waters. The lessons are designed to enable students to understand how they function and how they’re threatened. The program not only raises awareness about these issues, it encourages a proactive approach to conservation among younger generations. In its first year, the program reached over 1,000 fourth, f ifth and sixth graders in nine schools in four school districts in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In the coming school year we plan to add additional classes in some of these schools and two additional school districts. T his year, the Land Trust Alliance’s New York State Conservation Partnership Program invested in 76 projects totaling $1.8M to increase the pace, quality and permanence of land conservation throughout New York.  The Land Alliance received the largest award granted and we are very grateful for this most generous support. If your school would like to participate, please contact the Land Alliance at 516-922-1028 or info@northshorelandalliance.org.

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