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Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation Grant for the Historic Tavern House
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For more information contact Debra Wiener, Director of Development Email: [email protected] or 516-922-1028 Oyster Bay, New York | The North Shore Land Alliance is honored to have been awarded a grant through the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation for the adaptive reuse of the Tavern House at the Humes Preserve. This historic structure on Oyster Bay Road in Mill Neck will become the Land Alliance’s new headquarters. The unassuming, wood-framed Tavern House has been a part of Long Island history since the mid-18th century. Over several centuries, this property passed through multiple owners serving as a tavern or inn, farmhand quarters, guest cottage and summer home for Ambassador John P. Humes and his family. The Land Alliance acquired the 28-acre property in 2015. The land was purchased for conservation purposes and is now open to the public. With the conservation of the Humes property, we have created a 150-acre conservation corridor in the most biodiverse area in Nassau County. The Tavern House within the Humes Preserve will serve as the Land Alliance’s first permanent headquarters. The 4,000 sq ft building will include offices, meeting spaces, room for small-group educational programming, and environmentally-friendly septic and geothermal heating systems. While the structure’s interior will be modernized, the Land Alliance has made great efforts to preserve the building’s original features. “The move will better connect the lands we have conserved for public purposes to the people and the organization who made their permanent protection possible,” said Lisa Ott, President and CEO of the Land Alliance. “Through this project, we can preserve an important piece of Long Island’s story. The Tavern House has borne witness to hundreds of years of growth. It is an important part of Long Island’s history. With this grant, we are proud that we have ensured that it will be an integral part of Long Island’s future as well”, states Kathryn Curran, Executive Director of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Thanks to the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation’s generosity, the adaptive reuse of the historic Tavern House at the Humes Preserve will be possible. “The Land Alliance is grateful for The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation’s efforts to preserve Long Island history,” said Lisa Ott. “We are so grateful for the strategic funding they have provided to our organization and so many worthy projects across Long Island.” The Land Alliance’s new headquarters are set to open in February 2023. Established in 1987, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation primarily supports the study of New York State history. Until his death in August 2004, Robert David Lion Gardiner was the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island, NY. The Gardiner family and their descendants have owned Gardiner’s Island since 1639, obtained as part of a royal grant from King Charles I of England. The Foundation is inspired by Robert David Lion Gardiner’s personal passion for New York history. For more information, please visit rdlfoundation.org. The North Shore Land Alliance, Inc. is a nationally accredited nonprofit land trust founded in 2003 that works to conserve and steward Long Island’s natural and historic lands, waters and environmental resources. For more information about the North Shore Land Alliance, please visit www.northshorelandalliance.org.
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North Shore Land Alliance Protects Water with Hydro-Action Clean Water Septic Technology
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For more information contact North Shore Land Alliance Email: [email protected] or call 516-922-1028 North Shore Land Alliance Protects Water with Hydro-Action Clean Water Septic Technology Oyster Bay, New York | The North Shore Land Alliance is leading the charge by installing a new, eco-conscious Hydro-Action clean water septic system at their newly remodeled headquarters at the Humes Preserve in Mill Neck, New York. This was made possible by a generous donation from Wastewater Works, Inc. for the system, and grant from Nassau County’s SEPTIC program for the installation. The Hydro-Action septic system will remove harmful chemicals like nitrogen from wastewater ultimately protecting our bays, harbors, and sole source aquifer. The Land Alliance is dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of Long Island’s natural and historic lands, waters, and environmental resources. Through education, outreach and volunteerism, the Land Alliance aspires to connect people to nature and build a community conservation ethic. Residents are cordially invited to view headquarters in February. When visiting, you can also check out the Land Alliance’s clean water septic system as well as the state-of-the-art, carbon-minimizing geothermal energy system. Stormwater runoff preventing rain gardens to follow this spring. It is imperative that we work together as a community to protect our open spaces and water resources. By upgrading our homes with environmentally friendly technologies we can improve water quality, reduce CO2 emissions, and protect wildlife. If you’re interested in receiving a grant to upgrade your outdated and polluting septic system, check out Nassau County’s SEPTIC program at nassaucountyny.gov/SepticReplace. You may be eligible for $20,000 to switch to clean water septic technology.
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Williams Preserve Progress
Our first order of business at the charming Williams Preserve in Lattingtown, donated by Mary and Tim Williams, was to mow the areas along the driveway to facilitate access for maintenance. We then conducted an initial clearing of what will become a tiny parking area, to be installed once we have secured local approval. Since our last newsletter we began the long process of tackling extensive growth of undesirable vegetation throughout the property. A large volume of vines and invasive shrubs has been cleared mechanically, rescuing a number of native trees and shrubs (including a statuesque oak leaf hydrangea) in the process. In addition, a wall that was part of a formal garden designed by Ferruccio Vitale was uncovered. Much of the remaining clearing needs to be done by hand to protect the native vegetation that remains and access hard to reach areas along sensitive slopes and pond and stream edges. Coincidentally, Ferrucio Vitale also designed the formal garden at the Rumpus House at the Humes property. Umberto Innocenti began his work as a landscape architect at the firm of Ferruccio Vitale and Alfred Geiffert, Jr. He left it in 1931 to start the firm of Innocenti & Webel which, over the following decades, became the preferred landscape architects for the Humes Estate. Since the initial clearing was completed, our dedicated volunteers have removed vines by hand from the countless mature, majestic trees that are found throughout the property. They are beginning to remove invasive shrubs and vines from along the creek that goes from the property boundary and under the driveway into the pond. The spring ephemeral trout lily was observed on the bank of the creek in the spring; we hope to find more of this and perhaps other spring ephemeral’s as the property’s restoration continues. The creek is also lined with native jewel weed, which supports hummingbirds, so we are excited to learn more about the wildlife here. A highlight of the work our workers and volunteers has done was the uncovering of a stone staircase installed decades ago to connect the future meadow at the top of the property to the pond below. While it will require a little “engineering” to fully make the connection and become safely navigable, it is a discovery we are very happy about! We are working to develop a phased habitat restoration plan that will map out several natural communities – meadow, grassland, freshwater pond, stream and woodland – with implementation to begin next spring. We welcome volunteers and look forward to the time when St. John’s Church parishioners and summer camp attendees can take a quiet stroll or eat a sandwich by the pond. With many thanks to the Williams family for their generous gift.
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How Can We Save the Bees?
Did you know there are more than 20,000 bee species in the world? Of those bees, 450 are native to New York State, and they come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. On Thursday, October 6, 2022, North Shore Land Alliance hosted a lecture with bee-expert Dr. Kate Lecroy of Cornell University. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the amazing world of native bees and what Long Islanders can do to help protect them. There is still so much that we don’t know about bees. Many are smaller than a grain of rice and almost 10% of bees in America are yet to be described. Native bees play a huge role in our ecosystem, pollinating almost 80% of flowering plants around the world and many important, high-value crops in New York are dependent on bees. Unfortunately, many of our native bees are in decline. More than 50% of North American native bee species are in decline and nearly 1 in 4 are at increasing risk of extinction. According to Dr. Lecroy, most bees are threatened by habitat destruction, overuse of pesticides, climate change, and predation by non-native bees. Dr. Lecroy also found that non-native bees outcompeted native bees in developed areas, while native bees thrived in unfractured, open spaces. There are many things that we can do to help native bee thrive in our own backyard. Here are a few best practices suggested by the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey: Reduce pesticide and herbicide use. Control invasive plants and maintain native species. Aim to plant species that bloom year-round to provide a long-term food source. Mow your yard less and cut at the tallest setting. Let flowering grasses bloom longer and preserve bee habitat. Minimize outdoor lighting as it can disrupt foraging behaviors of bees. Leave coarse woody materials on your property for nesting habitat. Native bees are indispensable to the health of the natural world and are perilously under protected. Let’s start helping bees by making small changes in our yard because without these tiny, tireless creatures our world would be a less colorful and interesting place.
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NYS Clean Air, Clean Water and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act Passes!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For more information contact Debra Wiener, Director of Development Email: [email protected] or 516-922-1028 Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act Passes! Oyster Bay, New York | On November 8, 2022, the NYS Clean Air, Clean Water and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act won with a resounding 67.57% majority! It’s nice to see that New Yorkers continue to value our environment. The NYS Environmental Bond Act will protect open space, safeguard clean drinking water, and update our aging water and sewer infrastructure while supporting nearly 100,000 good jobs. Now organizations like the North Shore Land Alliance will have access to much needed funds to help conserve open space and water resources. For 20 years, the North Shore Land Alliance has worked to protect nearly 1,300 acres of natural areas. The primary reason we protect land is to safeguard drinking water. Long Island’s sole source aquifer requires pervious surfaces (like fields and forests) for rain and snow to seep through the ground to recharge our drinking water source. A study by the Rauch Foundation found that nearly 60% of Nassau County’s surface is impervious (pavement and buildings). Open space is critical in protection our ground and surface water. In our community we have 8,000+ acres of natural areas left to protect. Through the Environmental Bond Act we will have access to critical funding to conserve land in perpetuity and maintain our quality of life. Plus, with the worsening effects of climate change, protecting open spaces, replenishing our aquifers, and restoring bays and harbors is more important than ever. The North Shore Land Alliance thanks you for your support of this Environmental Bond Act where we have shown we truly value our natural resources and take urgently needed action to protect our environment. Let’s act now to ensure a healthy future for those who come after us.
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