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Nature Play is Good for Children (and Adults Too!)
Studies show that spending time in nature provides children with a wide range of health and cognitive benefits. Nature play improves children’s love of learning, academic performance, focus and behavior. Unstructured outside play, specifically, builds confidence, promotes creativity and imagination, activates multiple senses and reduces stress and fatigue. “Green exercise” has greater physical and mental health benefits than physical activity indoors. A 2019 study by the Outdoor Foundation found that adults and children are playing outside less than they did a decade ago. Unfortunately, this is not a new finding. In 2005, Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, coined the phrase “nature deficit disorder” to define the human costs of alienation from nature. In a recent New York Times article, Louv stated “Ironically, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, as tragic as it is, has dramatically increased public awareness of the deep human need for nature connection, and is adding a greater sense of urgency to the movement to connect children, families and communities to nature.” Providing access to natural areas is central to the Land Alliance’s mission. Even before the pandemic a children’s nature play area appeared on our “wish list” alongside new trails, meadow restoration and public access improvements. Through the generous support of Randi and David Hoyt, Milena and DR Holmes and an anonymous donor, the Land Alliance was able to work with a children’s nature play designer to develop plans to transform what had once been a dilapidated caretaker’s cottage into a nature play area. Unlike a traditional playground (made from metal and plastic), nature play areas are made from materials found in nature, with many sourced from the property itself, like bamboo from the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden and wooden seats from nearby fallen trees. Site preparation began in late winter and installation of the hardscape and plantings was completed in April. The nature play components will be installed this summer. Do stop by and bring your children and grandchildren! Here are some resources to help you learn more about nature play. Tree stumps, bamboo stalks, pinecones, leaves and twigs are the toys of nature that spark collaboration, creativity, imagination, inventiveness and problem-solving. When children are given the space and time to play freely outdoors, the whole child benefits. Children and Nature Network – www.childrenandnature.org Richard Louv – www.richardlouv.com National Wildlife Federation – www.nwf.org/Home/Kids-and-Family/Connecting-Kids-and-Nature/Nature-Play-Spaces Natural Learning Initiative – www.naturallearning.org
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Fourth Season at the Roosevelt Community Garden
The Roosevelt Community Garden celebrated its fourth year on April 1, 2021. The Garden has become more than just a place to grow organic fruits, vegetables and herbs; it also is a place for gardeners to come together, to share and learn from each other. Situated in the hamlet of Roosevelt on a 10,000 square foot lot, the Garden boasts 49 raised garden beds, a garden library, picnic tables and two tool sheds. It’s open from sunrise until sunset April until November. During the growing season, gardeners and volunteers join forces to plant, weed, water and grow a variety of crops. They share in the bountiful harvest and grow food to share with community members in need. During these difficult times, the Garden is also helping to fight food insecurity. This was the original idea for the garden, but that notion became much more critical throughout the weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Garden has created a sense of community. Neighbors are working together, getting to know one another, caring for each other, building new kinds of relationships and creating a more unified community. Many thanks to Nassau County for making this opportunity available to the community. Special thanks to the volunteer Master Gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County for leading many of our educational programs in person or online. Their lifelong love of gardening and agricultural expertise continues to be an invaluable resource for the Garden and its members. To volunteer or for more information about the Garden, please contact Andrea Millwood at andrea@northshorelandalliance.org. More information about the Garden can be found online at www.northshorelandalliance.org/rcg. Special Thanks to Edrington Brands for Supporting the Roosevelt Community Garden We are most grateful to Marc Bromfeld and Edrington Brands for their generous $10,000 donation to help enhance our Garden and ensure that it is sustainable for another year. This spring, a wooden gazebo with aluminum roof was installed to create a more comfortable seating area for Garden members and volunteers to socialize and for educational programs. The gazebo will also bring warmth and character to the garden and provide shade for those working in the summer heat. A portion of the proceeds will also be set aside for programs in 2022. We hope the community finds great enjoyment in the space provided. Special thanks to Jill DeGroff, one of the first individuals to sign up to volunteer at the Garden in 2018, for spearheading this donation. We are most appreciative and grateful for her support.
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Worth the Wait: Humes Preserve Opened to the Public
Worth the Wait: North Shore Land Alliance Officially Opened the Humes Preserve in Mill Neck to the Public
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Restore our Bays: Applying Innovative Advanced Nitrogen Reducing Technologies to Long Island Septic Systems.
Restore our Bays: Applying Innovative Advanced Nitrogen Reducing Technologies to Long Island Septic Systems.
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Government Updates: The Great American Outdoors Act and A Community Preservation Plan for the Town of New Paltz, NY
FEDERAL Great American Outdoors Act Moves to the House On July 22nd, in a 310-107 bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). An identical bill passed the Senate in June with a resounding 73-25 majority. The GAOA was signed by President Trump on August 4th and became public law on August 9th. Many believe this is the most important conservation legislation passed in the last 50 years! And it has been a priority for conservationists for decades. The GAOA will dedicate $6.65 billion over five years to addressing the $11.9 billion backlog of maintenance projects across more than 400 national parks, monuments, recreation areas and historic sites. An additional $2.9 billion will be used for repairs on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Education. The GAOA will also finally fund the important Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at the $900 million annual rate authorized in 1964 (when President Johnson signed the bill into law). The LWCF, funded from royalty payments from offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, was created to both foster recreation and acquire more open space annually to supplement the nation’s public lands. It also supplies grants to states to protect historic sites, steward natural areas, preserve rare species and create recreational opportunities (like ballfields, picnic areas and swimming pools). LWCF money has been used in virtually every county in the country! The Land Alliance applauds every member of Congress who voted in favor of enacting the GAOA. At a time when Americans are finding peace in nature, the GAOA will go a long way to ensuring that our natural resources are protected and access to the outdoors is available for all. This great outcome was the result of many years of committed efforts from conservation advocates like the Land Alliance. We are grateful to our members who made the calls and wrote the emails to help achieve this legislative victory. We have definitely been a part of ensuring that our public lands will be there for generations to come. Unfortunately, we are not quite there yet on seeing any results. As of this writing, land acquisition lists due to Congress on November 2nd are held up in the political morass. Conservation Ballot Measures Across the Country The importance of nature and the environment was evident this election as voters across the country approved more than two dozen conservation ballot measures resulting in nearly $3.7 billion in new funding for land conservation, parks, climate resiliency and habitat. Here are some of the most notable measures that were passed: CALIFORNIA The $487.5 million bond in Prop A for San Francisco parks and recreation will direct $239 million to parks and open space. COLORADO Climate sales tax in Denver – Measure 2 will introduce a “climate sales tax,” a quarter-cent sales tax increase that is expected to generate $720 million for a variety of climate-related programs. The measure also mandates that funding “should maximize investments in communities of color, under resourced communities and communities most vulnerable to climate change”. Residents in the Colorado River Water Conservation District chose to increase their property taxes to protect streams and improve water use. This measure could generate $100 million over 20 years. FLORIDA Three Florida counties will raise property taxes to pay for environmental programs. • Residents in Volusia County voted to increase property taxes to renew the Volusia Forever land conservation program and pay for the Environmental, Cultural, Historic and outdoor Recreation program. The measure is expected to generate $100 million. • Increased property taxes in Collier County are expected to raise $287 million for the acquisition and management of environmentally sensitive lands. • In Manatee County, a property tax increase is expected to produce $108 million for the acquisition, improvement and management of land to protect water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and provide parks. Marijuana initiatives passed in five states. Initiative I-190 in Montana included a provision to allocate 50% of tax proceeds from recreational marijuana sales to land conservation. The measure is expected to generate $360 million over 20 years and is an unprecedented move for a major U.S. city. NEW YORK STATE The 2020 Saving Mother Nature Bond Act was postponed at the last minute due to COVID-19. Hopefully we will have another chance next year. There was one local ballot measure in the State of New York. The town of New Paltz has established a Community Preservation Fund. Modelled after a successful program that has existed in the five East End towns of Long Island for decades, the New Paltz Water Quality, Working Farms, Wildlife Habitat and Natural Areas Preservation Fund creates a small real estate transfer fee on sales that exceed the median home value in the town, and directs funding generated to an account that will help the town protect affordable housing while leveraging private, state and federal dollars to conserve local forests, family farms and clean water. The measure is expected to generate more than $3.5 million over the next 20 years. More than 70% of town voters supported this measure, which was approved as part of the November election. Environmental bond measures tend to do extremely well in years of big voter turnout as was experienced this year.
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