While we welcome everyone to get outside and visit our preserves, we also want to encourage people to help take care of them. Litter is a big problem not only at our lovely preserves but all around our North Shore communities and in the world at large.

Whether you’re driving down 25A or walking along one of our beautiful beaches, one can’t help but see an increasing number of plastic bags, Styrofoam cups, empty beer cans, plastic straws, cigarette butts and more. Lately people have literally been dumping their rubbish over the fence into our preserves. At Humes, we’ve rented dumpsters and removed tons and tons of debris. Pre coronavirus, staff members and several volunteers removed 500 pounds of trash from our Shore Road Sanctuary Preserve in Cold Spring Harbor.  This shouldn’t be happening.

Not only is this disrespectful to our community, many of the materials (listed above) found in litter are potentially carcinogenic and non-biodegradable and stay stagnant in the environment for years. Animals have suffocated in plastic bags, starved from eating trash they mistake for food and suffered deformities from becoming ensnared in things like discarded six-pack rings. The amount of garbage entering our oceans and open spaces can be reversed if we come together as a community and stop littering.

Those of you who were around in the 60’s may remember the KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL CAMPAIGN…. If it worked then, it could work again if we all take part. Please don’t be a litterbug! In fact, be part of the solution and help us keep our parks, preserves and roadsides litter-free.