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Volunteer Spotlight:Dorothy Schmidt
Dorothy Schmidt is an extremely committed volunteer. She is an integral part of keeping the Land Alliance’s Shore Road Sanctuary clean and healthy for wildlife. Dorothy comes a few times a month to Shore Road to cut the invasive reed Phragmites, to pull out mugwort or locust saplings and to clean up garbage along the shore. Despite the clouds of mosquitos that also call Shore Road their home, Dorothy always gets the work done, sometimes having to wear bug-netting. Without Dorothy we fear the phragmites may take over the beach! We extend our greatest gratitude to her for all the work she has done In her own words, Dorothy says “I have found a perfect place to volunteer at the Shore Road Sanctuary. I have been visiting the grassland once a week during the growing season for a little over a year now and have seen my efforts to improve the habitat slowly progress with a little hard work and consistency. My tasks are simple, I try and cut back as much phragmites as possible and remove mugwort and black locust. The Phragmites is my main focus. It has been rewarding to see the cattail flourishing in the bog area of the meadow, as it should, after my weekly weeding out of invasives. “While I am at the grassland, I feel myself relaxed and enjoy the tranquil sounds of the wildlife around me. I have observed the seasonal course of wildlife including the nearby osprey nest and the fledglings’ first flight. It was magnificent.” “The staff has been excellent in answering any questions I have and teaching me about the ecosystem. It has been a great experience for me, and I recommend volunteering to anyone who enjoys nature. Thank you, Land Alliance.”
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Volunteers Learn How to Identify and Manage Invasive Species
Volunteers are the backbone of the Land Alliance. Without them we simply would not be able to keep up with all the stewardship work that needs to get done. This year our volunteers have worked cumulatively more than 1,200 hours. They are some of the hardest working people we know, never shying away from a challenge. Whether it be hauling bamboo or removing hundreds of pounds of invasives from a pond or helping monitor preserve trails for damage, our volunteers do it all. Earlier this summer our volunteers and O’Neil Stewards were taken on a tour of Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve to investigate invasive species in the woodland and meadow. The tour was led by Abby, Melody and Kassidy from the Long Island Invasive Species Management Area (LIISMA). Throughout the trails, volunteers were introduced to invasive species that they may not have been familiar with. With LIISMA’s help, the group learned ways to identify invasives, where they like to grow and their impacts to their ecosystem. This knowledge is crucial for our volunteers to be able to distinguish between what they should pull and what should remain. With new invasives species appearing all the time, up-to-date information is one of the greatest tools in our toolbelt for protecting our environment. Thank you LIISMA for helping us and our volunteers stay informed! Sign up to Volunteer with North Shore Land Alliance! To learn more, visit www.northshorelandalliance.org/programs/volunteers-for-open-space/ and click the green Sign Up button or email [email protected]. Hope to see you soon!
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New Composting Hub at the MacDonald Property
Composting’s value in ameliorating climate change impacts and its public popularity couldn’t be more evident. But at the same time, composting programs’ budgets are being cut in New York City and Long Island alike. At a time when New York City’s community composting program cuts may cause layoffs and disruption of existing services which could reduce waste processing capacity by as much as 25% (https://www.wastedive.com/news/dsny-community-compost-budget-cuts-big-reuse-les-ecology-center-compost-power-nyc/700572/), the need for education about the benefits and how-tos of composting is greater than ever. And little is being done in our community; it is time for us to pick up the reins. As a first step in what we hope will become a larger initiative, the Land Alliance jumped in and constructed three compost bins at our MacDonald property in Matinecock. The compost system will allow processing of vegetation debris on site. Grass clippings, leaves and other vegetation debris from the property will be contained, turned and moved among containers by volunteer and an experienced landscape contractor maintaining the property. Over time we plan to add material from other properties. In addition, we are conducting a series of educational workshops led by local experts and educators on composting at home, food waste and soil analysis and benefits through composting. Community members will learn to understand the value of this practice to enhancing natural communities, reducing waste and minimizing soil erosion. This new program was made possible through a grant from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program (NYSCPP) administered by the Land Trust Alliance. Match funding from National Grid, alongside the NYSCPP support, is allowing us to upgrade irrigation, set up tables and benches at the property and develop planting areas that will include a blueberry enclosure, fruit trees, a pollinator corner and a small meadow on which the compost will be used. Interpretive signage and deer fencing will round out our project. Composting helps complete the nutrient cycle by recycling plant material and returning nutrients to the soil onsite. MacDonald’s habitat value will be enhanced in an area of intense development pressure. It will welcome a community of diverse economic and cultural backgrounds to learn about composting and its support of our native plant and local wildlife that depend on them.
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Acquisition of a Historic Property Adjoining Red Cote Preserve
In June, the Land Alliance purchased a one-year option agreement from the Pulling family. The agreement allows the Land Alliance time to raise the $1.52M necessary to purchase 4.5 acres of land adjacent to the Red Cote Preserve in Oyster Bay Cove. This land features a beautiful scenic vista. It includes an additional trail, a picturesque colonial garden and majestic centuries-old trees. Located in the New York State designated Special Groundwater Protection Area and within the Route 25A Heritage Area, the land will be a wonderful addition to the Red Cote Preserve. The 30-acre Red Cote Preserve is comprised of land purchased from the Pulling, Cutting and Schwab families. It was created in the early 2000’s through proceeds from the Nassau County Environmental Bond Program. This much-loved community preserve features a peaceful woodland trail, sentinel red cedar trees in the meadow and native wildflowers butterfly weed blooming in summer and goldenrod in fall are particularly popular with preserve visitors and pollinators alike). Red Cote is managed by the Land Alliance. The land under the option agreement has been owned by Pulling family members for more than 100 years. In the early 1920s, R.C. Leffingwell rented a house and horse stables on the North Shore so that he, his wife and daughter Lucy could spend weekends out of the city and enjoy horseback riding. When the rental terminated in 1924, he purchased a farmhouse, stables and surrounding pastures and gardens at 33 Yellow Cote Road and named the property Red Cote. When adjacent properties came up for sale, he often purchased them as well. For example, he bought the cottage just north of the Red Cote field on Yellow Cote Road. It was occupied for many years by members of the Leffingwell/Pulling family and is now owned by neighbors. In 1927 he bought a house at 34 Yellow Cote Road from Willis Wood so the soon-to-be-married (to Edward Pulling) Lucy and her husband would have their own home on the property. Years later, when Edward Pulling retired from Millbrook School, he and Lucy moved back to the property. They lived the rest of their lives in the main house at Red Cote. 16 acres of the southwest portion of the property were sold in 2006 to Nassau County and are now part of the Red Cote Preserve. Protecting historic places like Red Cote Preserve helps us maintain a sense of continuity and connection to the past. It also fosters a sense of community and pride in the place where we live. The Land Alliance is grateful to the Pulling family for its commitment to preserving the stories and the places that define the character of our north shore community.
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Saunders Woods – A Generous Gift to Our Community
The Land Alliance was thrilled to add Saunders Woods to our ever-growing list of preserves in 2023. This generous land donation was made by the Saunders family, long time Matinecock residents and proponents of land conservation. When the Saunders first approached the Land Alliance about donating the property we knew this would be a big conservation win for the community. Located in the Village of Matinecock, Saunders Woods is comprised of 12 acres of vacant, forested land quietly set back from Piping Rock Road. The property holds many important conservation values. High on the list is the property’s location within the Kaintuck Brook watershed, one of Long Island’s most biodiverse and ecologically valuable areas. Kaintuck Brook drains into Mill Neck Creek and subsequently the Long Island Sound. Protecting the property also preserves habitat for many native flora and fauna including red oak, tulip tree, American holly, spice bush, Canada mayflower, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Solomon’s seal, woodpeckers and red fox. The new preserve provides connectivity to 15 acres of preserved woodland and meadows owned by the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary, which connects to the back fields at Friends Academy. Over the winter, the Land Alliance surveyed the property to establish clear boundary lines so encroachment issues could be identified and resolved. This summer Land Alliance staff will design and build a trail system. In the not-too-distant future, we hope to open those new trails to the public. We are grateful to the Saunders family for trusting that their conservation legacy would be upheld under Land Alliance ownership. In many ways the donation is a quiet tribute to Thomas A. Saunders III, who passed away in 2022. Mr. Saunders was raised in Virginia and had great admiration for Thomas Jefferson and his affinity for nature. In fact, one of Mr. Saunders’ favorite Jefferson quotes was “No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.”
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