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Conservation News

  • Coming Soon – Humes Preserve, Mill Neck

    The North Shore Land Alliance purchased the Humes Estate (28 acres) from the Humes Family for conservation purposes on July 10, 2015. Two years later we purchased the adjoining Humes Japanese Stroll Garden (7-acres) and Smithers connector parcel (7 acres). The Estate property had been severely neglected for many years prior to our acquisition. It […]

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  • 10 Land Alliance Preserves to Visit

    During these uncertain times, nature can help us slow down and recharge. In fact, the latest research suggests that spending time in nature reduces stress and anxiety. We currently own or help maintain ten preserves open to the public.

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  • skunk-cabbage-and-marsh-marigold

    Biodiversity in the Beaver Brook Watershed

    The extraordinary variety of life on earth – a balance among plants, animals, microorganisms and the ecosystems in which they are found – is known as biodiversity. Protecting land locally helps preserve the biodiversity found right here on the North Shore of Long Island.

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  • Benefits of Native Plants

    With warmer months finally settling in and more time spent at home, many of us have been planting. Have you considered native plants when making your choices? There are numerous benefits to having these species in your garden.

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  • Roosevelt Community Garden Impact

    Garden members kicked-off the third growing season on April 22nd (Earth Day) with an annual clean up of the garden and distribution of plants and seeds to gardeners to start their gardening.

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  • Volunteers Give a Hand at our Preserves

    Volunteers brave inclement weather to help remove invasive vines and shrubs, partake in a beach cleanup and habitat restoration project and remove trash from the Humes meadow. Students also help conduct hands-on assessments and….

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  • Improvements at the Humes Property

    In preparation for its opening in July 2020, the Humes Property is getting some finishing touches. Repairs are being made to the formal garden, tennis court and old tennis hut. Plantings are also underway in addition to the creation of a new outdoor fitness area.

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  • Meadows and Trails Update

    Since our 2019 Fall Conservation News newsletter, the Suzanne and Carter Bales Quiet Meadow has started to look more meadow-like. After two years of clearing, rubbish removal and weed management, we seeded warm-season grasses and a small volume of wildflowers (along with winter rye), in the phase one area (3.5 acres) last November.

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  • Humes Property

    Experience the History of the Humes Preserve

    The Schmidlapp-Humes Estate, now known as the Humes Preserve, has a long history that dates to the Matinecock Indian tribe’s occupation of the area. It includes 17th-century boundary disputes between the Dutch and English and milling and farming from the 18th to 20th centuries.

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  • Places to Go and Things to Do

    While social distancing is recommended right now, there’s no reason you cannot get up close and personal with Mother Nature. Here’s a list of preserves we own or manage that are currently open to the public. You are welcomed to take a hike or jog along a preserve trail or pack a picnic lunch and enjoy “forest bathing” in a preserve meadow.

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  • Humes Preserve Opening

    The Land Alliance purchased the Humes estate in 2016. After four years, we’ve retired our debt and are now preparing to open this spectacular 28-acre property as the Humes Preserve in June! As passersby can easily see, the meadow has been cleared and grasses are growing in. Thanks to a generous grant from NYS the […]

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  • Don’t Be a Litterbug

    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 […]

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  • NYS Budget Supports the Environment

    Legislature and Governor Cuomo have agreed on a State budget that prioritizes our environment and commits record funding to natural resource conservation and climate change.

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  • Protecting Habitat for Plants, Animals and People

    Earth is losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. There’s been an average 60 percent decline in mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians globally since 1970, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2018. While climate change and pollution are contributors, the number one driving force behind the catastrophic decline in species is habitat loss. Habitat is defined as the natural home of plants and animals

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  • Land Alliance Earns National Recognition

    North Shore Land Alliance is proud to announce that we have been reaccredited by the national Land Trust Alliance – proving once again that, as part of a network of over 400 accredited land trusts across the nation, we are committed to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in our conservation work.

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  • William C. and Joyce C. O’Neil Stewards 2019

    O’Neil Conservation Stewards Reflect on Their Experience

    As we wrap up the fourth year of our college internship program, we thought it important to reach out to some of our past interns.

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  • Strategic Village Parcel Conserved

    The Land Alliance is pleased to announce the donation of the 193 Underhill Road property in Matinecock. The parcel, consisting of 2.3 acres, was given to the Land Alliance by Mr. and Mrs. James MacDonald and family.

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  • Critters Love Messy Gardens

    Tempting as it might be to “clean up” the garden and your yard for winter, as far as wildlife is concerned, it’s best to leave them as is for the season. “Messy is definitely good to provide food and shelter for birds during the cold winter months,” says Tod Winston, Audubon’s Plants for Birds program […]

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  • Food and Climate Change: The Way Forward

    Thank you to everyone who attended the Food and Climate: The Way Forward lecture and panel discussion at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Monday, October 28th co-hosted with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, North Country Garden Club, The Nature Conservancy, Three Harbors Garden Club and St. John’s Church (Cold Spring Harbor). It was a wonderful evening […]

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  • Season Two at the Roosevelt Community Garden

    Season Two at the Roosevelt Community Garden

    Land Alliance concludes season two at the Roosevelt Community Garden with 16 new garden members and more educational programs for the community.

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  • North Shore Land Alliance Long Island Water Education Program

    Year Five of the LI Water Education Program

    Since its launch in September 2014, the North Shore Land Alliance Water Education has been actively engaging local students in learning about Long Island’s water resources.

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  • Meadow

    Matheson Meadows Transfer

    Western Long Island is not a place one would expect to find vast expanses of meadow habitat, so the passage up Fort Hill Drive in Lloyd Neck, which bisects Matheson Meadows, is an unexpected pleasure. In 1968, Mrs. Anna Matheson Wood, founder and an honorary member of the Three Harbors Garden Club, conveyed the meadows […]

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