Education is a core part of the North Shore Land Alliance’s mission and is integral to helping community members understand the benefits associated with the preservation of Long Island’s land and waters and the important role land conservation plays in ensuring a healthy quality of life.

It is particularly important in these days and times that people understand the benefits of and timely need to preserve and protect our lands and waters. Without natural, undeveloped areas our community wouldn’t have the ability to recharge underground aquifers so critical to the quality and quantity of our drinking water. Without farmland we wouldn’t have access to healthy local food and much, much more.

Throughout the year, the Land Alliance organizes a series of educational activities and programs that help people better understand the important role land conservation plays in a healthy environment.

Educational Programs

Walks in the Woods

Established in 2007, our Walks in the Woods is series of free, educational and interactive explorations. They are designed to guide visitors of all ages through Long Island parks and nature preserves, many of which are off the beaten path, for investigation while educating them about the wildlife and plants that call them home. Participants also gain an understanding and appreciation of local land conservation and its benefits to our food and water supplies and wildlife habitats and its connection to the strength and health of our communities.

Water Education Protects Long Island's Drinking Water

Long Island Water Education Program

Established in 2014, our Long Island Water Education Program educates fourth, fifth and sixth graders about Long Island’s water resources—particularly the sole-source aquifer that supplies our drinking water, as well as the streams, wetlands, bays and Sound that make Long Island such a desirable place to live.

Through interactive lessons, the program demonstrates the connection between protecting land and water and actively engages students in environmental stewardship.

2025 O'Neil Conservation Stewards

O’Neil Conservation Stewards

The Land Alliance’s William C. and Joyce C. O’Neil Conservation Steward program delivers valuable conservation-related experiences to qualified college students interested in building a career in the protection of our natural resources.

Conservation Lectures and Workshops

Lectures and Seminars

The Land Alliance hosts lectures, seminars, panel discussions and workshops featuring leading experts on various timely and relevant topics. Our mission is to promote understanding and appreciation of land use, conservation, water, farming and the value of getting children outdoors.

All Posts

Conservation News
Highlights from Our Educational Programs

  • NY Lecture Series Featuring Jeremy Oppenheim

    NY Lecture Series: The New Climate Economy Featuring Jeremy Oppenheim

    Posted on April 8, 2015

    On Wednesday, April 8, 2015, North Shore Land Alliance held its sixth annual New York Lecture Series event at the Explorers Club in New York City. This year’s featured speaker was Jeremy Oppenheim, Program Director of the New Climate Economy Project. Oppenheim, a distinguished speaker on global resource productivity and sustainability and author of Resource Revolution: Meeting the World’s Energy, Materials, Food and Water Needs, led an engaging and important discussion on how to combine economic growth with the protection of irreplaceable environmental assets.

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  • Long Island Water Education Program is Underway!

    Posted on November 13, 2014

    The North Shore Land Alliance Water Education Program reaches fourth and fifth graders at St. Patrick School in Huntington and James H. Vernon and St. Dominic Schools in Oyster Bay

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  • Water Quality Symposium for Local Municipal and County Elected Officials

    Posted on October 7, 2014

    The Nature Conservancy on Long Island, Long Island University (LIU), Friends of the Bay and North Shore Land Alliance hosted a Water Quality Symposium on October 7th, 2014 at the Tilles Center on the LIU Post Campus.

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  • Land Alliance Launched a Water Education Program for Elementary Schools

    Posted on May 6, 2014

    A generous donor funds a part-time educator to implement the Long Island Water Education Program to teach students about Long Island’s groundwater, surface waters and watersheds and stewardship of this essential resource.

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