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.

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Educational Programs
News & Highlights

  • Grant Funding Helps Sustain Our Water Education Program and the Acquisition of the Humes Property

    Posted on June 27, 2015

    Land Alliance awarded a $40,000 grant in support of our acquisition of the 28-acre Humes property in the Village of Mill Neck and an additional $40,000 to help sustain our Water Education Program in elementary school throughout Long Island.

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  • Pollinator Gardens Spring Cleanup in Locust Valley

    The Great Healthy Yard Project: Our Yards, Our Children, Our Responsibility!

    Posted on June 9, 2015

    Many of us do not connect our yards with our drinking water supply, but the chemicals we use on our lawns and gardens wash with rain and storm water into our streams, ponds, reservoirs and deep groundwater wells in measurable amounts. Together these water sources comprise our drinking water – and as a result, chemicals flow into our homes and bodies.

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  • 2015 Long Island Food Conference

    2015 Long Island Food Conference Featuring Stephen Ritz

    Posted on May 6, 2015

    Sponsored by the North Shore Land Alliance, the Long Island Food Conference (formerly the Small Farm Summit) was a full-day event dedicated to educating Long Islanders about the benefits of healthy eating, growing their own food, living sustainably and protecting our existing farms and farmland.

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  • 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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