MARCH

VINEYARD FIELDS RESTORATION PROJECT
Wednesday, March 26th
(1 to 3 p.m.)
 Volunteers wanted! Please join the GEE staff as we help with an initiative led by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt to remove invasive plants and restore 39 acres to grassland, a rare habitat that is quickly disappearing all over North America. This large field is located behind South Fork Natural History Museum on east side of the Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, a little less than a mile north of Montauk Highway. If you can’t make this date, stay tuned for other opportunities to volunteer with this ongoing project t. Students in need of Community Service credits are encouraged to participate. Please bring gloves and a shovel, if you can. Hot chocolate provided. For more information please contact Anita Wright at 631-537-1400 ext 17 or acwright@eastendenvironment.org.
 
WOODCOCKS AT DUSK
Saturday, March 29th
(6:30 to 7:45 p.m.)
As day becomes night, male woodcocks spiral up to the clouds striving to win over potential mates with their complex aerial display. Join us as we observe the entertaining courtship flights of the American woodcock. For reservations or more information, please contact Steve Biasetti at 631-537-1400 (x15) or sbiasetti@eastendenvironment.org.
 
EAST END BEAVER
Sunday, March 30th
(3 to 4:30 p.m.)
Not since colonial times have beavers been recorded on Long Island. However, in recent years, evidence has mounted that beavers may be attempting a comeback on the East End. Come explore the edges of Scoy's Pond in the Northwest Woods of East Hampton as we search for the telltale evidence that was first seen around the pond in late 2006. A local naturalist reportedly photographed a beaver near the pond in early January. We'll take a short walk as we try to unravel the mystery of the East End beaver. For reservations or more information, please contact Jeremy Samuelson at 631-537-1400 (x12) or jsamuelson@eastendenvironment.org.

APRIL
 

© Stefan Ekernas / Dreamstime.com

SHORE AND WADING BIRDS OF SHINNECOCK BAY (HAMPTON BAYS)
Sunday, April 13
(8 to 10:30 a.m.)
In late April, Shinnecock Bay is teeming with migrant shorebirds and nesting waders. Accompany us for a morning wildlife search along Dune Road in Hampton Bays. Among the animals we expect to see are great and snowy egrets, great blue heron, glossy ibis, American oystercatcher, willet, and greater yellowlegs. Binoculars are required. For reservations or more information, please contact Steve Biasetti at (631) 537-1400 ext. 15 or sbiasetti@eastendenvironment.org.

 
OUT WITH INVASIVES, IN WITH NATIVE PLANTS: LOUSE POINT RESTORATION (SPRINGS)
Tuesday, April 22
(3 to 5 p.m.)
Do you prefer planting? Weeding? Or both? If you said yes to any of these questions, we need your help! Just as Rome wasn?t built in a day, so it goes with the removal of invasive Japanese Knotweed at Louse Point. Thanks to many volunteers ages 2 to 80, we?ve managed to remove quite a bit over the last few years, but there?s more work to be done. On this afternoon, we?ll be digging up as much Japanese Knotweed as we can and planting native beach grass and other sand-loving plants in its place. Please bring a shovel (or two) if you can. Refreshments provided. ATTENTION STUDENTS: If you would like to use this project towards community service, be sure to bring any necessary paperwork. For more information, please contact Anita Wright at (631) 537-1400 ext. 17 or acwright@eastendenvironment.org.

 
BROWN BAG LECTURE: SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPING (CUTCHOGUE)
Saturday, April 26
(11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
Get psyched for spring during an informative luncheon gardening chat with Nancy Leskody and Anne Trimble, the owners of Trimble?s Nursery (www.trimblesnursery.com). These gardening divas will share their trade secrets for reviving your yard after a long winter and also make some suggestions for ?greening? your garden with beautiful plants that are native to our area. The lecture will take place at Trimble?s Nursery (20985 Main Road, Cutchogue) and participants will receive a 10% discount on any purchases after the presentation. Please bring your own bag lunch, if you would like. For reservations or more information, please contact Kate Schertel at (631) 537-1400 ext. 13 or kschertel@eastendenvironment.org.

MAY

NORTH STREET CLEANUP (GREENPORT)
Saturday, May 3
(11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
Join your neighbors and Group staffers as we pick up bottles, cans and other litter along North Street, around the corner from the Greenport Schools. Group for the East End is currently working with Village officials, Southold Town and Suffolk County to restore the Silver Lake area, including North Street, to a healthy natural setting. As proposed, plans include walking and bike trails, educational signs and habitat restoration. Lend a hand as we restore this severely impacted area. Collection bags will be provided. Please bring gloves. For reservations or more information, please contact Jeremy Samuelson at (631) 537-1400 ext. 12 or jsamuelson@eastendenvironment.org.

 
PECONIC RIVER PADDLE (RIVERHEAD)
Sunday, May 4
(12:00 to 5 p.m.)
Learn about the Long Island River Otter Project and view the alewife fish ladder on a paddle down Long Island's longest river. Dinner afterwards in Riverhead is optional. Canoe and kayak rentals are available. For reservations or more information, please contact Mike Bottini at (631) 267-5228 or mike@peconic.org.

 

© Claudine Besse / Dreamstime.com

FRIDAY MORNING BIRDS: QUOGUE WILDLIFE REFUGE (QUOGUE)
Friday, May 9
(7:30 to 9 a.m.)
May is the month that every birdwatcher anticipates with giddiness. Neotropical migrants are on the move, and they're wearing their finest outfits: bright red and black-winged Scarlet Tanagers, sky-blue Indigo Buntings, warblers galore (thirty-odd species) wearing most of the colors in the Crayola box? The Group offers three successive Friday-morning searches for these beautiful songbirds. Binoculars are required. For reservations or more information, please contact Steve Biasetti at (631) 537-1400 ext. 15 or sbiasetti@eastendenvironment.org.