Program Leader: Naturalist from the Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS)
Let’s venture by boat into the remote areas of Shinnecock Bay onboard Stony Brook University/Southampton’s 45-ft. research vessel, Peconic, and marvel at the wealth of migratory birds, waterfowl, and seals that inhabit the region at this time of year. We’ll cruise along areas of the salt marsh and sand flats that are not visible by land and hopefully witness the activities of a variety of wildlife. Bring binoculars and a light snack. There is a fee of $35 for members and $40 for nonmembers for this program. The program is for adults, but children ages 10 and older may attend. Advance reservations necessary.
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, which has limited enrollment please contact us at info@sofo.org or call 631-537-9735. Spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
SOFO’s Young Environmentalist Society (YES!): Ages 10-16
Club Leader: Mare Dianora, an educator and the mother of two young sons, is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice involves building community and exploring connections to home and place.
The mission of SOFO’s new Young Environmentalists Society, known as YES!, for ages 10 to 16, is to engage young minds in developing a fuller awareness and understanding of the current state of our environment. The group works together and, through experience-based learning, place-based learning, critical thinking processes, and local activism, develops strategies for individuals and the community that are designed to shape how we live on this planet now and in the future.
The Club meets the last Saturday of each month, from 10am to 11:30am. This is a free program, thanks to the generosity of a foundation which prefers to remain anonymous. There is bilingual support for Spanish speaking participants. The date may change for this program. Please contact SOFO at (631) 537-9735 or info@sofo.org for up-to-the-minute information.
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, which has limited enrollment please contact us at info@sofo.org or call 631-537-9735.
10:30AM – 11:30AM at SOFO—Nature Walk in Vineyard Field led by SOFO Environmental Educator
11AM -1 PM at a Beach TBD —Water Quality Testing & Beach Cleanup (This part of the event has reached capacity)
Presented Jointly by SOFO & the Surfrider Foundation, Eastern Long Island Chapter, with the assistance of students from Southampton Elementary School’s Student Council, their Classmates & Families.
Registration is for both Water Quality Testing & Beach Cleanup. For Beach Cleanup, please bring your own bucket and cloth gloves. Registration is limited due to COVID-19 restrictions.
3 – 4PM at SOFO—Nature Walk in Vineyard Field led by SOFO Environmental Educator
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, which has limited enrollment please contact us at info@sofo.org or call 631-537-9735. Spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Full Pink Moon Hike, Cosponsored by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
Hike Leader: Jean McDermott, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
Join FLPG and SOFO on a leisurely-paced hike through open-field trails. The Pink Moon name comes from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn. Hikes are limited to 25 participants and priority will be given to 2021 FLPG members. Participants must wear masks. This free program is for all ages. To register email: greenbeltnews@aol.com. This free program is for all ages.
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, which has limited enrollment please contact greenbeltnews@aol.com. Spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sharks, Awareness Inspires Conservation – A Shark Education Program by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Program presenter: Marianne Long, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Education Director
This program provides an overview of the work done by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC), a non-profit organization based on Cape Cod. The program will engage participants in a discussion of the public’s perception of white sharks, the role of white sharks in our marine ecosystem, and provide information on the ongoing white shark research taking place off the coast of Cape Cod. We hope you will join us and learn how you can help in shark and ocean conservation. To learn more about AWSC, please visit the Conservancy’s website: www.atlanticwhiteshark.org.
You can further your knowledge of sharks with some of AWSC’s free online enrichment programs at: www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/awsc-at-home-enrichment. This program is for all ages.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The Feminist Bird Club Presents: Birds After Flight: The Art & Importance of Bird Taxidermy
You will hear from:
• Molly Adams: Founder of the Feminist Bird Club, NYC Audubon Advocacy and Outreach Manager, and former SOFO Nature Educator
• Frances Kane: Coordinator of the Chicago Feminist Bird Club
• Aurora Crooks: Conservation Associate at NYC Audubon, data and volunteer organizer for NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight, Tribute in Light, and D bird.
• Divya Anantharaman: Owner of Gotham Taxidermy (www.gothamtaxidermy.com), co-author of the book “Stuffed Animals: A Modern Guide to Taxidermy” and fan of FBC.
• Kayleigh Kueffner: Former collections Assistant in the Bird Collection at the Field Museum of Natural History. She left her position at the Field in fall of 2020 to pursue her master’s degree at Evergreen State College.
Divya and Kayleigh will discuss the scientific and artistic preparations of bird taxidermy, its history, and how taxidermy bird specimens aid in the advancement of bird conservation. Aurora offers a brief overview of NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight, D-bird, and shares ways that you can get involved with these projects.
The Feminist Bird Club (FBC) is a non-profit organization founded by Molly Adams in 2016 as a way to leverage both their passion for birds and their passion for social justice into a cohesive whole. Since then, the FBC has expanded its chapters across North America and in the Netherlands. It aims to be an inclusive birding club that provides a safe opportunity to connect with the natural world while fundraising to protect the rights of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ folks, and women. The goal of the organization is to make birding and the outdoors inclusive and affirming to people who may not have safe access to it, and leverage people’s passion for the environment and social justice to help create lasting social change. For more information about the Club go to: www.feministbirdclub.org. This program is for adults, teens. Children age 8 and older might find it interesting.
(No registration required! just click the link.)
Zoom Presentation: Moonglow, an Enchanting Children’s Book: Hear the story, meet the author and the illustrator
Presenters: Moonglow Author, Peggy Dickerson (www.moonglowkids.com) and Moonglow Illustrator, Cynthia Wells (www.cynthiawellsart.com). Cosponsored by the Peconic Land Trust
“On a moonlit night in the forest, magical things can happen when forest animals are transformed by moonbeams.”
In this program you’ll meet the author to learn what inspired these imaginary activities. You’ll also meet the illustrator who portrays the realistically rendered creatures having fun in the night. Additionally, you’ll learn about local science exploration, figurative writing skills, and how digital artwork is created.
About the book
Moonglow is a children’s book designed for the young reader. It can also be read by parents to children who are too young to read. The illustrations take children into an eastern North American forest, just like ours here on the eastern end of Long Island’s North and South Forks. Realistic animals are transformed by the moonbeams as birds, deer, fireflies, frogs, and water striders magically play among the indigenous plant life. A factual appendix at the back of the book invites young ones to learn more about the woodland creatures through interesting facts about the moon, and is filled with vocabulary, science, and creative writing lessons.
Moonglow is available as a soft cover book as well as a digital interactive eBook from Apple Books. The eBook offers children all the advantages of reading it on an iPad or iPhone*. As an interactive eBook it provides a fully immersive experience combining an introduction video, a read-along with the author, Peggy, who narrates all the fully illustrated pages, and links to lessons on the moonglow kids website. On the eBook’s appendix pages the characters animate, allowing children to study the enlarged renderings of the animals. All the glowing digital device pages combine to pique the child’s interest to learn more about our local natural history.
*Please note, the eBook is not available on Amazon since Amazon can only handle limited interactivity. If you are a Windows / iOS user, you will need to download a reader to view the interactive eBook. Download Adobe Digital Editions Reader 4.5.11 Windows (8.24MB). Once the book is downloaded to your computer and you have the reader installed, double-clicking the on the book file will open the book.
To learn more about the book and moonglow kids go to www.moonglowkids.com. This presentation is for all ages and, as with all SOFO Zoom programs, preregistration is required to receive a Zoom link.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
SOFO Cleans the Beach—Help Needed!
Cleanup Crew: South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) Environmental Educators
If you have ever been to the museum and spoken to any of our educators, you know how much we care about preserving the natural environment of the South Fork. The mission of the museum itself is to stimulate interest in, advance knowledge of, and foster appreciation for the natural environment. Our staff has decided that in order to uphold the mission of the museum we need to take direct action to help keep Long Island habitats healthy. That’s why we have decided to continue our “SOFO Cleans the Beach” program throughout the seasons. We hope you will join us on our mission to pick up as much trash as possible. Our plan is to go to a different beach each month and clean for one hour. During our cleaning session we will tally up what type of trash we are finding and, when we are finished, weigh it out. Over time we will be able to get an idea of the kind of trash that is washing up on our beach, and we can knowledgeably advocate avoiding those materials in the future. We’re excited to continue this program and be one step closer to our goal of keeping our hometown beaches clean.
This is a free program for all ages.
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, which has limited enrollment please contact us at info@sofo.org or call 631-537-9735. Spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Photo Credit: Judy Gallagher
Zoom Presentation: Searching for the Eastern Mud Turtle with Jake
Program Presenter: Jake Kushner, SOFO Environmental Educator
The Eastern Mud Turtle is considered the rarest turtle in New York State. It is a small, secretive turtle currently only found in seven wetlands across the State. Given the low population numbers and spotty distribution associated with the Eastern Mud Turtle, this species is designated as a State Endangered species. Join us for a Zoom talk focused upon the decline of the Eastern Mud Turtle in New York, as well as an introduction to SOFO’s Eastern Mud Turtle research. This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10 and older.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Program Leader: Paul King III, South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) Environmental Educator
In this hands-on program, children will discover the tiny secrets that inhabit a pond and help our friends (the turtles, frogs, ducks, and fish) to not just survive but thrive. We will use magnifiers and microscopes to view the secrets that are too small for our unaided eye to see. We’ll discover the strange ways pond secrets breathe, catch their food, and hide from danger as we look for dragonfly young, cousins of crabs, bubble-carrying beetles, and, with luck, tadpoles. Please dress to get wet or muddy! This program is for children age 8 and older
There is a $10 fee for Adults and $7 fee for children for this program. Members are free.
Please note that, as mandated by the latest State Executive Order regarding COVID-19 safety precautions, our outdoor nature walks and programs will at all times follow stringent six-feet distancing separation protocols required by the Department of Health for the safety of our participants and environmental educators. We will provide masks and gloves for all attendees.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. For more information, reservations, and directions to meeting places, please call: (631) 537-9735.