Littoral Society's NE Chapter Spends May With Community Outreach, Education, and Habitat Restoration Projects

Volunteers and NYC Parks staff joined the Littoral Society on Saturday, May 18 to install native plants at the Arverne East Nature Preserve in Queens, NY.

​May was a busy month for the Littoral Society's New York office. In addition to working on local community outreach, education and improving habitats across three Boroughs (the Bronx, Coney Island and Jamaica Bay/Rockaway), staff also completed a highly successful Spring excursion to the DelMarVa coast.
 
Led by the Littoral Society's Jamaica Bay Guardian Don Riepe and Northeast Chapter Director Alexandra Kanonik, the Chincoteague was a hit. About 20 people gathered with us on the islands off the Delmarva Peninsula to enjoy the sights, food, ponies and their foals. We also had an up-close sighting of the Blue Grosbeak, early horseshoe crabs, and many other great bird and wildlife observations on our 4-day weekend from May 2-5.

On Tuesday, May 7, Alex explored the shorelines of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx at Orchard Beach with 50 students from local NYC DoE schools to learn about the habitats and geology of this special span of the Long Island Sound in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation.

On Saturday, May 11, Don hosted a Spring Migration Bird Walk at the Jamaica Bay Refuge. About 35 people came to the slide program and walk.

On that same day, our NY State Beach Cleanup Coordinator Jessica Klich hosted a highly successful beach cleanup with the community at Coney Island Creek in celebration of It's My Estuary Day, an event hosted by the New York State Marine Education Association.

On Tuesday, May 14, we hosted a major planting at the new Arverne East Nature Preserve in Rockaway Beach. About a dozen volunteers and NYC Parks staff, along with Alex and Don, planted about 130  trees and shrubs at the site to provide wildlife habitat as well as help beautify the site.

We ended May with a few more activities including: a shoreline Horseshoe Crab Hike in Broad Channel, a Clam Bake & Cleanup in Orchard Beach with City Island Oyster Reef, and another volunteer planting at the Arverne East Nature Preserve in Rockaway with NYC Parks.