MHI Calendar 2008

Program Leader: Crystal Possehl, SoFo Nature Educator. Salt marshes are the places where land meets the ocean by way of calmer bays.

Here there is an almost endless variety of plants and animals. In this first of a two-part series learn about the unique salt marshes of Long Island when you join Crystal for a Power Point presentation and bingo game that will introduce you to some of the many plants and animals found in the marsh and how they acclimate to their environment.

Sun 5/18 Introduction to the Salt Marsh: Part 2 – Field Walk. Southampton 10:00 am. Family Program Program Leader: Crystal Possehl, SoFo Nature Educator. In the first session of this two-part program you’ve learned about the plants and animals that live in a salt marsh. Now here’s your chance to see some of these animals and plants up close in their natural habitat. Be sure to wear “mucky” clothing and shoes and insect repellent, and bring along binoculars if you have them.

Sat 5/24 Build a Butterfly Garden 10 am. Adult Program Program Leader: Heather Abrams, SoFo Nature Educator. Do you want to attract butterflies to your garden? Then come to this program which will introduce you to SoFo’s first-ever butterfly garden. Join Heather as she discusses the how and why of attracting these magnificent pollinators to your garden, covering such topics as which plants to use to attract butterflies and which to use to provide incentives for them to linger and lay their eggs. Attracting butterflies to your garden not only enriches the aesthetic pleasure of gardening, it can also create a small nature reserve to help to preserve some of the world’s most beautiful creatures.

Sat 5/31 Shorebirds at Shinnecock 8:00 am. Hampton Bays. Adult Program. (Children over the age of 12 may attend) Walk Leader: Jim Ash. Join birder Jim Ash, SoFo’s Executive Director, on this shorebird migration walk. In addition to seeing migrating shorebirds you’ll also be on the lookout for the Seaside Sparrow, Salt marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, Clapper Rail, Boat-tailed Grackle, and other specialties of the area. You can also check out the ocean for pelagic birds, which sometime come in close at this time of year.

EAST HAMPTON TRAILS PRESERVATION SOCIETY Amagansett 329-4227 Contact hike leaders directly for information regarding the scheduled hikes.

Sat 5/2 Longshanks #5 (9 miles) 9:00 am We will hike to Hilda Lindley’s house then to Oyster Pond, along the beach to the Seal Haul-out Trail and on to Money Pond Trail. We‘ll continue past the lighthouse parking lot to Turtle Cove. From there we‘ll take the old Montauk Hwy to the Point Woods Trail and connect with the Ogden Brook Trail to Cornergate, returning to the Third House Parking area. Meet at the Theodore Roosevelt Park parking lot off Route 27 about 3/10 of a mile east of East Lake Drive. Leader: Ed Porco 668-2093 Sat 5/2 Poetry Hike At Sammy’s Beach (3 miles) 10:00 am We will stop twice on this shore hike for poetry readings. BYOP (bring your own poem) written by you or someone else. Or just come along to enjoy the scene. Meet at the end of Sammy’s Beach Road (a right turn off Old House Landing Road) via Alewive Brook Rd. Rain date, May 4th. Leaders: Leeanne Domash and Laurie Adler 329-2617 Wed 5/7 Cedar Point Park (2 miles) 10:00 am For some of the best water views on the East End, nothing beats this easy wooded trail to Hedges Banks overlooking Gardiner’s Bay. Meet at the log cabin park office building just inside Cedar Point Park, off Alewive Brook Rd. in Northwest. Leader: Gene Makl 324-8662 Sat 5/10 Napeague State Park Shortshanks Hike (2.5 miles) 10:00 am A necessary by-pass of the Paumanok Path created a perfect Shortshanks through a serene and beautiful forest of pitch pines and hardwood trees. We will walk this level stretch at a modest pace, stopping to smell the roses wherever they beckon. Meet on Napeague Meadow Rd. about 1 mile north of Rt 27 in Napeague. Leader: Richard Lupoletti 324-1127 Sat 5/10 Barcelona Plus (7 miles) 10:00 am Ramble a path through white pine and hard wood forest. Amble past a tupelo swamp and trek along the eighty- foot bluffs and beach overlooking Northwest Harbor, Cedar Point, Shelter Island and Sag Harbor. Walk a newly cut spur, with a view of Northwest Creek Point.

Meet on the dirt road extension of Edwards Hole Rd., west of intersection with Swamp Rd. Leader: Richard Poveromo 283-4591 Wed 5/14 Historic Springs/Pollock- Krasner (1.5 miles) 10:00 am ake a mile and a half walk through historic springs, with buildings dating back to the 1800’s. There will be a charge of $5 for a tour of the Pollock/Krasner House. Rain or shine. Please confirm. Leader: Nancy Kane 324-5799 Sat 5/17 Dog Wood Hike (3-4 miles) 10:00 am This hike will offer something for everyone. The combination of forest, shore and hopefully dogwood trees in bloom will prove a pleasure to all. Meet at the school house plaque on Northwest Rd. about 3/10 mile from the intersection with Alewive Brook Road in the Northwest section of East Hampton. Leader: Lee Dion 375-2339 Sun 5/18 Stony Hill (6 miles) 10:00 am From the farm’s edge to the beech forest canopy, Stony Hill is a fine place for a hike. You can thank the Peconic Land Trust and a few