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The Eastern box turtle, above, is a native species to Long Island. Photo by 37and7 from Wikimedia Commons

Through the years, there have been scattered reports of the Eastern box turtle, a native species to Long Island, seen along the Setauket-Port Jefferson Greenway Trail, particularly at a 1/8-mile strip adjacent to the Lawrence Aviation Superfund site.

Though not listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation considers the box turtle of “special concern,” a classification for native species that “warrants attention and consideration but current information, collected by the department, does not justify listing these species as either endangered or threatened.”

The New York State Department of Transportation, charged with mowing the Greenway three times per year, was alerted to the turtle presence earlier this summer by the Three Village Community Trust, the local organization supervising and stewarding the trail.

“We became aware that there were some turtles apparently in the area in and around the Lawrence Aviation site,” said Herb Mones, TVCT president. “As a result, we requested that the state, when it does its mowing program, not mow that section or that area.”

The Friends of the Greenway is a subsidiary of TVCT that works to maintain and upkeep the trail grounds. Charlie McAteer, the organization’s chair, held that the mowing operation does fulfill a public end, limiting tall grasses, which can often yield ticks.

“If the tall grass is right next to the paving, people worry about ticks as they go past,” McAteer said in an email. “So these few mowings do help with our human satisfaction.”

But, he added that the organization strives to keep “mowing to a minimum so meadow growth and places for turtles [and other wildlife] can flourish again and trail users can see and enjoy nature along the trail.”

Joshua Heller, public information specialist for NYSDOT, indicated that the department was made aware of the presence of turtles and halted mowing for the area in question. 

“The New York State Department of Transportation prides itself on being good stewards of the environment,” Heller said in a statement. “We have received the Three Village Community Trust’s letter and are reviewing it. In the meantime, we have temporarily halted mowing operations in this area.”

Aug. 22 walkthrough

A walk along the Greenway Tuesday, Aug. 22, painted a different picture.

Outside the Lawrence Aviation property, there was evidence of fresh mowing. However, there was no evidence of harm to wildlife observed during the walkthrough. 

Presented the photos of the recent mowing activities, Mones expressed possible miscommunication. 

“It’s unfortunate that the NYSDOT extended their mowing beyond the area we recommended to them,” the TVCT president said in an email. “In the past, the DOT has been responsive to our requests and recommendations. It’s obvious we’ll need to do more work to create a ‘protective zone’ in the future.”

NYSDOT did respond to a follow-up request for comment on the matter by clarifying that the recent mowing occurred prior to temporarily halting mowing in the area.

Possible solutions

A 2017 thesis paper by Margarete Walden explores the danger mowing activities pose to box turtles. 

To mitigate the potential risk of turtle mortality due to mowing, Walden suggests conducting “mowing activities [from] November to March, so as to coincide with the period of turtle hibernation,” during which they live underground. It is, however, difficult to mow during these months when there is heavy snowfall.

McAteer pledged that the Friends of the Greenway “will work with NYSDOT to try to work on the mowing distance/guidelines” for routine mowings.

For Mones, wildlife conservation and trail maintenance are not mutually exclusive. Rather, he indicated that both efforts could serve the coinciding interests of trail users and wildlife.

“Our motto is, ‘Protecting the places we love,’” Mones said. “We are the stewards of the Greenway, but we also have the residual responsibility to protect the open space and advance environmental protection.”

Diamondback Terrapin
John Turner

Friends of Flax Pond invite the community to join them at the Childs Mansion, 19 Shore Drive, Old Field on Sunday, March 26 at 3 p.m. for a lecture titled “Diamondback Terrapin: the Turtle with the Clown Lips” presented by John Turner.

These amazing turtles inhabit our local coastal areas. Late each spring and early summer the females come ashore to nest on our local beaches. Conservation is key to their continued survival.

Turner will present information about these fascinating creatures as well as some of the local conservation efforts. As always light refreshments will be served. Please bring a reusable coffee mug to reduce waste. The lecture is free, but donations are gratefully accepted. Parking is at the Flax Pond Lab, adjacent to the Childs Mansion. If you need other arrangements for parking and have a “handicap parking pass,” please e-mail or text 631-767-6287 to make arrangements.

Learn all about turtles on Dec. 28. Photo from Pixabay

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery presents a virtual program for children, The Hard Facts About Turtles, on Dec. 28 via Zoom from 10 to 11 a.m. Can turtles come out of their shells?  Learn the hard facts about turtle shells with a storytime, craft, and by meeting some of the hatchery’s terrific turtles. Craft materials needed: paper plate (or a circle cut from paper), printed turtle template (or make your own, scissors, glue, crayons or markers, scraps of colored paper (optional) $15 registration fee. To sign up, visit www.cshfishhatchery.org. Call 516-692-6768 for more information.

They aren’t unicorns, tooth fairies or fantastic creatures from the C.S. Lewis “Narnia” series. And yet, for a Long Islander who spent considerable time standing knee deep in the waters around West Meadow Beach, listening to the aggressive screech of territorial red-winged blackbirds, the sight of a green ruby-throated hummingbird moving forward and backward in North Carolina brought its own kind of magic.

By the time I got out my cellphone and clicked open the camera app, the bird had disappeared.

While there are hummingbirds that periodically appear on Long Island, the sight of one in Charlotte so soon after our move here seemed like a charming welcome from the nonhuman quarters of Southeastern life.

Behind a Chili’s and Qdoba — yes, they are side by side in a strip mall here — we discovered a spectacular lake with a small walking path over the water near the shore. Looking down, we saw numerous fish hovering below and, to our delight, a collection of turtles, who all clearly have an appetite for the leftovers from the nearby restaurant.

We have also seen, and felt, considerably more bugs and mosquitoes, while we’ve heard cicadas, which, unlike the 17-year kind on Long Island, emerge here every year.

So, what about the two-legged creatures?

After the initial shock from the level of consideration other drivers displayed, it’s become clear that:

(a) The Northeast hasn’t cornered the market on aggressive and anxious drivers.

(b) You can take the New Yorker out of New York, but you can’t take New York out of the New Yorker.

Until I get North Carolina license plates, I have been driving the speed limit on smaller, local roads. Other cars have tailgated me so closely that I can practically read their lips as they talk on the phone or sing songs.

I watched a woman in a Mustang convertible, with rap music shouting profanities, weave in and out of traffic as her long hair waved in the breeze behind her. From a distance, the music and expletives were one and the same.

We have also seen an extensive collection of tattoos. A young FedEx driver climbed out of her truck and rang the bell to deliver a package. Her arms were so covered in colors and designs that it was difficult to discern a theme or pattern.

I walked into a supermarket behind a young couple pushing a baby stroller. The father had tattoos along the back of his muscular calves, while body ink adorned the well-defined shoulders and arms of his wife. I wondered if and when their young child might get her first tattoo.

When they find out we’re from the Northeast, people in North Carolina frequently become self-deprecating about their inability to handle cold weather. They laugh that flurries, or even a forecast for snow, shuts down the entire city of Charlotte. They assure us that no matter how much we shoveled elsewhere, we won’t have to lift and dump snow by the side of the road.

They ask how we’re handling the heat, which is often in the mid-90s, and the humidity, which is fairly high as well. While the three H’s — hazy, hot and humid — are my least favorite combination, I have certainly experienced many warm summers on Long Island, where shade or a trip into the ocean or a pool provide small comfort in the face of oppressive warmth.

With birds and insects of all sizes flying around, and drivers weaving in and out of traffic, North Carolina has displayed an abundance of high-energy activity.

Russell Burke, a professor of biology at Hofstra University, shows how newly state-mandated terrapin excluder devices keep turtles out while crabs can still get in. Photo by Kyle Barr

It has been a slow crawl saving Long Island’s turtles, but local conservation groups are hoping new state regulations will speed up the process.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Long Island environmental groups gathered May 23 at the Suffolk County Environmental Center in Islip to celebrate new rules requiring crab cages — used in Long Island’s coastal waters including many of the bays, harbors and rivers that enter Long Island Sound — to have “terrapin excluder devices” (TEDs) on all entrances. As carnivores, terrapins are attracted to bait fish used in commercial, or what’s known as Maryland style crab traps or “pots.” As a result, male and female turtles of all sizes push their way through the entrance funnels and end up drowning.

John Turner, a conservation policy advocate for the Seatuck Environmental Association, shows the North Shore areas where turtles are getting caught and drowning in crab cages. Photo by Kyle Barr

“With each and every season these traps are not required to have TEDs, there are likely hundreds of terrapins that are drowning,” said John Turner, conservation policy advocate for Seatuck Environmental Association, which operates the Islip center. “To me, one of the signs of a real civilized society is how we treat other life-forms. We haven’t treated terrapins very well.”

He said in Stony Brook Harbor alone there are dozens, maybe hundreds of terrapins that will spend the winter in the mud, emerging once the water runs up high enough. Turner said many of the North Shore areas that are home to these turtles, like Setauket Harbor, Conscience Bay, Port Jefferson Harbor, Mount Sinai Harbor and Nissequogue River, play a key role in preserving the species.

“In contrast to where I am in South Jersey, I can go by the canals and I can see a dozen [terrapin] heads bobbing up and down,” said James Gilmore, director of the marine resources division at the state DEC. “Here, it’s very rare to see one. Hopefully these new rules will help us see more.”

Gilmore said the DEC began working on changing state regulations in 2013 but have known long before there was a problem.

Carl LoBue, The Nature Conservancy’s New York ocean program director, said it was in the late 1990s he’d witnessed recreational crab traps in Stony Brook Harbor. One day he lifted a cage out of the water while trying to move his landlord’s boat and saw it was filled with trapped terrapins. Two were still alive, but five
had already drowned.

“With each and every season these traps are not required to have TEDs, there are likely hundreds of terrapins that are drowning.”

— John Turner

“I’m sure the crabber wasn’t intent to kill turtles,” LoBue said. “But when I looked across the bay at the 60 or something crab traps this person had set, I was crushed thinking of the terrapins drowning at that very moment.”

In the early 2000s terrapins became a popular meal in New York, but the harvest of those turtles led to a massive decrease in population, especially the diamondback terrapin, which was identified as a species of greatest conservation need in the 2015 New York State Wildlife Action Plan. In September 2017 the DEC passed regulations banning the commercial harvest of diamondbacks.

Terrapin population has slowly increased since then, but researchers say there’s still little known about the population, like life expectancy or habits while in water. The species has a very slow birth rate, with low local clutches of 10 or so eggs — sometimes only one or two of which hatch and mature. 

Russell Burke, a professor of biology at Hofstra University, said terrapins could live very long lives, pointing to older specimens he has seen living to 60 years old, but he estimated some could be twice that age. While Burke said it’s hard to estimate the total population on Long Island, he said in Jamaica Bay alone, he knows there are approximately 3,500 adult females.

Terrapin, or turtles, are carnivores, attracted to fish typically used to catch crab. Photo by Kyle Barr

The TED devices are 4 3/4 inches by 1 3/4 inches, an exact measurement, to ensure that while crabs can get through, turtles cannot. According to Kim McKown, leader of the Marine Invertebrate and Protected Resources Unit at the state DEC, the small, plastic TEDs cost $10 for the three needed to secure a normal crab trap. The cost exponentially increases depending on how many traps a fisherman has, with some owning up to 1,000 traps.

Turner said his organization used its own funds and purchased 5,000 TEDs and gifted them to the DEC. The state agency is giving them to Long Island crab fishermen on a first come, first served basis.

Commercial crab fisherman Fred Chiofolo, who hunts in Brookhaven Town along the South Shore, experimented with TEDs on his own for years before the regulations were passed. He said the devices
even improved the number of crabs caught.

“It made a significant difference with the pots that had them versus the pots that didn’t,” Chiofolo said. “Last year I put them in every pot I had — about 200 of them. I’m not going to lie it’s a lot of work to put them in, but we don’t want to catch the turtle. I don’t want them, and [the TED] does keep them out.”

Volunteers hold the immobile sea turtles they discovered at West Meadow Beach, where Brookhaven Ranger Molly Hastings is working to nurse them back to health. Photo from Molly Hastings

December’s wacky weather made life more difficult for everyone — but sea turtles at West Meadow Beach had a particular struggle.

Recent outdoor temperatures were largely above normal, with some brief moments of frigid cold. Molly Hastings, who serves as Brookhaven’s environmental educator and park ranger, saw some of the environmental consequences of this when she received an unusual knock on her door on Dec. 20 after a volunteer encountered two immobile, or cold-stunned, sea turtles.

An immobile sea turtle discovered at West Meadow Beach is being nursed back to health. Photo from Molly Hastings
An immobile sea turtle discovered at West Meadow Beach is being nursed back to health. Photo from Molly Hastings

Hastings said the knock came from Celeste Gorman, who was taking a hike along West Meadow Beach as a volunteer in search of turtles rendered immobile by the cold weather. She ended up finding two in a very short span of time.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described sea turtles as cold-blooded animals with circulatory systems that can slow to the point of immobility when exposed to extremely cold temperatures. Various factors have helped contribute to the higher prevalence of cold-stunning, like more shallow bodies of water and more dramatic temperature changes, NOAA said.

Hastings said she was well aware of the impact an unpredictable climate has on the wildlife living not only at West Meadow, but across the town and country. She said this small, isolated incident with the sea turtles should serve a greater purpose.

“Hopefully, the turtles will recover from this climate change-caused incident,” Hastings said. “Regardless of their individual fate, let it serve as a gentle reminder that we all are charged of fixing what we’ve done to the great outdoors.”

Stony Brook University grad student coordinator of the 2015 Diamondback Terrapin study Martana Edeas has her hands full. Photo from Nancy Grant

It’s hot. It’s muddy. It’s dirty. But it’s exciting work, if you like that sort of thing.

That was how Nancy Grant of the Friends of Flax Pond chose to describe her group’s latest initiative this summer tracking Diamondback Terrapin turtles at West Meadow Beach. And while they may move slowly, the Friends have been acting quickly to spot the four-legged reptiles at the height of their nesting season and working to preserve their species.

“I think a lot of people don’t realize we actually have turtles here,” Grant said of the program, which has been in operation annually since 2004. “You think you have to go someplace exotic to observes them, but you don’t.”

From the third week of June through the entire month of July, the Friends of Flax Pond has set out to conduct its annual six-week search for evidence of nesting turtles, documenting the population numbers and behaviors of what Grant called an important keystone species. The group meets every Sunday at West Meadow Beach at the park ranger sign at 9:30 a.m. and is accepting volunteers on an ongoing basis.

The Friends of Flax Pond have been keeping a vigilant eye on the shorelines of West Meadow Beach and Flax Pond with hopes of spotting the exotic creatures, as Grant referred to them as a vital way of keeping a finger on the pulse of the North Shore’s environment.

“They determine the health of the area,” she said. “It’s important to protect them because their numbers have gone down. They used to be over at Flax Pond, but we haven’t seen any there since 2009, with the exception of one recently.”

The Friends have spotted on average between nine and 10 nests a year, depending on the number of volunteers, Grant said. Once they find the nest, volunteers dig around it, put a cage over it and hold it in with tent stakes to keep predators away.

They’ll even go as far as using cayenne pepper to deter animals from some nests, but Grant admitted the nearby threats like foxes and birds were becoming privy to their methods and becoming less deterred by them.

From an educational standpoint, the group has also been working to launch its own Flax Pond Summer Research Institute this summer. For a $100 fee, the Friends is offering up an internship program at the Flax Pond Lab and salt marsh as well as West Meadow Beach that links up with academic marine scientists to gather data to document changes in the marshes there. This year, the group said it planned on documenting the status of species prior to a possible dredging of the Flax Pond inlet — a 146-acre tidal wetland on the North Shore — which the Friends has been adamantly advocating for.

Earlier this year, Old Field Mayor Michael Levine and the board of trustees called on legislators from the county, state and town levels to join with Stony Brook University and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to see the pond dredged and protect the fin and shellfish populations known to once thrive there.

“If you don’t have a marsh there, you have nothing between you and those major waves,” Grant said. “It protects real estate. As much as having a dock is nice, it won’t matter if you don’t have those plants there.”
The application deadline for the institute is July 13 and an application can be found at flaxpondfriends.org.

Catch a screening of 'The Secret of Kells' at the Cinema Arts Centre on March 17.
PROGRAMS

Hatchery Egg Hunts

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor will hold egg hunts on March 16, 17, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Children up to 6 years of age can hunt for eggs during 20 minute sessions scheduled throughout the day. $12 per child, $5 helper siblings ages 7 to 12, $7 adults, $6 seniors. Registration is required at www.cshfishhatchery.org.

Leprechaun Trap Engineering

The Long Island Explorium, 101 E. Broadway, Port Jefferson invites children in grades 2 to 6 to engineer the ultimate leprechaun trap on either March 16 and March 17 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Explore leprechaun lore and devise clever strategies to outsmart these elusive creatures. Each child’s trap will be as unique as their imagination! Admission is $8 adults, $6 children. 631-331-3277

Luck of the Pirates 

Join the Whaling Museum, 301 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor for a Luck of the Pirates program on March 16 at 2:30 p.m.​ Sail the Seven Seas and discover swashbuckling stories of Irish Pirates of yore! Find out pirate fact from fiction as you create your own eye patch and pirate hat. Decorate a glittering treasure chest to take home. No registration needed. Admission fee plus $10 per participant. 

Storytime Under Stars

Suffolk County Vanderbilt Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport continues its Storytime Under the Stars series on March 17 at 6 p.m. Your favorite bedtime storybooks come to life in the planetarium theater! Children ages 2 and older are invited to wear their most comfy pajamas and bring their favorite stuffed animal. Tickets are $8 for guests, $6 for members at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

Story & Craft with Nana Carol

The Next Chapter bookstore, 204 New York Ave., Huntington hosts a Story and Craft event with Nana Carol on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. No registration required. Appropriate for ages 0-4 (sometimes older siblings join as well). 631-482-5008

THEATER

Disney’s ‘Descendants’

Smithtown Performing Arts Center, 2 E. Main St., Smithtown presents Disney’s Descendants The Musical  from March 16 to 30. Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost, the teenaged children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the island… until now. When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good? Tickets are $18 per person. To order, visit www.smithtownpac.org.

‘Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz’

Join Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson for an unforgettable trip down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz from Feb. 21 to March 16. Enjoy a grand-new take on this classic tale featuring an original score, memorable characters, and fun for the entire family. All seats are $12. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com. 

‘Alice in Wonderland’

Up next for the John W. Engeman Theater, 250 Main St., Northport is Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland from March 23 to April 28. Alice takes a tumble down an enchanted rabbit hole to an off-kilter world of mock turtles, dancing flora, punctual rabbits, and mad tea parties. Will Alice be able to find her footing in this bizarre place? ill she ever figure out how to get home? All seats are $20. To order, call 631-261-2900 or visit www.engemantheater.com. 

FILM

‘Hop’ Aboard the Bunny Express

Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce invites the community to a screening of Hop in the Chamber Train Car, southeast corner of Route 112 and Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station on March 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. $20 per person includes movie, water, popcorn, and cookie with a visit from the Easter Bunny at the end. To reserve your seat, visit www.pjstchamber.com or call 631-821-1313.

‘The Secret of Kells’

Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington continues its Cinema for Kids! series with a screening of The Secret of Kells on March 17 at noon. A young boy in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids is beckoned to adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives with an ancient book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. Tickets are $13 adults, $5 children 12 and under. www.cinemaartscentre.org.

 

Catch a performance of 'Dorothy's Adventures in Oz' at Theatre Three this weekend. Photo by Peter Lanscombe/Theatre Three Productions, Inc.

PROGRAMS

First Steps Into Nature 

Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown presents First Steps Into Nature: Clever Creatures on March 8 at 9:30 a.m. Children ages 2 to 4 years of age will learn about the wonders of the natural world through hands-on activities, live animals, crafts, and much more. $20 per child. To register, visit www.sweetbriarnc.org.

Story & Craft with Nana Carol

The Next Chapter bookstore, 204 New York Ave., Huntington hosts a Story and Craft event with Nana Carol on March 11 at 10:30 a.m. No registration required. Appropriate for ages 0-4 (sometimes older siblings join as well). 631-482-5008

Green Shamrocks

Sunken Meadow State Park, Sunken Meadow Parkway, Kings Park presents a Tiny Tots program, Green Shamrocks, on March 14 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Children ages 3 to 5 with a parent or caregiver can enjoy short walks, story time, animal visitors, and crafts. $4 per child. To register, call 631-269-4333.

THEATER

Disney’s ‘Descendants’

Smithtown Performing Arts Center, 2 E. Main St., Smithtown presents Disney’s Descendants The Musical  from March 16 to 30. Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost, the teenaged children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the island… until now. When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good? Tickets are $18 per person. To order, visit www.smithtownpac.org.

‘Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz’

Join Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson for an unforgettable trip down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy’s Adventures in Oz from Feb. 21 to March 16. Enjoy a grand-new take on this classic tale featuring an original score, memorable characters, and fun for the entire family. All seats are $12. To order, call 631-928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com. 

‘Alice in Wonderland’

Up next for the John W. Engeman Theater, 250 Main St., Northport is Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland from March 23 to April 28. Alice takes a tumble down an enchanted rabbit hole to an off-kilter world of mock turtles, dancing flora, punctual rabbits, and mad tea parties. Will Alice be able to find her footing in this bizarre place? More importantly, will she ever figure out how to get home? All seats are $20. To order, call 631-261-2900 or visit www.engemantheater.com. 

FILM

‘Hop’ Aboard the Bunny Express

Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce invites the community to a screening of Hop in the Chamber Train Car, southeast corner of Route 112 and Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station on March 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. $20 per person includes movie, water, popcorn, and cookie with a visit from the Easter Bunny at the end. To reserve your seat, visit www.pjstchamber.com or call 631-821-1313. 

‘A Wrinkle in Time’

Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington continues its Cinema for Kids! series with a screening of A Wrinkle in Time on March 10 at noon. Filled with spectacle, warmth and heart, this celebrated film follows an ordinary girl’s epic adventure and brave journey to save her family, with the ultimate triumph of love. Tickets are $13 adults, $5 children 12 and under. www.cinemaartscentre.org.

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A HOLIDAY CLASSIC Catch a screening of 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' at the Cinema Arts Centre on Dec. 17.
PROGRAMS

First Steps in Nature

Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown will host a First Steps into Nature program titled Scales & Tails: Turtles, Snakes, Lizards, Chameleons on Dec. 15 and 22 at 9:30 a.m. Children ages 2 to 4 will learn about nature through hands on activities, music, crafts, stories and gain a greater appreciation of nature and wildlife while having fun. $75 for all 4 classes, $20 per class. To register, visit www.sweetbriarnc.org. 631-979-6344 

Calling all Little Vikings! 

Sons of Norway Loyal Lodge Hall, 201 7th St., St. James will host a frozen-themed craft and a make-your-own Scandinavian Christmas Spice Sachet on Dec. 15 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.  A delicious snack will be served! Appropriate for ages 3 to 11, but all are welcome to attend this FREE event by RSVP’ing via text to 347-886-3679.

Gingerbread House Workshop

Join Benner’s Farm, 56 Gnarled Hollow Road, East Setauket for a Gingerbread House Workshop on Dec. 16 from 10 a.m. to noon or 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mix in some gingerbread, some candy, some yummy icing, and some creativity, and this workshop is a hit! Each child will go home with a gingerbread home and many crafts made on the farm. For ages 4 to 10. $55 per child. To register, call 631-689-8172.

Arctic Animals

Sunken Meadow State Park, Sunken Meadow Parkway, Kings Park hosts a family program, Arctic Animals, on Dec. 17 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Take a trip to the North Pole to explore what animals live there and visit here and how they survive in such icy temperatures. For ages 12 and up. $4 per person. Reservations taken at www.eventbrite.com.

Winter FUNderland

Northport Historical Society, 215 Main St., Northport presents a Winter FUNderland, an afternoon of holiday fun on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. Kids will learn about the December Holidays while making crafts, enjoying hot chocolate and listening to a reading of ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas by Northport Mayor Donna Koch with a special appearance by Santa! $5 per child, adults free. Advance registration required by visiting www.northporthistorical.org.

Storytime Under the Stars

Join the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Reichert Planetarium, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport for its next Storytime Under the Stars on Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. A live narrator at the front of the theater will bring selected seasonal picture books to life, with pages projected onto the Planetarium dome for families to enjoy the illustrations and follow along. Between stories, an astronomy educator will explore seasonal constellations visible from here on Long Island. Admission fee is $8 per person. www.vanderbiltmuseum.org.

THEATER

‘Barnaby Saves Christmas’

Theatre Three, 412 Main St., Port Jefferson kicks off the holiday season with Barnaby Saves Christmas from Nov. 18 to Dec. 30. As Barnaby the elf and his reindeer friend Franklynne set off on their journey to save Christmas, they meet some new friends along the way and learn the true meaning of Christmas, Hanukkah, and the holiday season. All tickets are $12. To order, call 928-9100 or visit www.theatrethree.com. 

‘Frosty’

Frosty returns to the John W. Engeman Theater, 250 Main St., Northport on weekends from Nov. 25 to Jan. 7. Join Jenny and Frosty on their chilly adventures as they try to save the town of Chillsville from mean old Ebenezer Pierpot and his evil machine that will melt all the snow. Jenny calls on her Mom, the mayor, and all of you to help her save her home, get Frosty to the North Pole, and make this holiday season a Winter Wonderland for one and all! All seats are $20. To order, call 631-261-2900 or visit www.engemantheater.com. 

‘Frozen Jr.’

Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. Main Street, Smithtown presents Frozen Jr. from Dec. 2 to Jan. 21. The magical land of Arendelle comes to life onstage. When faced with danger, princesses Elsa and Anna discover their hidden potential and the powerful bond of sisterhood. With a cast of beloved characters and loaded with magic, adventure, and plenty of humor, Frozen Jr. is sure to thaw even the coldest heart! Tickets are $25 per person. To order, visit www.smithtownpac.org.

FILM

‘The Polar Express’

Put on your PJ’s and join the Port Jefferson Station-Terryville Chamber of Commerce for a Polar Express Experience at the Chamber Train Car, corner of Route 112 and Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station for the holidays. Screenings of The Polar Express will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 14, 15, 21 and 22; and at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Dec. 16, 17 and 23. $20 per person includes a bag of popcorn, bottle of water, hot chocolate, cookie, bell, and a visit with Santa! To register, visit www.PJSTChamber.com.

‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’

Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Ave., Huntington continues its Cinema for Kids! series with a screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol on Dec. 17 at noon. Tis the season for love, laughter and one of the most cherished stories of all time. Join Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and all the hilarious Muppets in this merry, magical version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. One fateful Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Together with Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) and his family, Scrooge will learn the true meaning of Christmas. Rated G. Tickets are $12 adults, $5 children 12 and under. www.cinemaartscentre.org.