A Column Promoting a More Earth-Friendly Lifestyle
By John L. Turner
John Turner
Like other types of plastic such as milk cartons and apple cider containers, plastic film products are everywhere and have become a ubiquitous part of the lives of shoppers and consumers. What are some examples of these products?
Examples include the plastic bag your dry cleaning garments came in, cereal bags, shrink and bubble wrap, the bag your newspaper was delivered in, zip-top food storage bags (they need to be clean), the plastic bag your bread came in as well as the plastic film that covers bulk paper products like paper towels and toilet paper.
The good news is that due to a provision in the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, many retailers, such as supermarkets and home improvement stores, are required to establish an in-store recycling program which typically involves the placement of a bin typically near the store’s entry for the placement of your plastic film products.
One good thing about plastic wrap products isthey are easy to store — I cram all the plastic film material I’ve acquired into a plastic bag until it can hold no more and bring it with me to the store for disposal in the bin. Given this law, plastic film recycling is pretty painless so if you want to reduce your contribution to plastic pollution remember to bring your plastic film bag crammed with other plastic film materials to the store so it may be recycled!
You should not put plastic film in your curbside recycling bin. The town doesn’t have the equipment to sort it from other recyclable materials.
A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is conservation chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, author of “Exploring the Other Island: A Seasonal Nature Guide to Long Island” and president of Alula Birding & Natural History Tours.
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
Superheroes of the Sky program at Sweetbriar Nature Center 02/15/25. Photo by Bill Landon
By Bill Landon
It was another edition of Superheroes of the Sky Saturday morning, Feb. 15, at the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown where a cacophony of wild birds of prey made their presence known and tour guide Jim MacDougall conducted the daily ritual of feeding the hawks, barred owls, turkey vultures and bald eagle among others at the end of Eckernkamp Drive in Smithtown.
Sweetbriar Nature Center is situated on 54 acres of varied garden, woodland, field and wetland habitats on the Nissequogue River. Hundreds of species of plants and animals make their homes there.
Many of the feathered friends were injured raptors lucky enough to find safe refuge at the center where onlookers learned about their incredible adaptations that help them survive in the wild.
Through education and examples, the center encourages responsible decision making, appreciation and respect for the unique wildlife and ecosystems found on Long Island.
The next Superheroes of the Sky program will be held on Saturday, March 8 from 11 a.m. to noon. Tickets are $10 adults, $5 children. Preregistration is required by clicking here.
For more information about the Sweetbriar Nature Center visitwww.sweetbriarnc.org.
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport will welcome back Anthony Marinello, owner of Dropseed Native Landscapes Native Plant Nursery and a bird-habitat specialist, to speak on supporting native backyard songbirds on Sunday, February 23, from 11 a.m. to noon.
Songbirds add beauty and delight to our world. Backyard bird watching and feeding is a cherished tradition for many who appreciate our feathered friends. Marinello will give a presentation on how to support common backyard songbirds with native plants, bird feeders, and other habitat elements. Afterward, participants will make pinecone feeders.
Marinello is a New York State Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional as well as a Certified National Audubon Habitat and Ecosystems Land Professional.
Beth Laxer-Limmer, Director of Education, said, “The Museum is excited to have Anthony Marinello back to share his knowledge of native birds and plants and how we can create a backyard ecosystem for songbirds.”
For adults and children 10 and up. Participating children must be accompanied by a registered adult.
Hoyt Farm's interpretive specialist Sheryl Brook explains the process of maple sugaring to Hauppauge Girl Scouts Troop 428 during a previous year's event. Photo from Town of Smithtown
The annual, educational Maple Sugaring classes are back at Hoyt Farm. The highly anticipated program will run on three Sundays: February 23rd, March 2nd, and March 9th, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve, located at 200 New Highway in Commack. Tickets are just $5 per person (cash only), with classes being open to the general public. Due to high demand, it is recommended that guests arrive by 1 p.m. to register.
Hoyt Farm Park Manager Jeff Gumin teaches a group about tree tapping at a previous event. File photo by Greg Catalano/TBR News Media
“This is one of our Town’s finest and wildly popular educational programs, and it’s an experience every resident should take part in. The techniques used to make maple syrup are a cherished part of our history. Jeff Gumin, Sheryl Brook, and the entire Hoyt Farm team go above and beyond with their demonstration, making it an unforgettable experience that I highly recommend for the entire family,” said Smithtown Town Supervisor Edward R. Wehrheim.
The Maple Sugaring Program covers the history of maple sugaring, from its discovery by Native Americans to modern-day techniques. The program includes a special interactive portion for younger participants to learn about tree anatomy, chlorophyll’s role in sap production, and photosynthesis in maple syrup creation.
A unique feature of Hoyt Farm’s program is that Black Walnut trees are tapped alongside traditional Maple trees. To produce the sweetest sap, temperatures must remain below freezing at night and above 40 degrees during the day, which typically occurs during the late February to early March sugaring season.
Program Highlights:
Historical and Educational Demonstration: Learn the full process of making maple syrup and its importance throughout history.
Interactive Learning for Kids: Hands-on learning about tree anatomy, sap production, and photosynthesis.
Family-Oriented Experience: Open to all age groups and popular amongst school groups, scout troops, families, and nature lovers alike.
The Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve’s maple sugaring program began in the late 1970s as a single class and has since grown into an interactive, family-friendly experience open to the general public.
For questions about this and other programs at Hoyt Farm, call: (631) 543-7804.
Strolling on a mid-December day to pick up the morning paper at the base of the driveway, I passed by the bird bath and noticed the surface had a thin layer of ice capping a few inches of water underneath, an event about as surprising as the fact gravity held me to the ground as I fetched to get the newspaper.
Except that a thought I had not had for a very long time suddenly flashed to mind, from something I read in a middle school Earth Science textbook, a thought about a concept that is remarkably consequential — if ice wasn’t lighter than water but rather denser, life might not have ever gotten a foothold on planet Earth or if it did, it might have happened later and in a much more limited fashion geographically speaking.
As water cools it becomes denser so water closer to a freezing temperature, say 40 degrees Fahrenheit, is denser than at 80 degree water and 80 degree water is denser than water near its boiling point. The fact the colder water is, the denser it is, is true — but only to a point. Once water falls below 39.4 degrees Fahrenheit it reverses course density wise and becomes less dense as water molecules shift to form a lattice-like structure of spread out interconnected hexagons (six sided) once the water freezes; this lower density explains why ice is always on the surface and why ice cubes and icebergs float.
If water lacked this chemical quirkiness (in one scientific account characterized as ‘anomalous physical behavior’) and ice was denser than water, when ice formed at the surface from contact with air below 32 degrees, it would sink to the bottom, soon freezing solid the entire water column from bottom to top and everything in between if it stayed cold long enough.
All turtles, frogs, salamanders, and fish would be frozen along with the much smaller zooplankton that forms the base of the aquatic food chain located in temperate climates. Aquatic mammals such as beavers, muskrats, and otters would struggle mightily to survive. The same would be true for bays, harbors and the shallow portions of oceans, creating profound difficulties for the animals living in the colder portions of the marine realm.
If ice was denser than water would life ever have evolved on Earth? If so, would it be in the countless forms we see today? Would there have been other evolutionary pathways than the traditionally understood fish to amphibian to reptile to bird and mammal route we have deciphered from genetic evidence and the fossil record? Would you or Ieven exist to read and write this article, respectively?
Fortunately, our world is one in which water behaves oddly, with ice always floating on water, forming a protective layer for the free swimming aquatic life beneath. No matter how cold and bone-chilling the temperature of the air, even in circumstances involving temperatures much below zero (as routinely happens in mountainous areas and the polar regions), the water beneath the ice remains a ‘balmy’ 33 degrees or slightly higher, allowing for life to persist.
And ice isn’t the only form of frozen water that protects life. Snow does the same.One foot of snow is enough to keep the soil near 32 degrees despite what the air temperature is above the snow. This insulative value is not surprising given the fact that about 90% of the volume of a freshly fallen blanket of snow is air!
This allows for small mammals like voles and mice to remain active through the winter, hidden from predators beneath the snow, although a life free from predation is never a guarantee; a fact borne out on a few occasions when I’ve seen both red fox and coyote spring high into the air, arching their backs to gain momentum and focus, coming hard down on the snow with their front paws to punch through the crusty surface layer of snow in pursuit of a vole or mouse it heard below.
I well remember watching a coyote in a wind-blown, snow-covered farm field in Ontario, north of Ottawa, about thirty winters ago repeatedly pouncing through the snow, eventually catching what looked like to be a meadow vole.
Snow also enables animals hibernating beneath (called the subnivean zone) to use less energy and worry less about frostbite during this vulnerable time. Snow also protects plants from “frostbite” by preventing the soil from freezing and damaging small roots and rootlets. That’s why snow is referred to as the “poor man’s mulch”! The snow prevents a freeze-thaw-freeze-thawcycle which canpush or heave a plant from the soil causing root damage.
And a snow cover benefits human animals and their properties too, by safeguarding underground water lines from freezing since slightly below the snow-covered surface the temperature remains above the freezing point. This might not be true if very cold air can make prolonged contact against a ground that lacks the benefit of a snow blanket.
Under certain conditions though, snow and ice can prove lethal to plants and animals. The weight of wet snow can break branches and occasionally break or topple trees, especially evergreens whose abundant needled leaves hold snow. Ice forming inside plant and animal cells can be lethal as microscopically small ice shards puncture cell walls.
The wood frog, a native amphibian that breeds in vernal pools throughout Long Island (vernal pools will be the subject of a Nature Matters column in the Spring of 2025) actually freezes solid in the winter and is able to survive by pumping water out of its cells so they stay protected.No wonder they are amusingly called ‘frogcicles’!
If you want to see a wood frog thawing out after a long winter of being frozen but somehow still staying alive, I invite you to look at YouTube videos.
So there you have it — ice and snow — two substances which can disrupt life in specific situations but lifegiving in a general sense. And since we’re still in the glow of the holiday season, let’s be forever thankful for the unique, life-permitting nature of water molecules.
A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is a naturalist, conservation co-chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and Conservation Policy Advocate for the Seatuck Environmental Association.
Pictured from left are David Lyons, Maggie Ramos and Michael Voltz of PSEG Long Island with John Tuke, Brandon King, Bruce Schadler and Steve Monez of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Photo courtesy of PSEG LI
PSEG Long Island recently commended Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) for its commitment to the environment. The lab completed several projects that qualified for rebates of nearly $280,000 through PSEG Long Island’s energy efficiency programs.
The renovations include replacing 5,700 lights with energy-saving LEDs, heating and cooling upgrades, and a sub-metering project, which will allow the lab to more effectively monitor and manage its energy usage.
CSHL is expected to realize nearly $300,000 in annual savings with the 1.7 million kWh of electricity these projects will save per year.
Pictured from left are David Lyons, Maggie Ramos and Michael Voltz of PSEG Long Island with John Tuke, Brandon King, Bruce Schadler and Steve Monez of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
PJ Country Club prior to collapse of gazebo and edge of tennis courts, undated photograph. Courtesy of PJ Village website
Phase 1 of the East Beach Bluff Stabilization was the first part of a $10 million initiative aimed at arresting bluff erosion and preventing the Village of Port Jefferson-owned country club from sliding down the slope.
This first phase of the project was completed in June 2023. By any official accounts of the time, Phase 1 was a success. But within months of completion a series of storms in late 2023 and early 2024 damaged the site, undoing costly work, setting back progress and hampering the goals of the project.
According to the May 2024 Bluff Monitoring Report covering the period from September 2023 to February 2024, conducted by GEI Consultants of Huntington Station (the engineering firm that designed Phase 1), the village had not implemented recommended repairs, increasing the risk of more complicated and expensive upkeep and repair in the future.
The report stated that “no maintenance or repairs to date were undertaken by the village following the storms,” further suggesting that the village implements “necessary repair to the project as soon as possible.”
The report’s findings have raised questions among residents and officials about the long-term viability of the stabilization efforts and financial resources needed for continued upkeep and repairs.
TBR News Media reviewed GEI’s 2024 Bluff Monitoring Report — required under the Department of Environmental Conservation permit for Phase 1 — and spoke to experts, village officials and residents, exploring the report’s recommendations and the obstacles confronting the village in completing its requirements.
Costs of phases 1 and 2
At the completion of Phase 1, a 358-foot wall of steel and cement was constructed at the base of a steep bluff, about 100-feet-tall, situated on East Beach, facing north toward the Long Island Sound.
As part of the project, the severely eroded bluff face — scoured and denuded by years of storms — underwent restoration. Native vegetation was planted and secured with eight rows of timber terraces, and coir logs (interwoven coconut fibers) at the lower section and, toward the crest, with burlap netting.
The total cost of the Phase 1 project according to village treasurer, Stephen Gaffga, is “$6,024,443 million, of which $677,791 is related to design/engineering/permitting/ surveying, and $5,346,652 was spent on construction.”
At the crest of the bluff, approximately 30 feet beyond the precipice, sits the country club. Phase 2 involves the installation of a 545-foot long, 47-foot-deep steel barrier driven into the bluff’s crest, just a few feet seaward of the country club. The barrier is designed to stabilize the area landward of the bluff and prevent erosion, further reducing the risk of the building collapsing.
The cost of Phase 2 will be partially funded by federal taxpayer dollars as a $3.75 million FEMA grant, the final approval recently completed this past week, allowing for the village to receive bids for the work in the coming months for the construction of the upper wall. Local taxpayer dollars will fund the remaining Phase 2 expenses.
According to Gaffga, the Phase 2 “complete expenses are yet to be determined,” he explained in an email. The total cost will be better understood once the village receives bids for constructing the upper wall
The stabilization project, since its inception in 2017 has been presented by village officials as an urgent necessity. With this imperative in mind, the trustees approved a $10 million bond resolution, without a community referendum, in 2021 to fund the project’s two phases.
In a January 2023 statement by former Mayor Garant, after permitting and plans had been finalized, she warned, “If immediate measures to combat and stop the erosion are not implemented, the building foundation will get exposed, will lose structural support, and slowly but surely will fail — causing significant structural damage first, followed by complete collapse of the [country club] building.”
2024 GEI report findings
Heavy rainstorms swept across Long Island in the early fall of 2023, beginning with Hurricane Lee on Sept. 12 followed by another severe storm on Sept. 23.
According to the GEI report, these storms caused “post-storm stress” to the new vegetation leading to plant die off, shifting sands and forming a small ravine — also referred to as a gully — past the western edge of the wall at the base of the bluff.
To prevent further damage, GEI recommended that the village “replant beachgrass in stressed areas of the bluff face and protect the western edge of the wall by adding a filter fabric and stone.”
Photograph of East Beach Bluff Phase 1 taken as part of the GEI post-storm inspection after Hurricane Lee on Sept. 12, 2023. Courtesy of PJ Village website
However, two additional major storms in December 2023 and February 2024 brought strong winds and heavy rainfall expanding the damage started in September. A GEI post-storm inspection in the days following the storms found that a large ravine had formed on the eastern edge of the bluff face, further damaging the vegetation, matting and terracing within the ravine.
Photograph taken as part of the GEI inspection report Feb. 22, 2024 showing extensive damage to the bluff in the vicinity of stressed growth identified in September 2023. Courtesy of PJ Village website
In total, the May 2024 report outlined detailed recommendations involving improved drainage, repairs to terracing, laying down of erosion control fabric and replacement of beachgrass. The report’s recommendations concluded with concerns about utilizing honeycomb grids by Coastal Technologies Corp. under consideration by village officials, namely: “GEI has expressed concern that such an installation may not be effective at East Beach due to the types of soils present and the steepness of the East Beach Bluff.”
Despite these concerns, the Board of Trustees at the Oct. 23 public meeting approved a resolution to use American Rescue Plan Act funds at the total cost of $33,920 to pilot test Coastal Technologies stabilizing devices, pending a revised permit from the DEC.
In response to GEI concerns, George Thatos, Coastal Technologies co-founder and head of design, said, “Our Cliff Stabilizer system stabilizes near-vertical slopes with vegetation, unlike terracing which requires major regrading and cliff-top land loss.” He added, “Our solution naturally reforests bluffs.”
According to DEC representative, Jeff Wernick, if a permit holder “cannot follow a report recommendations due to environmental conditions, DEC works with them to modify the permit to correct the issues. If the recommendations are not followed due to negligence, it could result in a violation of the permit and enforcement action.”
Port Jeff Citizens Commission on Erosion
This reporter attended a recent meeting of the Port Jefferson Citizens Commission on Erosion. Their mission, in summary, is to act as a volunteer resident advisory group to the village on matters of erosion confronting the village. So far, much of the group’s focus, chaired by village resident David Knauf, has been on the East Beach Bluff Stabilization project.
On Jan. 20, the committee submitted detailed written questions to Mayor Lauren Sheprow expressing concerns about the overall status of the stabilization project. It questioned plans to proceed with Phase 2 before implementing drainage recommendations and before updating the land survey of the upper bluff that is about three years old. The commission urged these steps be completed before soliciting bids for the construction of Phase 2.
”There was damage that occurred since the Phase 1 was completed that hasn’t been addressed, meaning that it keeps getting more pronounced. There were ongoing reports that were done during the past year,” Knauf said at the Jan. 23 commission meeting.
He added that repairs “should have been done up to now so that whatever was occurring [with Phase 1] didn’t get worse.”
The commission, to date, has not received a comprehensive update on maintenance done on the bluff/wall as recommended in the May 2024 report, according to Knauf.
According to village trustee Robert Juliano, any maintenance and repair done during the time frame of the 2024 report “was minor, such as grooming the beach by village employees.”
Other concerns brought up at the meeting included a request to review a retreat plan allegedly completed under former Mayor Garant and actively participating in vetting of contract bids.
Sheprow, present at the meeting, told TBR News Media her responses to the written questions from the commission, reviewed at the Jan. 23 meeting, would be posted on the village website.
“The village will look to enlist the Citizens Commission on Erosion to help facilitate an open forum where GEI will present the Phase 2 project design and a path forward for Phase 1 remediation and restoration,” the mayor said in an email to TBR News Media.
The 2023 Annual Post-Construction Bluff Monitoring Report dated May 2024 and related items can be viewed at the Port Jefferson Village website at: www.portjeff.com/ 206/East-Beach-Bluff.
For earlier reporting by TBR News Media, visit tbrnewsmedia.com and key in “East Beach Bluff Stabilization project.”
A Column Promoting a More Earth-Friendly Lifestyle
By John L. Turner
John Turner
If you’re like most homeowners much of the mail you receive is unsolicited and of no interest, what we typically refer to as junk mail. Not surprisingly, much of it is never opened or read (about 44% according to one website) and gets tossed — hopefully in the recycling bin. Americans receive,and dispose of, about 3 million tons of junk mail every year. Especially notorious are catalogs offering various products— gifts, clothing, etc. — since they use much more paper than what is contained in a mere solicitation letter offering you a new product you don’t want.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive such as services which eliminate or reduce the amount of unwanted mail you receive. Some charge a small fee to process your request. One such service highlighted by the United States Postal Service is: DMAchoice, Consumer Preferences, P.O. Box 900, Cos Cob, CT 06807.
If you want to opt out of unsolicited credit card and insurance company offers, call toll free 1-888-567-8688 or visit optoutprescreen.com. Also, if you don’t want Valpak coupons go to valpak.com/remove-address to unsubscribe. Lastly, download the phone app PaperKarma that helps you to unsubscribe from unwanted mail.
A resident of Setauket, author John L. Turner is a naturalist, conservation co-chair of the Four Harbors Audubon Society, and Conservation Policy Advocate for the Seatuck Environmental Association.
The lake at Blydenburgh County Park. Photo from County Executive Romaine's Facebook
Suffolk County Police rescued a jogger on Jan. 30 after he got stuck in chest-high mud in the former lake at Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown.
A jogger called 911 at 12:10 p.m. to report he was lost in the park and stuck in chest-high mud in the former lake. The man’s dog wandered onto the mud and as the man was attempting to retrieve the dog, he began to sink. Fourth Precinct officers, Emergency Service Section officers and Aviation Section officers responded.
Aviation Section officers located the man less than 30 minutes later and hovered over the area until officers on the ground reached him. Fourth Precinct Sergeant Katherine Kuzminski and Fourth Precinct Officer Richard Esposito entered the mud and attempted to pull out the man. After several minutes, Officer Esposito successfully pulled him to shore and placed him in his police vehicle to warm him to avoid hypothermia.
The jogger, Kyle Prato, 24, of Medford, was treated at the scene by members of the Nissequogue and Town of Smithtown Fire Departments. His dog, an Australian Shepherd named Stryker, was unharmed.
The Suffolk County Water Authority will host the next installment of its WaterTalk series of educational forums in collaboration with the Three Village Civic Association on Monday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m at the Setauket Fire Department, located at 190 Main Street In Setauket. This event provides an opportunity for residents to learn more and ask questions about their drinking water.
“It’s important that we engage directly with our customers and the local business communities across Suffolk County,” said SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz. “Partnering directly with the Three Village Civic Association gives us an opportunity to meet with customers who we may not be able to reach otherwise. We appreciate the civic and their leadership for their collaboration.”
“We are delighted to welcome the Suffolk County Water Authority to our upcoming Three Village Civic Association meeting,” said Charlie Tramontana, Three Village Civic Association President. “This valuable opportunity will provide our community with crucial insights into the vital role the SCWA plays in ensuring the safety and reliability of our water supply. We encourage all residents to attend and learn more about this essential service.”
The WaterTalk series features a panel of experts who will discuss essential topics such as the quality of drinking water, infrastructure improvements made by SCWA to enhance water service and quality, and the importance of conservation. During the event, attendees can also ask questions and interact with SCWA officials. SCWA hopes attendees leave with increased knowledge about their water and greater confidence in the product delivered to their homes.
Residents who are interested in attending the WaterTalk event can RSVP by emailing [email protected] by Monday, January 29.
About SCWA:
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.
“It’s important that we engage directly with our customers and the local business communities across Suffolk County,” said SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz. “Partnering directly with the Three Village Civic Association gives us an opportunity to meet with customers who we may not be able to reach otherwise. We appreciate the civic and their leadership for their collaboration.”
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