Gardening

Two Grey Arches

Garden lovers in Long Island are in for a treat this Saturday, May 24, with three unique opportunities to explore three diverse private gardens through the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. The featured gardens are:

Tranquility

Tranquility (Mount Sinai). Hundreds of perennials, shrubs, trees, and annuals are combined with water features, lawn art, and recently relocated garden trails that allow the visitor to enter the owner’s vision of an Impressionistic garden painting. Footpaths wind through the extensive garden, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of nature and escape the general stress of modern lifestyles.

Two Grey Achers

Two Grey Achers (Setauket/East Setauket). This garden was designed by its owners to provide beauty and interest in all seasons. Adjacent to Conscience Bay on Long Island’s North Shore, the mild maritime microclimate is reflected in the broad range of taxa thriving on this intensively planted site. A remarkable collection of choice conifers and Japanese maples, amassed over three decades, creates a year-round tapestry of color, texture, and form. Come, enjoy, and find specific ideas for stunning, hardworking woody plants to add to your own garden.

Woodland Garden

Woodland Garden – Bill & Veronica Schiavo (Wading River). The property features a heavily wooded landscape with one large pond, three small ponds, and two streams. Twelve- to fifteen-foot rhododendrons and flowering shrubs encircle the house. The lawn-less, deer-resistant terrain showcases diverse plants, including a new shade and fern garden with a stone patio. A nature trail winds through the front woods alongside a 75-foot stream and waterfall. Behind the house, two ponds, one with a Japanese red maple and waterfall, are surrounded by trees and grasses. The woodland garden is a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Open Days offers a unique opportunity for visitors to peek behind the garden gates of otherwise private gardens for one day only, and to explore a variety of garden styles and horticultural traditions.

The gardens will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for registered guests. Tickets for garden visits are $10 per person, or $5 for members of the Garden Conservancy. Children 12 and under are admitted for free when accompanied by a parent or guardian. All registrations must be processed online through the Garden Conservancy’s website. Visit gardenconservancy.org/opendays.

Fueling America’s passion for gardens, the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days™ program is the only nationwide garden visiting program. In 2025, Open Days marks its 30th year. Over three decades, Open Days has welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors into thousands of inspired private landscapes—from urban rooftops to organic farms, historic estates to suburban sanctuaries—in 41 states.

Two Ptilothrix chiracahua resting in their host plant, Kallstroemia grandiflora, the Arizona poppy. Chihuahua desert, southern Arizona. The water will be used to soften the rocky ground to allow the bee to dig her burrow. Photo from Clay Bolt

May 20 is World Bee Day, an opportunity to celebrate not only the beloved honey bee, but North America’s 4,000 species of native bees, many of which are busy right now.

“Throughout spring and summer, these insects dutifully pollinate crops and wildflowers, playing a vital role in fostering healthy ecosystems,” says Clay Bolt, manager of Pollinator Conservation and Great Plains communications, World Wildlife Fund.

According to Bolt, native bee species are beautifully varied in their appearance, behaviors, feeding habits and habitats.

They can be striped, metallic, fuzzy, thin and rotund, in a spectrum of colors. The world’s smallest species—the Euphorb mini-fairy bee—is only found in southern deserts. At 2 millimeters, it is about as long as a U.S. nickel is thick.

Different bee species fly at different times—early morning, daytime or night. Many emerge seasonally in spring or summer, while others remain hidden underground for years awaiting summer monsoons. Bees inhabit diverse environments, from cold mountain peaks to beaches. Generalist species visit many flower types, while specialists pollinate only specific flowers. And unlike bumble bees and other hive-dwelling bee species, such as honey bees and stingless bees, over 70% of the world’s bee species are in fact solitary, hardworking moms who quietly nest in overlooked places like decomposing logs and alongside garden paths.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “what is a bee?” you might be surprised to learn that they are vegetarian wasps. However, unlike their wasp relatives, which often feed their young protein in the form of paralyzed insects and the hamburger they might steal from your picnic table, most bees provide their offspring with protein made from pollen mixed with nectar. The mother bee compacts these materials into a pellet and places it within her nest cavity, lays a single egg atop the mixture, then seals the chamber where the young bee will develop entirely without maternal assistance.

How can you help bees?

Sadly, bees face threats to their survival, but there are steps you can take to help protect them.

Bees need healthy, pesticide-free foods throughout their lives. This is one of the greatest gifts you can offer these pollinators, especially because parks and gardens often grow flowers that only bloom during peak summer. By planting a variety of plants that flower from early spring through autumn, the number of native bees and other pollinators visiting your garden will increase exponentially.

“Through small acts of kindness, you can transform the lives of these remarkable creatures, while filling your heart with profound hope and wonder as you witness their delicate yet ongoing care of our shared world,” says Bolt.

World Bee Day also kicks off World Wildlife Fund’s new “Stories of Hope and Wonder,” an ongoing series that connects people to the wonder of nature and offers hope for a future benefiting both people and wildlife. Each month, “Stories of Hope and Wonder” will feature a different species overcoming some of nature’s toughest obstacles to ensure its survival. To access these stories, visit www.worldwildlife.org/hopeandwonder.

Bees are industrious creatures that are essential to vital food systems and healthy ecosystems. While bees are at risk, individuals can make all the difference in their own backyards this World Bee Day and beyond.

— StatePoint

Nicolock, a leading manufacturer of premium hardscape solutions, has announced the opening of its new Design Studio at 800 East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington Station in May with more locations planned for Seaford and Holbrook scheduled to open in June 2025 as well as three more in the fall.

According to a press release, these exclusive destinations are  designed to empower homeowners to transform their outdoor living visions into realities, guiding them from initial concept to completion. More than just showrooms, Nicolock Design Studios offers homeowners the chance to fully visualize how Nicolock’s extensive range of products will look installed, fostering confidence and facilitating informed decision- making.

“We understand that creating the perfect outdoor space is a significant investment and a deeply personal endeavor,” said Nino Nicolia, Vice President. “Our new Design Studios are designed to enhance the process, offering a hands-on, personalized experience that ensures our customers are delighted with their choices every step of the way. They will leave our showroom with a computer-generated design including a comprehensive list of products and a directed to an authorized Nicolock dealer.”

The Nicolock Design Studios offers several key features including:

  • Expansive Showroom: Featuring Nicolock’s top-selling products and color blends in realistic, installed settings. This allows customers to truly see, touch, and experience the quality and beauty of Nicolock’s offerings, eliminating any ambiguity.
  • Direct Comparison: Multiple variations of pavers, retaining walls, and other hardscape elements are displayed side-by-side, enabling easy and direct comparison to choose the best options for individual projects.
  • In-House On-Staff Designer: Homeowners will have access to Nicolock’s expert in-house designers, providing personalized consultations and design advice to bring their unique visions to life.
  • Personalized White Glove Concierge Service: From the moment they step into a Design Studio, customers will receive dedicated, white-glove service, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience throughout their project journey.
  • Comprehensive Product Showcase: Explore a wide array of Nicolock products, including pavers for patios, driveways, and walkways, as well as retaining walls, pool decks, fire pits, fireplaces, and materials for outdoor kitchens and grills.

Headquartered in Lindenhurst, Nicolock has been a family-owned-and-operated hardscape manufacturer for over 65 years. The company currently has 8 manufacturing facilities and is growing: Long Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and their newest location, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.nicolock.com.

 

 

By Sumaq Killari

The scent of rusted metal and aged cedar greeted visitors as they stepped inside the Port Jefferson Village Center this past weekend, where the past felt freshly alive. 

The three-story venue was transformed for the 17th Annual Antiques and Garden Weekend, a community tradition and fundraiser for the Port Jefferson Historical Society, generously sponsored this year by Northwell Mather Hospital. 

The building buzzed with activity as visitors explored vintage treasures and seasonal blooms. The Suwassett Garden Club showcased a vibrant display of hanging baskets, perennials and patio planters.

“It’s a time when the whole community comes together,” said Catherine Quinlan, a member of the Port Jefferson Historical Society board of trustees. “You see people you haven’t seen for maybe a year or so. People come together and just support each other. It’s really a wonderful event.”

The first floor featured at least 20 different vendors, many displaying jewelry in glass display cases, glassware, porcelain statues, old postcards and framed drawings and pictures.

Toward the south side of the first floor, Karen & Albert, a business owned by Karen and Albert Williams, a married couple, displayed furniture from different eras, including a 30-year-old wooden writing desk with a gently curved design. But there is a trick: hidden inside is a concealed bar. “You think it’s just a desk when you see it,” said Albert Williams with a smile. 

“Part of our company is to be able to educate people about antiques and about vintage items and how they can incorporate that with their own style,” said Karen Williams. “We have been in business for over 40 years, so we go on buying trips all the time,” she said. 

On the second floor, a booth displayed a collection of thrifted bags, including a beige Lauren Ralph Lauren handbag made of monogrammed fabric and featuring the LRL logo, priced at just $30. “This bag is so Y2K,” said Emelyn Ore, a college student attending the event. She noted its early 2000s aesthetic and monogrammed design matched current trends.

The friendly atmosphere reached the third floor, where the smell of baked goods filled the air. A group of ladies, members of the Suwassett Garden Club, sat behind a table displaying the treats. 

“Money, we like money,” one woman joked when asked what they liked most about the event. “Yes, we like it,” another chimed in. The group’s co-president added that this was their major annual fundraiser.

Proceeds from the event support the Historical Society’s mission to discover, preserve and share knowledge of the Greater Port Jefferson Area’s rich history.

As the day drew to a close, the sound of chatter and the scent of fresh blooms lingered, reminding visitors that while antiques may be old, the community spirit in Port Jefferson is timeless.

Sumaq Killari is a reporter with the SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media. 

Actor Laura Dern, center, with 'Common Ground' directors Rebecca Harrell Tickell and Josh Tickell.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Sanzel

According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, regenerative agriculture “describes holistic farming systems that, among other benefits, improve water and air quality, enhance ecosystem biodiversity, produce nutrient-dense food, and store carbon to help mitigate the effects of climate change. These farm systems are designed to work in harmony with nature, while also maintaining and improving economic viability.” Regenerative agriculture includes practices like no-tillage, planting cover crops, reducing chemical use, and planned grazing. 

In 2017, Josh Tickell published Kiss the Ground: How the Food You Eat Can Reverse Climate Change, Heal Your Body, & Ultimately Save Our World. The book purports that climate change is reversible through changing diets based on harvests from soil-nourishing, regenerative agriculture. 

Tickell (along with Rebecca Harrell Tickell) produced and directed the documentary Kiss the Ground (2020), which explored the issues raised in the book. The film shares interviews with farmers, scientists, and environmentalists. The focus is the power of healthy soil and its healing powers for humanity and the earth as a whole. Narrated by Woody Harrelson, the film features the well-known {model/ U.N. Good Will Ambassador Gisele Bünchden, NFL quarterback Tom Brady, etc.) along with authors and environmentalists. Kiss the Ground was lauded for its good intentions but received criticism for an often simplistic approach to the solution, especially concerning climate change. 

The follow-up, Common Ground, which launched globally on Amazon Prime on April 22 in honor of Earth Day, covers some of the same territory, with a spotlight on preservation of the soil. Again, central is the importance of properly cultivating the soil through regenerative agriculture. 

Common Ground opens with a letter “written” by various celebrities. Each is presented with a sonorous voiceover steeped in gravitas. The letter ends with, “It’s a matter of life and death.” If the information presented in Common Ground is even twenty percent accurate, this dark statement is harbinger of long-term and perhaps irrevocable damage. The film begins with a detailed explanation of regenerative agriculture, comparing it to the other less environmentally-friendly approaches. 

The film is most interesting and effective when it addresses agribusiness issues driving the market. Following the money trail exposes the private sector’s influences on government and education, with money filtered through land grant universities. Larger corporations have suppressed scientists and pressured the USDA, influencing the Farm Bill and driving subsidies into soy, wheat, and corn—all commodity crops. Agribusiness possesses the largest lobbying industry with twenty-three registered lobbyists for every member of Congress.

An exploration of the rise of industrial farming in post-World War II highlights the uses of chemicals in the forms of pesticides and toxic herbicides, labeled “the Green Revolution.” Most notably, Monsanto Company’s glyphosate product, Roundup, led to the 1980s genetically engineered crops—“ready grains”—that could resist Roundup. Gradually, revelations held Roundup responsible for damaging the health of thousands, leading to multiple successful lawsuits. (Monsanto sold the company to the German Bayer AG for sixty-three billion dollars.)

Common Ground gives a bleak picture of the small farmer who lives in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. The Farm Bill Cycle of Debt is a cyclical trap of the system dictating what (and how) to grow, boosting corporate profits, consumer illness, and farmers’ debt. Suicide rates among farmers are five times higher than the general population. Additionally, Common Ground touches on the racial disparity in farming, with the system showing an overwhelmingly biased preference towards white people. The discriminatory nature of the industry has only increased over the years.

While the film emphasizes much of the negative, it celebrates those who have succeeded in abandoning industrial farming. The alternatives are shown to have health and economic benefits—all linked back to regenerative agriculture.

The tone and style—and much of the documentary—shift from dark shadows to pastoral sunshine to peripatetic imagery. At times, Common Ground feels like clumsy public service announcements; at other points, it plays with the jarring cuts of a music video, with blaring, on-the-nose lyrics. The “behind the scenes” look at the stars — Laura Dern, Jason Momoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Donald Glover, Rosario Dawson, and many others recording their narratives is oddly and ineffectively “meta.” But Common Ground is well-paced and presents a clear path to transformation. 

Documentaries habitually select their focus as the greatest existential threat. Whether AI, plastics, water pollution, corporate manipulation, or conspicuous consumption, each sees its topic as the direst and the most important to be solved. Many point to the destruction of the environment, but each selects a different “demon” as the most dangerous. Common Ground is no different in this respect, and therefore, even in its specificity, it lands as a generic call-to-arms (or farms, as the case may be).

“The quality of what you eat determines the quality of your health. And a living soil is where it all begins.” While it might not convert the doubters, Common Ground is another reminder that through commitment and collaboration, environmental change is possible. 

The documentary is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Judith Ogden shows visitors the proper way to plant a bare root sapling at a previous Arbor Day event at Avalon Nature Preserve. Photo by Heidi Sutton

The Village of Head of the Harbor, along with its Tree Committee, is hosting its annual Arbor in The Harbor event in honor or Arbor Day. 

The event will be held on Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Avalon Nature Preserve. (Rain date is May 4.) Festivities will be held at the Avalon Barn, 60 Shep Jones Lane, St. James.

The purpose of the event is to celebrate the importance of trees, encourage residents not just to plant trees but to also preserve the trees we have.  There will be demonstrations on how to plant and care for trees and protect them from deer.  

Attendees will be given a free sapling tree to take home and plant (while supplies last).  Attendees can also enjoy a native species identification self-tour.

Head of the Harbor Village Trustee, Judith Ogden, who is also the Village’s Highway Commissioner, will lead the gathering.  “Trees are instrumental in protecting Stony Brook Harbor from pollutants from storm water runoff and by reducing erosion. They are also an integral part of the wildlife ecosystem. Trees provide shelter and habitat for birds. The undergrowth is home to the smaller animals that provide sustenance for the raptors. Everything is interdependent. I cannot stress enough the importance of trees to our Village,” Trustee Ogden says. “It is our hope that this event inspires residents to take care of our trees.”

Arbor in The Harbor is free to attend. Parking is available in lots along Shep Jones Lane.

A scene from last year's Arbor Day tree giveaway event at Brookhaven Town Hall. Photo courtesy TOB

In celebration of Arbor Day, the Town of Brookhaven will hold its annual tree seedling, mulch and compost give away in the South Parking Lot of Brookhaven Town Hall, located at 1 Independence Hill in Farmingville on Friday, April 25 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Recently recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA community for the 10th year, the event on April 25 is also part of the Town’s “Greening Brookhaven” initiative.

The tree seedlings available for pick-up are Red Pine; American Hazelnut; Bear Oak; Hybrid Poplar; Wetland Rose; Bristly Locust; Sand Cherry and Prairie Willow.

Free mulch and compost will also be available in bulk — residents must bring shovels and containers to load it into their vehicles. All items will be available on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.

In addition, residents will be able to pick up their orders of discounted backyard composters and rain barrels at this event. Orders must be placed by April 22 through this secure website brookhaven.compostersale.com.

Residents of Brookhaven Town may pick up free mulch and compost at the following Town facilities:

  • Brookhaven Town Hall, South Parking Lot, One Independence Hill in Farmingville
    Monday – Friday from 9:00 am to 7:30 pm and Saturday-Sunday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
  • Percy Raynor Park, Route 347 and Belle Mead Road in South Setauket
    Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
  • Rose Caracappa Center, 739 Route 25A in Mt. Sinai
    Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
  • Brookhaven Landfill, 350 Horseblock Road in Brookhaven Hamlet
    Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 2:45 pm and Saturday from 7:00 am to 12:00 noon
  • Manorville Compost Facility, Papermill Road in Manorville
    Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm (Closed for lunch 11:50 am – 12:30 pm)
  • Holtsville Ecology Site, 249 Buckley Road in Holtsville
    Monday – Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Robert E. Reid, Sr. Recreation Center, Rte. 25A and Defense Hill Road in Shoreham
    Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am to 8:00 pm
  • Mastic Complex (Keith Romaine Park), 300 Mastic Beach Road in Shirley
  • Centereach Pool Complex, 286 Hawkins Road in Centereach Park closes at dusk

Free mulch and compost are for residential use only. Contractors interested in purchasing Town of Brookhaven mulch and compost should inquire about discounted rates at the Brookhaven Landfill or the Manorville Compost Facility. For more information, call 631-451-TOWN (8696) or visit the Town website.

 

Pixabay photo

By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief,
Publisher

The bright yellow forsythias and the pink azaleas, along with the dramatic magnolias and the delicate cherry blossoms contradict the miserable March weather we have been enduring. 

But, you can’t fool Nature with adverse temperatures. She has her own calendar. Further proof of the season may be taken from the runny noses and watery eyes of the allergy sufferers, and the appearance of the tiny ants around the kitchen sink. And if you are among the lucky ones, you know what that means: call the sprinkler guys and the pool crew to get on their schedules, check who will be available to mow the lawn this year, and have the air conditioners tuned up and filters changed.

Yup. It’s spring.

If you have a boat, even a small one, it’s time to remove the shrink wrap, polish the teak and the hardware, check the engine, and if it is a sailboat, carefully look over the sails and count the life jackets. Maybe there is a new person who has joined the family.

If you have a garden, this is planting and seeding time. Get out the mulch and start spreading. Straighten the hose lines. Perennials are up, annuals are going in. Take a good look around the neighborhood. There seems to be a riot of daffodils throughout the yards and villages this year. And the fruit trees are bursting with color. Maybe it’s the contrast with the grey and the rain that’s been surrounding us.

There are chores we no longer need to do. I don’t know how many of you remember, but we used to have the snow tires removed and the regular tires put back in their place. We would ask that the winter oil in the car be emptied and replaced with the summer oil at the gas station. We still need to give the car a thorough cleaning, however, and put the snow brush back into the trunk. The shovels and walkway salt go into the garage and, if we have one, the snow blower is returned to the far corner.

Inside the house, we need to put the heavy winter coats in the back of the closet, take off the long underwear if we wear that armor against the cold, put away the turtlenecks and shake out our lighter shirts, blouses and pants to prepare them for the warmer temperatures. Might as well look at the bathing suits, too. Maybe we need a new one this year.

Those who go on trips in the summer may well be studying locations and fares around this time, if they haven’t already. I’m not part of that exodus, however. Where can you go to enjoy the season better than right here on the shores of Long Island? Others agree. They are my warm weather relatives and friends, and I welcome their company. We should start to get the guest room ready.

Amid all that activity and bustle, we must be sure to stop every now and then to enjoy the birdsong coming from the many bushes. And if we look hard enough, we can see birds’ nests in the branches of the trees and under the edges of porch roofs.

On a final note, spring is also the time when the world’s major holidays are observed: Ramadan, Passover and Easter.  The holidays all include prayers for peace. Would that we could all celebrate the holidays concurrently in a world filled with only peace: no more warfare, no more hatred, no more violence.

Since we are all people praying for the same blessing, why has it been so impossible to achieve? Will it ever happen? May we someday truly turn our swords into plowshares?

Enjoy the marvel of the new season in peace.

Photo courtesy of PSEG Long Island

In honor of Earth Day, PSEG Long Island and Suffolk County, in partnership with the PSEG Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation, will provide more than 230 customers in Suffolk County with a free tree through the Energy-Saving Trees program. The program showcases how planting the right trees in the right location can reduce utility bills and promote ongoing system reliability.

“Earth Day is a time for all of us to remember that we have a part to play in building a greener future,” said David Lyons, PSEG Long Island’s interim president and COO. “Strategically planting trees helps save up to 20% on a home’s summer energy bills once the trees are fully grown, while also improving air quality and reducing storm water runoff for all residents across Long Island and the Rockaways.”

The free energy-saving trees can be reserved at https://get.arborday.org/pseg starting Monday, April 14, until all trees are claimed. The reserved trees will then be available for pick-up on Tuesday, April 22, at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, from 9 aim, to 12:30 p.m. All reserved trees will be held until noon, when they will become available on a first come, first served basis.

“We continue to identify opportunities to make Suffolk County environmentally sustainable, and planting just one tree can make a difference,” said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. “We encourage our residents to take part in the PSEGLong Island Energy Saving Trees program and work collaboratively to embrace clean energy and innovative solutions to improve our region’s air quality. Together we will continue to raise awareness and make a difference in Suffolk County.”

“Trees add beauty to neighborhoods, help reduce energy consumption, filter pollutants that negatively affect community health and wellbeing, and provide places of respite, along with many other benefits,” said Calvin Ledford, president of the PSEG Foundation. “The PSEG Foundation is proud to support the Energy-Saving Trees program, which will help provide more than 230 trees to the Suffolk County community. We are excited that our employees can volunteer to be part of this initiative distributing the trees and sharing energy efficiency information and help create a more environmentally sustainable ecosystem across Long Island and the Rockaways.”

The Energy-Saving Trees online tool helps customers estimate the annual energy savings that will result from planting trees in the most strategic location near their homes or businesses. All customers who participate will receive one tree and are expected to care for and plant them in the location provided by the online tool, taking into account utility wires and obstructions. The types of trees offered include red maple, river birch, scarlet oak, flowering dogwood, eastern red cedar and sweetbay magnolia.

PSEG Long Island will also be on site at the H. Lee Dennison Building on April 22 to share information about energy saving and financial assistance programs. In addition, they will distribute reusable shopping bags and free LED lightbulbs to save customers money and energy, and to support the environment. Information, shopping bags and lightbulbs are available to all customers. The Energy-Saving Trees must be reserved ahead of time.

PSEG Long Island will host a similar event in Nassau County on Saturday, April 26.

PSEG Long Island will also be a sponsor of the RISE Earth Day event in the Rockaways on Saturday, May 3, where the company will be giving away 35 trees on a first-come, first-served basis. The event takes place from noon to 3 p.m. at 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Far Rockaway.

In honor of Earth Day, PSEG Long Island is also offering free Google Nest smart thermostats to customers on its Online Marketplace through April 29.

Serving the community

PSEG Long Island is committed to giving back to the people and communities it serves by actively supporting hundreds of local charity events each year through the company’s Community Partnership Program. For more information on how PSEG Long Island supports the communities it serves, visit psegliny.com/inthecommunity/communitypartnership

Photo courtesy of PSEG Long Island

April is National Safe Digging Month, and PSEG Long Island reminds customers, contractors and excavators that the law requires them to call 811 before digging to ensure underground pipelines, conduits, wires and cables are properly marked out.

Striking an underground electrical line can cause serious injury and outages, resulting in repair costs and fines. Every digging project, even planting a tree or building a deck, requires a call to 811. The call is free and the mark-out service is free. The call must be made whether the job is being performed by a professional or a do-it-yourselfer.

“April’s warmer temperatures mark the time of year when people on Long Island and in the Rockaways begin outdoor improvements to their homes and businesses. Calling 811 ahead of time is essential for protecting underground utility lines and, most importantly, the safety of anyone digging,” said Michael Sullivan, PSEG Long Island’s vice president of Electric Operations. “We thank customers for heeding our message. Last year there were nearly 195,000 mark-out requests in our service area, and so far this year, there have been more than 40,000 requests to 811.”

According to Common Ground Alliance, a member-driven association of nearly 1,800 individuals and 250 member companies in every facet of the underground utility industry, 40% of active diggers in North America do not call 811 because they think their project is too shallow to require it. All digging projects require a call to 811.

A free call to 811 in the service area automatically connects the caller to the local New York one-call center, which collects information about digging projects. The one-call center then provides the information to the utility companies, which send representatives to mark the locations of nearby underground lines with flags, paint or both. Once lines have been properly marked and confirmation from all of the utility owners is received, projects may proceed as long as caution is used around the marked areas.

Here’s important information to consider:

  • Underground gas and electric lines are everywhere, even on private properties. These facilities can be easily damaged if dug into, with the potential to cause serious injuries. Digging into these lines can also disrupt vital utility services, resulting in costly delays, expensive repairs and environmental or property damage.
  • Whether the job is a major home improvement project or something as simple as a fence or mailbox post, a call to 811 must be placed beforehand to determine where it’s safe to dig.
  • Call 811 at least two business days before the commencement of each job to have underground pipes, wires and equipment located. Each facility owner must respond by providing the excavator with a positive confirmation indicating that marks are in place where utility lines are buried or that there are no existing facilities in the area of the proposed work. This service is free of charge.
  • Be sure to wait until all of the utilities have responded. Don’t dig until lines have been marked or you have received confirmation that the area is clear of facilities.
  • Property owners must maintain and respect the marks. Always hand dig within 2 feet of marked lines to find the existing facilities before using mechanized equipment.
  • If gas lines are damaged or there is a gas smell when excavating, call 911 immediately from a safe area.

Calling before you dig is more than a good idea − it’s the law. Additional information, including a booklet on safe excavating practices and the protection of underground facilities, can be found on the PSEG Long Island website.