The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) kicked off the season with their annual Summer Soirée fundraiser at the Three Village Inn on June 22. The event honored outstanding members of the community including Olivia and Harlan Fischer, Katharine Griffiths, Sally Lynch, Nicole Sarno, and awarded posthumously, philanthropist Judi Betts and featured a live auction.
The primary purpose of the fundraising efforts was to support the restoration of the 20’ wooden eagle that is affixed to the pediment above the Stony Brook Post Office. This beloved local and national treasure has flapped its wings every hour on the hour for over 80 years.
The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) hosted its third LongIsland Sound Connections Summit last week. This virtual, hands-on collaborative learning program connectsstudents across Long Island Sound and allows them to conduct their own research to better understand the watersystems in their environment.
Long Island Sound Connections is the first program to connect both shores with students from New York andConnecticut — with virtual class check-ins, “summits” where students present their findings, an ongoing collection ofdata, and an analysis on that information. The Long Island Sound Connections program was designed to helpstudents learn about the Long Island Sound and to inspire them to become ‘citizen scientists’ and protect theirenvironment. The program is offered via distance learning from the WMHO’s Erwin J. Ernst Marine ConservationCenter (EMCC), where students have front row seats to one of the most pristine natural resources in New YorkState.
WMHO collaborated with Stony Brook University’s Ecology and Evolution Distinguished Professor JeffreyLevinton, and Dr. Taylor Evans of Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences todevelop a system of data collection parameters for monitoring and analyzing West Meadow Creek’s water qualityand species counts.
Professor Levinton and Dr. Evans will continue to support WMHO in developing thismultipronged project that seeks to educate the public by providing data representing the creek’s health over time tothe public and researchers. They will also assist participating classes to in continuing to learn about the Long IslandSound environment on an ongoing basis.
The third “summit” of classes in this program was between Ms. Michelle Miller and Ms. Doreen Barry’s 6th gradeScience class from Selden Middle School and Ms. Jess Castoro’s 6th grade Science class from Achievement FirstBridgeport Academy Middle School, who worked in collaboration with Mill River Wetland Committee.
The 2023“summit” participants have been researching the Sound for six months, and with assistance from professionals in thefield, have learned the environmental impact of industrialization, recent achievements on mitigating the effects, andhow to utilize their data in the future by monitoring the Sound.
Each class created specialized newscasts to showcasetheir findings on the relationships between water quality, animal and plant species, and even with human impact. Inthis cross sectional study of the Sound, students compared and contrasted their two environments (suburban andurban) and presented it to their partner class.
In addition, the study is longitudinal and seeks to track changes overtime. Data will be added into the WMHOs software to create a data map and timeline to assist environmentalresearchers of all ages to understand and appreciate similarities and differences across the Long Island Sound.
With grants provided by the Fullwood Foundation, the Frey Family Foundation and Webster Bank, this programwas offered to participating classes free of charge. All costs associated with the program were sponsored by theseorganizations.
For more information about the WMHO, on the Long Island Sound Connection program, other historic,environmental and scientific programs that the WMHO offers, please call 631-751-2244 or visit wmho.org.
The Ward Melville Heritage Organization (WMHO) hosted its second Long Island Sound Connections Summit in the first week of June. This virtual, hands-on collaborative learning program connects students across Long Island Sound and allows them to conduct their own experiments to better understand the water systems in their environment.
Long Island Sound Connections is the first program to connect both shores with students from New York and Connecticut – With virtual class check-ins, “summits” where students present their findings, and an ongoing collection of data and that information’s analysis. The Long Island Sound Connections program was designed to help students learn about the Long Island Sound and to inspire them to protect their environment. The program is offered via distance learning from the WMHO’s Erwin J. Ernst Marine Conservation Center (EMCC), students have front row seats to one of the most pristine natural resources in the Northern Hemisphere.
WMHO collaborated with University of Stony Brook Professor Jeffrey Levinton of the Ecology and Evolution Department to develop a system of data collection parameters for monitoring West Meadow Creek’s water quality and species counts. Professor Levinton will continue to support WMHO in developing this multipronged project that seeks to educate the public while providing data representing the creek’s health over time to the public and researchers.
Students performed their own experiments and led their own research on the topics of water salinization, acidity and quality, and human impact on the environment. Students also compared and contrasted their two environments (suburban and urban), and presented it to their partner class. The research collected from both sides of the Long Island Sound has been entered in WHMO’s software. Each season additional data will be added to it to create a map to assist researchers of all ages to understand the similarities and differences and track changes over time.
The second “Summit” of classes in this program was between Michelle Millers’ 6th Grade Science Class from Middle Country School District in Selden, New York, and Victoria Soltis and Angelica Lawrence’s 6th Grade Science from Edison Elementary School in Bridgeport, who worked in collaboration with Mill River Wetland Committee. With grants provided by the Fullwood Foundation, the Frey Family Foundation and Webster Bank, this program was offered to participating classes free of charge. All costs associated with the program were sponsored by these organizations.
Pictured from left are Megan Frey, Frey Family Foundation; Max Frey; Deborah Boudreau, Education Director, WMHO; Gloria Rocchio, President, WMHO; New York State Senator Mario R. Mattera, 2nd Senate District; Dr. Richard Rugen, Chairman, WMHO; Kathleen Mich, Trustee, WMHO. Not shown, Nicole Sarno, Business Manager, Webster Bank and Dr. Robert Parker, The Fullwood Foundation.
For more information about the WMHO, on the Long Island Sound Connection program, other historic, environmental and scientific programs that the WMHO offers, please call 631-751-2244 or visit wmho.org.