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Sweetbriar Nature Center

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A kestrel at Sweetbriar Nature Center
This Great Horned Owl calls Sweetbriar his home.

Time to clean out those closets: Sweetbriar Nature Center, located at 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown is seeking donations for its annual Yard Sale for Wildlife, which will be held on April 29 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All funds raised will support the nature center’s mission of providing nature education and wildlife rehabilitation.

Donations of antiques, collectibles, knick-knacks and other items under 50 pounds in good condition are now being accepted. (No televisions or other electronics, books or clothing please.) To make a donation, call Eric Young at 631-979-6344, ext. 302 to arrange a drop off or pick up.

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Visitors to the new exhibit, Forest to Forest, can meet a box turtle up close and personal. Photo courtesy of Sweetbriar Nature Center

By Erika Riley

A tropical rainforest comes to life on the second floor of the Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, and that magic will only expand with the addition of a new interactive experience coming later this month. The new exhibit, titled Forest to Forest, speaks to the touch, smell, visuals and sounds of the local Long Island woodlands and will officially open on Dec. 26.

The new room, which is located off of the rainforest exhibit on the second floor, aims to be as interactive as possible, allowing visitors the opportunity to use four senses (as taste is excluded) to experience the natural world, but all indoors and warm from the winter chill.

The project was led by Program Director Eric Young. “We wanted to build something to give them things they couldn’t necessarily see in the outdoors, but also times of year like this where they can’t experience the outdoors,” Young said.

One of the most exciting features is the addition of the crawl space underneath the box turtle exhibit. Children, as well as adults, can crawl through the underground world beneath the forest floor, look through a small window to view the forest floor above and peak at the center’s resident box turtles in their enclosure. There are already little dioramas installed into the walls of the crawl space showcasing different kinds of wildlife.

According to Young, visitors can also sniff containers with forest smells and explore a touch table that features different textures of objects found in the forest. “While they are doing all of this, they can take in the amazing artistry of the room as they play I Spy to explore the forest and field murals around the room,” he said. There will also be interactive computer programs set up in the room, such as one that plays an audiofile of a bird call, and visitors must click on the picture of the bird that they think makes that call. Once they click correctly, they can read information about that bird.

Young is planning on bringing in trees and plants from the area to utilize for the touch and smell parts of the interactive exhibit. All of the wildlife featured in the room will represent local plants and animals that are found in the surrounding woodlands. Any plants that are brought into the room will be directly from Sweetbriar’s woods on the property.

One of the main goals of the new room is to increase children’s excitement and appreciation of nature. According to Young, the involvement with the natural world is a three-step process. One: Help them appreciate the natural world. Two: Help them understand the natural world. Three: They want to get involved with the natural world. “If you don’t care about something, you don’t want to take care of it,” Young said.

Young enlisted the help of artist and head curator at Sweetbriar Jenine Bendicksen and carpenter John Scorola on this project. While Young credits himself as coming up with the idea, he gives them the credit for making it come to life. “It takes a village,” he said.

The exhibit is made possible by a grant from the New York State Council for the Arts Decentralization program. The money was eventually allocated by the Huntington Arts Council to Sweetbriar, and they used it to finally do something with the room previously and affectionately known as Turtle Town. Once the exhibit opens, Young hopes to keep expanding it and making it even better throughout the years.

Sweetbriar Nature Center is located at 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown and is open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the weekends. For more information, please call 631-979-6344 or visit www.sweetbriarnc.org. Admission to the self-guided exhibit is $2 per person, which includes the rainforest room. Proceeds will go toward the upkeep of the exhibit.

About the author: Stony Brook resident Erika Riley is a sophomore at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. She is interning at TBR during her winter break and hopes to advance in the world of journalism and publishing after graduation.

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A great horned owl at Sweetbriar Nature Center

Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown will hold a yard sale on Oct. 29 and 30 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to support its mission of nature education and wildlife rehabilitation. Donations of household goods, collectibles, antiques and small pieces of furniture are requested — with nothing more than 40 pounds. No clothing, books or baby items please. All proceeds go to caring for their animals.

To drop off items or to arrange a pick up, call Joe at 631-905-5911 or Eric at 631-979-6344, ext. 302.

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Summer activities for the family

File photo

This blog was originally posted in July 2013. It has been updated with current information.

You may still be recovering from those last couple of weeks of careening from one end-of-school-year event to the next, but once the novelty of not having to make it to the bus in the morning or churn out homework in the afternoon wears off, boredom will set in hard and fast.

When younger kids are not in camp, entertainment often falls on mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, or whoever else is looking after the little ones.

Fortunately, our area is not wanting for things to do, and we all have our fail-safe go-to’s — the Emma S. Clark or the Middle Country Libraries for their smorgasbord of classes and activities, the fields or labyrinth at Avalon, West Meadow Beach, or the sprinklers in Port Jeff.

For those days when you want to venture out a little farther, here are just a few more ideas for getting out and about. And let me just preface my recommendations with one bit of advice: wear insect repellant in addition to the sunscreen!  The bugs are out in full force!

Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown

The nice thing about Sweetbriar is you can just get up and go without any real planning or effort, and you can easily spend a couple of hours between picnicking, walking the exhibits and enjoying the outdoor setting. Because much of it is outside, it may not be ideal for a sweltering day.

The animal rehabilitation center is home to horned owls and other birds of prey, and if you hit the right time, you might just see Iggy, the iguana who usually resides inside, walking the grounds sunning herself. The butterfly house is open for business, and there are walking trails, an English garden and an outdoor play spot, complete with water play area, chalk boards and even a log see-saw.

The indoor exhibit features reptiles, amphibians, honey bees and other small animals, as well as skeletons and other educational displays. The rainforest room upstairs is a child’s favorite because of the “bridge” that extends over a faux river. Just watch out for the ginormous tarantulas hanging out, quite literally, in their tanks at the back of the room and make sure to have some pennies to toss into the “river.”

For hours, directions and information about camps and special programs, visit the website, https://sweetbriarnc.org. Sweetbriar is located at 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown, NY11787, 631-979-6344.

Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center in Holtsville

Another great place for animal viewing is the Holtsville Ecology Center. The small zoo is home to a variety of animals including a bald eagle, emu, horses and a giant pig. All inhabitants are previously injured animals that cannot be re-released.

Though entrance is free,  you may want to have change on hand to buy feed for the goats from the dispensers. Afterwards, you can enjoy a picnic lunch in their picnic area,  run around the playground or ride bikes, scooters or roller blade on the trails.   Oh, and there is an ice cream truck parked outside the entrance, so be prepared to indulge!

For more information visit brookaven.org The Town of Brookhaven Wildlife and Ecology Center Nature Preserve is located at 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY. 631-758-9664.

New York State Parks

Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown and Connetquot River State Park Preserve in Oakdale both offer biweekly Tiny Tots Nature Discovery classes for children 3 to 5 years old. All you have to do is call ahead to reserve a space. The hour-long class is only $4 per adult and $3 for children!

There are also programs for older children, families and adults. This Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. there will be a bat program at Caleb Smith Park. You can learn about bats in the educational center before walking through the woods scouting for the creatures. While this particular event is recommended for those 5 and up, you can get information about other programs at Caleb Smith by calling 631-265-1054. (They are in the process of updating their website).

For more information on programs at Connetquot River State Park, go to nysparks.com.

Sailors Haven and the Sunken Forest on Fire Island

If you’re looking for a bigger adventure, take the Sayville Ferry across to Sailors Haven on Fire Island, where you’ll find the Sunken Forest and a beach with fine sand and huge seashells for collectors. A boardwalk connects the visitors’ center, the showers, beach and forest. You can either wander around on your own, or take a free ranger-led tour.

Bring your own snacks, since the snack shop is closed while the marina is under construction. Both should reopen at the end of July. The good news, though, is there are lifeguards on duty and the bathrooms and showers are open.

As you can expect, attire for the woods and attire for the beach are not exactly compatible, especially because the forest, situated on freshwater bogs, is extraordinarily buggy — we’re talking total feeding frenzy. Shorts and sleeveless shirts are not advisable, or you will be running to avoid being devoured. Bug spray is ESSENTIAL.

The Visitors Center is open Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit the website nps.gov or call (631) 597-6183.

 

 

 

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