Group for the East End

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

The Group for the East End’s environmental education programs are conducted with several goals
in mind. Whether in school classrooms or field trips, spring plantings, summer field ecology activities or
adult explorations, GEE educators strive to cultivate interest and wonder for the East End’s natural surroundings, provide a foundation for appreciating the values of local natural resources, and instill
a sense of responsibility for living harmoniously with the environment.

School Programs GEE staff conducts numerous environmental-education programs with a variety of schools on the East End of Long Island. Recent scholastic partners include Amagansett, Child Development Center of the Hamptons, East Hampton Middle, Eastport, Hampton Bays Secondary, Montauk, Ross Upper, Sagaponack, Sag Harbor Elementary, Southampton Elementary, Southampton Intermediate, Springs, Tuckahoe, and Wainscott Schools. Cumulatively, the Group for the East End reaches about 55 individual classes and approximately 1,000 students during each school year. Field trips are major components of our programs, with trips to beach/dune, salt marsh, freshwater wetland, and forest ecological communities. In-class lessons cover such topics as Long Island’s geological history, groundwater, tides, classifications of living things, ecology and the food web, animal adaptations, and wildlife migration. Roughly two-thirds of our class-contacts involve our longstanding, extended programs: • Teaching Environmental Responsibility Now (TERN) at the Springs School • Science Encompasses All Life and Systems (SEALS) and • Outdoors While Learning Science (OWLS) at the East Hampton Middle School About 15% of our class-contacts involve annual arrangements for a day of environmental learning: • Southampton Kindergarten: Scallop Pond (North Sea) • Montauk Third Grade: Walking Dunes (Napeague) • Montauk Fourth Grade: Big Reed Pond (Montauk) • Montauk Fifth Grade: White Sands Beach (Napeague) • Sag Harbor Fifth Grade: Barcelona Neck (Sag Harbor) • Southampton Fifth Grade: Dune Beach (Southampton Village) Group educators continually reach out to all age groups and schools on the East End to offer environmental education experiences. Spring Plantings The Group for the East End organizes between 8 and 12 community plantings each spring in places such as: Polles Creek (North Haven), Wade’s Beach (Shelter Island), and Louse Point (East Hampton). We team up with a variety of school groups, community organizations, volunteers, and government agencies for the planting projects, including Sag Harbor Elementary School, the Morriss Center, the Shelter Island School, East Hampton Middle School, Shelter Island Garden Club and the Southampton Town Trustees. Approximately 300 students and community members participate each year! This year, we have plantings scheduled for Mondays and Fridays in April. If you would like to participate, please contact Anita Wright at (631) 537-1400, ext. 17.	Summer Field Ecology We’re excited to announce Group for the East End’s Summer Field Ecology Programs for 2008! Through the years, we’ve snorkeled in search of fish and crabs, hiked along miles of wooded and coastal trails, paddled in some of the most scenic waterways on the East End, and come to know countless local plants and animals. We are committed to connecting and reconnecting children and young adults to the outdoors through exploration, adventure, hands-on learning and FUN! Group for the East End’s experienced educators have designed three programs for outdoor enthusiasts of various ages. Each day, we explore a different natural landscape -- marsh, pond, forest or beach -- between Sag Harbor and Montauk. Our programs are best suited for children and young adults who have a curiosity and desire to learn about nature and enjoy being outdoors! PONDHAWKS (Ages 8 - 10) July 7 - 11 (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) The PONDHAWKS program is especially designed for the budding young naturalist! Each day we visit a different habitat and get up-close with the plants and animals that live there. Children become active nature detectives, using dip nets, tanks, masks & snorkels, bug boxes, shovels and field guides to learn about life in the pond, beach, salt marsh and woods. This program aspires to spark your child?s interest in the outdoors and plant the seed for a lifetime of stewardship and love of nature. $300 for members, $350 for non-members (includes family membership for 1 year). TERRAPINS (Ages 11 - 12) July 21 - 24 (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) and July 25 (9 a.m. -9 p.m.) Does kayaking in the marsh and off-road biking through the woods sound like fun to you? The TERRAPINS program is geared toward boys and girls who like to be active outdoors and are curious about nature. The program culminates with a full day at Cedar Point County Park, including a cook-out, campfire and an evening hike to the old Cedar Point Lighthouse! $300 for members, $350 for non-members (includes family membership for 1 year). FALCONS (Ages 13 - 15) August 4 - 7 (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) and August 8 (9 a.m. - 9 p.m.) The FALCONS program is designed for the active, outdoor enthusiast. With two kayaking trips and a day of mountain biking, we?ll be on the move this week! If you like nature and enjoy biking, hiking and paddling, this program is for you. We?ll end our week at Cedar Point County Park for a cook-out, campfire and an evening hike to the old Cedar Point Lighthouse! $300 for members, $350 for non-members (includes family membership for 1 year). Once payment is received, we will send a letter confirming your child’s reservation. You will receive an orientation package with health forms, maps, directions and daily itineraries at least 2 weeks prior to the start of the program. Parents/guardians are responsible for all transportation. Our instructors are Wilderness First Aid and CPR certified. For more information please contact Steve Biasetti or Anita Wright at 537-1400 ext. 15 or ext. 17 respectively, or e-mail us at sbiasetti@eastendenvironment.org or acwright@eastendenvironment.org. Our programs tend to fill quickly! Registrations are accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Faunathon Results 1996 – 2007 Compiled by Steven Biasetti Director of Environmental Education Over the event’s eleven years, 347 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and dragonflies have been recorded. Birds make up the vast majority of observations with 242 species. Additionally, 37 species of butterflies, 19 species of mammals, 21 species of dragonflies, 15 species of reptiles, and 13 species of amphibians have been found. No less than 135 wildlife species have been recorded in all twelve years. Of these, 120 species are birds. Also observed every year have been cabbage white (butterfly), eastern painted turtle, eastern box turtle, redback salamander, Fowler’s toad, northern spring peeper, bullfrog, green frog, eastern chipmunk, eastern gray squirrel, muskrat, eastern woodchuck, eastern cottontail, red fox, and white-tailed deer. Another 13 faunal species have been recorded in eleven of the twelve years. The 13 species are red-throated loon, gadwall, black scoter, red knot, yellow-billed cuckoo, great horned owl, eastern bluebird, hermit thrush, northern waterthrush, American copper (butterfly), spring azure (butterfly), common snapping turtle, and raccoon. Of the 347 total species, roughly 18% (62 spp.) have been recorded in only one year. We added 4 species to this category in 2007: western sandpiper, dark-eyed junco, springtime darner, and meadowhawk. Click on pdf for the Fauna-thon year-by-year chart.