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Public Hearings Calendar

Click here to view this month's Public Hearing Calender.

Find out when, where and why this month's important hearings are being held.

Contact Government Officials

Community involvement is the first step to environmental protection. Please use the government links below to keep public officials informed about the environmental issues that you care about.

Volunteers survey Osprey nests

green_arrow Volunteer Opportunities

Help with Nature Clean-ups & Plantings

Check out our "explorations" to find out if there is a clean-up or planting you can help out with in the near future. Or, you can organize your own project with our help. Contact us to find out more.

Become an Osprey Ambassador

We can use volunteers who don't mind braving the cold weather to survey the condition of osprey platforms and help us repair those that require it. Contact us in December or January for information.

Attend Public Hearings

Countless volunteers have assisted the Group over the years in monitoring public hearings and attending to show their support when it counts most. Your active participation in civic advocacy makes a difference to our efforts to preserve the environment.

E-Volunteers Needed

Be a part of the conversation when we post information about news, events and action alerts on our blog, facebook page, twitter, etc.

At the Office

Now that we have a permanent office space in Southold, we could use some help maintaining the space. Tasks such as lawn mowing, garden maintenance, and collection of recyclable materials are appreciated. Contact us to arrange a convenient time to help.

green_arrow Contact

For all volunteer opportunities, please contact Kate Schertel at 631-765-6450, ext. 208 or kschertel@eastendenvironment.org.

Children helping plant flowers on the beach to help prevent beach erosion
Town hall in session

green_arrow Advocacy 101

To become an effective community advocate, you must first begin to pay attention to the major issue themes in your community and figure out what it is you care about most. Then, use the "Ten Steps to Running a Campaign" as a guide to be most effective in supporting your cause. Most important of all, you must realize the process of changing public opinion takes time. Be patient!

green_arrow Ten Steps to Running a Campaign

  1. Identify the problem or opportunity
    • What's wrong?
    • What part do we want to fix?
    • What is already being done?
    • You must know concretely what it is you are fighting for or against, to avoid confusion.
  2. Evaluate your resources
    • Do you have media, technical, legal or other necessary expertise at your disposal?
    • Can you recruit people with the skills you need to be effective or credible?
    • Are monetary resources needed? Do you have or can you obtain the money needed to accomplish your objective?
  3. Define your goals
    • What exactly are you hoping to achieve?
    • What are the short and long-term gains?
    • How will you know if you have succeeded?
    • What is the timeline?
  4. Begin technical research
    • Know your issue inside and out to remain credible.
    • Begin to develop new ideas or programs.
  5. Begin political research
    • Who are the key players that will make decisions with regard to your issue? Who will be on your side or against you?
    • Is there media interest?
    • Can you point to other similar success stories?
  6. Combine technical and political inputs to formulate a plan
    • How will you proceed?
    • Who will keep things organized?
    • How will labor be divided?
    • Identify and re-evaluate short and long-term goals.
  7. Implement the plan
    • Launch a campaign with paid and earned media, mail, stakeholder and decision-maker meetings
    • Engage your opponents to help them understand your perspective
    • Don't forget to use all of your available resources and research!
  8. Monitor campaign development
    • Mange money, appraise criticism, adjust your message, reinforce gaps, evaluate external forces, evaluate progress, and expect the unexpected!
    • Remember, it is acceptable to change the plan if necessary to accommodate developments in your campaign.
  9. Personal meeting with involved parties.
    • It never hurts to have face-to-face meetings with those involved so you can express your opinion and hopefully gain support, or increased understanding.
  10. Campaign conclusion/feedback
    • Know when the campaign is over, but think about when you could start up again if necessary. This may not be the right time to address your issue, but when could you make additional progress?
    • Evaluate strengths and weaknesses. You can learn from mistakes or remember certain tricks to be even more successful in the future. Celebrate your successes, however minor!