The North Shore Land Alliance enhanced its Hope Goddard Iselin preserve in Oyster Bay with a new parking area and interpretive trail.
What was once a small, dirt parking area barely large enough for a single car is now a lot covered with bluestone gravel that can accommodate six or seven cars comfortably. At the entrance to the 42-acre preserve, a chain link fence was replaced with a rustic split rail fence and more than 100 native plants were planted like wood ferns and mountain laurel, capturing the essence of Long Island’s countryside. The interpretive trail includes 13 educational stations that describe the different ecological features of the one-mile trail. One station is dedicated to educating trail goers about vines and thickets.
“We wanted to make the parking area more visible, approachable and safer for public use,” said Lisa Ott, Land Alliance President and CEO. “These improvements, paired with associated educational signage and programming, will help transform the Hope Goddard Iselin preserve into a place Long Islanders can discover and enjoy.”
Grants from the Hope Goddard Iselin Foundation and the New York State Conservation Partnership Program allowed the Land Alliance to make these changes at the Iselin preserve, which boasts a colorful meadow, a majestic hardwood forest and a pristine pine plantation. Land Alliance staff, volunteers and interns spend approximately 3,800 hours a year maintaining the nonprofit’s preserves.
“Maintenance and stewardship are a huge part of our organization,” said Ott. “And we are very grateful when we are able to secure additional funding like these grants.”
The North Shore Land Alliance, Inc. is a nationally accredited, nonprofit 501(c)(3) land trust founded in 2003 that works to protect and preserve, in perpetuity, the green spaces, farmlands, wetlands, groundwater and historical sites of Long Island’s North Shore for the enhancement of quality of life and benefit of future generations.
—Submitted by The North Shore Land Alliance, Inc.
