Message from our Executive Director

CCE-Suffolk highlighted our DEIB (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion, and Belonging) efforts across our program areas at events and social media campaign throughout June! We were honored to collaborate with Stony Brook Medicine and host a family-focused PRIDE event at the Suffolk County Farm. In addition, we highlighted stakeholders and partners who have excelled throughout the year in their inclusivity efforts.

June also meant the start of the camp season. Shout out to Shawn Tiede, NYS 4-H Camp Specialist (pictured above), who took the time and visited our 4-H camps to talk to our staff before the camp season rolls out. That’s what makes CCE-Suffolk so unique - the opportunity to learn from the expertise of our Cornell partners!

This is our busy time – with our research and fieldwork in full swing – but you can count on CCE-Suffolk to still be having visits with our public officials and partners. Be sure to scroll down and check out our stakeholder and “out in your district” sections. We enjoyed time with the LI Farm Bureau, Legislator Flotteron, and Supervisor Romaine, to name just a few.

Stay connected as the weather warms up and CCE-Suffolk focuses on all things Marine in July. Get some tips on exploring and playing within Suffolk’s beautiful marine environment. Follow us on social and don’t miss out!

~Vanessa Pino Lockel

Program Highlights

Agriculture

Our Master Gardeners class of 2022 celebrated their graduation on June 8th! Our Board Member Sonia Spar volunteered to successfully deliver a Seed to Supper grant from campus to plant vegetables in the Greenport School Garden.

Ag staff is continuing their scouting programs and summer field research to address the needs of our local farmers. This team is working in conjunction with the Suffolk County Department of Public Works Vector Control to conduct field tests for ticks.

The Community Horticulture team continues leading gardening programs at local libraries and responding to residents' gardening concerns via the phone and in person. We also thank the Riverhead Rotary for their event at RGNY Vineyard which benefited LIHREC.

Community Education

The Community Ed team has increased in-person programming in schools, local agencies, libraries, and mobile health screening units with Sun River Health in libraries. The Family Health and Wellness team met with CCE-Nassau for their KINSHIP program in collaboration with Hope for Youth and the Office of Families and Children to create support systems for all kinds of families.

The Nutrition Team is celebrating 30 years of SNAP-Ed. This nutrition education program has created lasting changes in individuals and families throughout the state. The Suffolk County Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Task Force will soon be producing their report which we have been working closely on. In continuation of our focus on maternal wellness, we participated in the Climb out of the Darkness event at the Farm.

Marine

The Marine team continues a busy season in all things Marine. Our SPAT educator has been at the Rams Head Inn to provide education at this seaside restaurant. The Back to Bays Lecture Series continues at the Greenpoint Brewery, teaching participants about Bay Scallops.

A Marine touch tank was present at the Northport Maritime Celebration. Fisheries did Striped Bass samples for PCB study while the hatchery crew has conducted spat oyster deployment in our waters.

Our Marine team was invited to the 50th Anniversary of the NY Sea Grant at Jones beach celebrating bringing science to our waters.

Suffolk County Farm/ 4-H

The Farm had a successful Pride event and celebrated Mud Day! They have been getting ready for the camp season to begin all month. The Farm also enjoys sharing the Farm with all kinds of agencies and local groups for their personal use. On weekends you will likely see fundraisers, birthday celebrations, and horse shows.

Our Little Farmers have graduated while our 4-H youths participated in the Career Exploration Program where they visited and toured Cornell University. For more info on the 4-H events visit Cornell Cooperative Extension | 4-H Youth (ccesuffolk.org)

Board Member Spotlight- Jean Schmitt Anson

As the daughter of Albie Schmitt and Dottie Harbes, two longtime Long Island farm families, Jean started her life journey with dirt under her fingernails.

After obtaining two Masters’ Degrees in Quantitative Analysis (St. John's University) and Technology Management (NYU), Jean worked in the Graphic Communications Industry doing Statistical Long-Term Planning for large corporations such as Chemco and Linotype. She was also an adjunct professor at Long Island University and Dowling College teaching Marketing, Management and Statistics courses. Eventually those side trips brought her back to the farm where she raised her two children, Jess Anson (studied Natural Resources at Cornell) and James Anson (studied Sustainable Agriculture at University of New Hampshire).

While managing the Albert H. Schmitt Family Farm in Dix Hills, she uses her life skills that she learned along her travels to teach her fellow Long Islanders the joys of gardening.

Our Board of a Directors held a Strategic Planning meeting in June to make sure that the Association's objectives have and continue to be met.

Join us for our next BOD meeting on July 27th at our Marine Center in Southold.

Ask the Family Educator

Why doesn’t my teen listen to me?

You might think that your teen does not pay attention or care about what you have to say. Stanford University researchers published a study in the April, 2022 Journal of Neuroscience which refutes this reaction. Teens are not being insensitive or rebellious by not listening to their parents; rather, they are neurologically wired to process their parents’ voices differently at this stage of their development. During their earlier childhood years, they intensely tuned into their parents’ voices which promoted their social, emotional, and language development. During the teen years, their brains change to emphasize stronger responses to unfamiliar voices. In this way, teens successfully enlarge their social world. They begin to move away from the primary influence of parents to the formation of greater connections with people outside of their family.

Parents are their children’s first and most important teachers and role models, but as children enlarge their social environment, outside influences become more prominent. This is the unique challenge each teen faces. Family life and values remain important, but peers and other meaningful adults (teachers, coaches) compete for attention and focus. Teens struggle to form a unique identity, a normal part of the maturation process. Please realize that they might not be tuned into you, but their ears are biologically tuning into many new voices which aid in this milestone of development.

July is Back To the Bays

Join CCE-Suffolk's Marine Program at our popular ArtSEA "Create + Sip" and Brush Strokes for the Bays events this summer!

Participants will be guided to create works of art using various art mediums like mosaics with local shells, acrylic on canvas, and watercolor. Guests will learn about the various marine species and habitats featured in their art project from CCE-Suffolk Marine Program educators. Proceeds from ticket sales will directly support the work being conducted in support of the featured species.

Our resident artist Carolyn Munaco will lead ArtSEA Nights at Southampton Arts Center and Strong's Water Club in Mattituck.

Brush Strokes for the Bays will feature 2022 Back to the Bays Artist -Melissa Hyatt. Participants create a watercolor work of art inspired by our local marine environment. Three events will be offered throughout the summer at Borghese vineyard, with the first one coinciding with the Rosé for the Bays Release Party on July 15th!

The full schedule and details can be found at Cornell Cooperative Extension | Events and Back To The Bays.

DONATE T ODAY

Your support enables us to continue to be a vital and necessary part of our county’s future. Your gift today helps ensure our programs of tomorrow.

Click here to donate

UPCOMING EVENTS

Agriculture/Gardening

Backyard Berries
Magic of Compost
Hummingbirds in your Garden

Click for more events

Suffolk County Farm/ 4-H

Summer Camp
Goat Yoga

Click for more events

Community Education

Grocery Shopping with Diabetes
Grupo de Apoyo Virtual Gratuito Sobre la Diabetes
Sweeney Diabetes Camp

Click for more events

Marine

ArtSEA Create + Sip
Cook a Fish, Give a Fish
Sea Explorers Camp
Rams Head Inn
Back to the Bays Lecture Series

Click for more events

IN THE PRESS

Food Security

Our nutrition educator Marta was recently interviewed about Food Insecurity at LTV Studios- the local East Hampton channel.

This was part of a community internship project by Egan Barzilay – an East Hampton Junior High School student.

Click to Watch the Interview

Tick Prevention

Agriculture Educator Tamson Yeh conducted a free virtual talk about Lyme Disease with Senator Anthony Palumbo.

Residents learned about protecting themselves and their landscapes, common tick myths, repellents, which ticks carry what diseases, and how to scout for ticks in their landscapes.

Click to learn more about ticks

DEC Release on Striped Bass

"Striped bass play a major role in New York's marine environment and are an important ecological and economic resource for the State's coastal communities. We are excited to be a part of this cooperative striped bass project that brings together the expertise of DEC, Cornell University, CCE-Suffolk, as well as our local commercial and recreational fishing partners to reevaluate New York's striped bass fishery."

Click To Read More

STAKEHOLDER VISITS

We had a great meeting with the Riverhead Community Development team about their downtown revitalization plan and how CCE-Suffolk can play an active role in helping them meet their goals. A big thank you to Assistant Community Development Project Supervisor Joseph Maiorana and Community Development Administrator Dawn C. Thomas, Esq. (picture 6), for hosting us.

We were pleased to attend the Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission Staff and Cooperators (picture 3) meeting. We are proud to be a part of this critical work of creating a safe and healthy living environment for Long Island.

The Food Policy Council (picture 4) meeting led by Sarah Lansdale was held at the Suffolk County Farm. The Council toured the Farm and spoke about the Brookhaven Landfill, food equity, buying local foods, school administrations, and food education.

Along with Long Island Farm Bureau and the Cornell University Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center, we enjoyed an informative tour of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Duck Research Lab (picture 7) in Eastport. Dr. Gavin Hitchener, Director of the Lab, took the time to highlight the many services offered.

A Climate Change Education Series was hosted by the Long Island Food Council (picture 8) to discuss how climate changes affect our restaurants. Our Executive Director Vanessa Pino Lockel was a panelist and spoke about the innovative ways CCE-Suffolk educates our residents about our local food systems and the impact each of our program areas has on our region.

We were proud to be part of the Tri-Club meeting, a long-time traditional meeting between the Rotary Club of Riverhead, Lions Club, and Kiwanis International. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the State of the Town Address by Riverhead Town Supervisor Yvette Aguiar (picture 5).

We joined an annual review with local representatives of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (picture 2), where our program areas reviewed our progress on many issues impacting Long Islanders.

We introduced CCE-Suffolk to Marissa Espinoza (picture 1), our new Long Island lead for Governor Kathy Hochul's office. We met at our headquarters in Riverhead, where Ms. Espinoza met with each of our program areas.

OUT IN YOUR DISTRICT

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Flotteron - 11th LD (picture 3) and his aide, Kerry Callahan-Liselli, enjoyed a tractor ride around the Suffolk County Farm & Education Center while we discussed our program areas and many ways we can work with his district.

Our Marine Team met with Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine to talk about the programs we offer that could benefit Brookhaven Town residents. The Supervisor and his Environmental Analysts, Peter Fountaine and Alan Duckworth (picture 1), were particularly interested in our work in Nitrogen Reduction Mapping, Shoreline Restoration, and Permeable Reactive Barriers. These programs and initiatives are necessary to safeguard and strengthen Suffolk County's future.

We thank Augie Ruckdeschel as he moves on from his position at the Department of Economic Development and Planning and as the Suffolk County representative to our Board of Directors (picture 2). Augie has been a great partner, participant, and supporter of our work to create a sustainable, thriving, and healthy Suffolk County. We wish him all the best and look forward to his future successes. We also take this opportunity to welcome Matthew Kapell who will assume Augie's role. Stay tuned for a highlight of Matt in an upcoming Newsletter.

See all open positions here

CCE-Suffolk.org