2025 Sundays at Two Programming Continues

Join Us for a Reading by Scott Chaskey,

Author of Soil and Spirit

Sunday, May 18, 2:00 p.m.

Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center

1061 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike

We are thrilled to have Scott Chaskey join us as our Sundays at Two speaker on Sunday, May 18. Scott will read a chapter from his most recent book, Soil and Spirt (specifically a chapter about a ramble through the Long Pond Greenbelt), and then lead us in an informal discussion.

About Scott Chaskey

Scott Chaskey is a poet, farmer, and educator. For 30 years he cultivated soil and community for the Peconic Land Trust at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, New York, one of the original community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs in the country. Past president of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, he was honored as Farmer of the

Year in 2013. He has served as a founding Board member for the Center for Whole Communities, in Vermont, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, Shelter Island, New York, and the Peter Matthiessen Center, Sagaponack, New York. He is the

author of This Common Ground (Viking, 2005), Seedtime, On the History, Husbandry, Politics, and Promise of Seeds (Rodale, 2014), Stars are Suns (Stoneman, 1995), and most recently, Soil and Spirit (Milkweed Editions, 2023). He lives in Sag Harbor with his wife Megan Chaskey, poet and musician, in the home in which they raised three children.

Upcoming Sundays at Two Programming:

• June 1: Photographer Marianne Barnett - Ellesmere Island
• June 29: Matt Kaelin - Carnivorous Plants
• July 20: Jill Dodds - Moths
• August 3: Tonito Valderrama - Native American Zoomorphic Pinch Pots
• September 21: Delaney Constante - Bats
• October (date TBD): Aiyana Smith of Blossom Sustainable Development and Shinnecock Indian Nation

Sundays at Two events are free and open to the public.

"Give Turtles a Break" in May and June

In May and June, motorists on the East End should be on the alert for turtles crossing the road. Turtles are long-lived and well adapted to their natural environment, as they can retreat to the safety of their shell when threatened by predators. But the turtle's shell provides no protection against being struck by a car or truck while crossing roadways. In New York, thousands of turtles are killed each year when they are struck by vehicles as they migrate to their nesting areas, which is one major reason why New York's turtle populations are in decline.

What You Can Do to Help Local Turtle Populations



• Be on the lookout for turtles and slow down, especially on roads near wetlands.
• If you see a turtle in the road or shoulder and you can safely stop your vehicle, please consider moving the turtle to the shoulder of the road in the direction it is facing.
• Picking the turtle up by its tail may frighten or injure it. Most turtles, other than snapping turtles, can be picked up by the sides of its shell.
• Use extreme caution when approaching snapping turtles. Either stand watch to alert other vehicles while a snapping turtle crosses the road or learn how to safely move a snapping turtle using a car mat (see the New York Department of Environmental Conservation website for a link to a video: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/amphibians-reptiles).
• Do not take a turtle home. 
• Donate to Dr. Anna Thonis's Box Turtle Study - see below for details!

Congratulations to Dr. Anna Thonis on New Role with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

In case you missed it, in December 2024, Dr. Anna Thonis, our local expert on reptiles, became Co-Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Anoline Lizard Specialist Group (ALSG). The IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world, and the SSC is the part of the IUCN that identifies threats to species, assesses their conservation status, and facilitates conservation planning and action for species globally. The ALSG will work to ensure the long-term viability of the nearly 400 anole species found across North, Central, and South America. Kudos to Dr. Thonis on her new leadership role!

You can learn more about Dr. Thonis's work at www.annathonis.com and on Instagram @annainthefield.

The Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center is OPEN!

Saturdays & Sundays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

through October

The Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center is located at 1061 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike (just North of Scuttlehole Road) and will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am – 2pm from May – October. If you are interested in volunteering at the Nature Center, please email us at info@longpondgreenbelt.org.

Thank You to Our Volunteers at the

FLPG Great East End Cleanup Project

Despite a rain delay, FLPG once again participated in the Great East End Cleanup. Four industrious volunteers cleaned up the garbage along the stretch of Ligonee Creek running between the Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike and Brick Kiln Road. Besides a large piece of styrofoam pulled out of the creek, several bags worth of garbage were also removed along with two tires, a metal pipe and a dish rack (?!). Thank you to Dai Dayton, Sandra Ferguson, Dayton Mc Dermott and Jean Mc Dermott for helping to keep the Long Pond Greenbelt clean.

2025 Sundays at Two Speaker Series Kicks Off

Thank you to Julie Greene, Southampton Town Historian, for kicking off our 2025 Sundays at Two speaker series. She gave an informative talk explaining what Lopp trees are and sharing a few of the approximately one hundred lopp trees found in the Town of Southampton and a few others throughout Long Island.