Water Willow (Decodon verticillatus)
Photo courtesy of Donald J. House

Saturday, April 19, 2008, 10 A.M.
Alley Pond Park, Queens, NY 
Trip Leader: Andy Greller

"Upland Spring Wildflowers": Andy Greller is leading a walk for Alley Pond Environmental Center on April 19th at 10 AM to the upland area of Alley Park. Bring lunch, liquid, sturdy shoes; (optional) camera, hand lens, field guides to wildflowers (co-listed with Torrey Botanical Society).

Direction: We are meeting at the south end of the Ballfield Parking lot of Alley Park. It is off Winchester Blvd., 100 yds N of Union Tpke., Bellerose, Queens. Eastbound Grand Central Parkway (GCP) to Union Turnpike exit. Follow Union Tpke. east to Winchester Blvd. Make a left and park as directed above. Car: Westbound GCP to Cross Island Parkway South. Exit at Union Tpke. Make sharp right at exit to Union Tpke. Left at light onto Union Tpke heading west; make right after about 300 yds onto Winchester Blvd. Public Transportation: E or F train to Kew Gardens/Union Tpke. stop. Go upstairs and take Q46 bus (east) to Winchester Blvd.

Saturday, June 14, 2008, 10 A.M.
Pine Trail Preserve, Ridge/Calverton, NY
Trip Leader: David Laby

Pine Trail Preserve is a Suffolk County Parks hiking trail designated on an unbuilt highway right-of-way.  It is part of the Paumanok Path, extending from Rocky Point to the Shinnecock Canal and beyond.  This will be a bit of a walk in Pine Barrens woods possibly to several ponds (would be 3 or 4 miles out ) which are headwaters of the Peconic River. Afterwards, we may be able to see and smell some mature probable hybrid Chestnuts in bloom at a nearby farmstand.

Bring: Water, snacks, field guides, insect and tick repellent.  Meet at Pine Trail Preserve parking lot on south side of State Rte 25 in Ridge, a little east of William Floyd Parkway/rte 25 intersection.

Thursday, June 26, 2008, 10 A.M.
Flushing Meadows, Flushing, Queens, NY
Trip Leader: Andy Greller

(Trip is organized by Queens Botanical Garden and co-listed here at LIBS) . The walk should take about 2 hours. People should wear water-resistant shoes in case we hit some wet spots. Water bottle, hat, long sleeves, long pants, insect repellant, camera, hand lens and field guide to wildflowers are useful.

Direction: Meet at Queens Botanical Garden Administration Building, Queens Botanical Garden, 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11355.

By Bus:
From the Bronx, Jamaica, or Flushing, Q44 or Q20

By Train:
No. 7 subway or Long Island Rail Road (Port Washington line) to Main Street/Flushing. Q44 or Q20 bus, or walk 8 blocks south to QBG.

By Car:

Via Midtown Tunnel:
Tunnel to Long Island Expressway (East) to Exit 23 Main Street. Turn left onto Main Street. Follow to Dahlia Avenue and turn left. Dahlia Avenue becomes Crommelin Street. The parking lot entrance is on the left.

Via Triborough Bridge:
Bridge to Grand Central Parkway to Long Island Expressway (East). Follow directions from Midtown Tunnel.

From Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island:
Belt Parkway or Jackie Robinson Parkway to Van Wyck Expressway to Exit 12A (College Point Boulevard). Follow College Point Boulevard to Blossom Avenue. Make right. Blossom Avenue becomes Crommelin Avenue. Make a quick right into the Garden’s parking lot.

From Long Island:
Long Island Expressway (West) to Exit 23 Main Street. Make right turn on Main Street. Follow to Dahlia Avenue and turn left on Dahlia Avenue. Dahlia Avenue becomes Crommelin Street. The parking lot entrance is on the left.

There is a fee for parking ($5 or $3 for QBG members)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 11 A.M.
Syosset Public Library, Syosset, NY
Speaker: Andy Greller (Co-listed with Seatuck Environmental Center)

Lecture/talk (not field trip). Public talk, at the Syosset Public Library (Long Island Expressway [exit 43] and South Oyster Bay Rd., northeast corner). The talk is on the flora, vegetation and fossils of Caumsett St. Pk. It will start at 11 AM and last one hour. It will be in the basement, lecture room A. Enter through door on South Oyster Bay Road.

Saturday, July 26, 2008, 10 A.M.
Alley Pond Park, Queens, NY
Trip Leader: Andy Greller

Genera Jaunt at Alley Pond Park (trip for the New York Natural Heritage Program of NYSDEC and The Nature Conservancy) See a wide selection of botanical genera at Alley Pond Park and marsh.

Bring: Water, insect and tick repellent, Sturdy and/or waterproof footwear, field guides, hand lens

Directions: Meet at Alley Pond Environmental Center, 228-06 Northern Blvd., Bayside, Queens. It is 300 yds E of Cross Island Parkway, Northern Blvd exit.

Saturday, September 13, 2008,  10 A.M.
Edgewood-Oak Brush Plain State Preserve, Town of Babylon, Suffolk County, NY
Trip Leader: Andy Greller (walk sponsored by the Friends of Edgewood Preserve)

Bring: Lunch/Liquid, insect and tick repellent, Sturdy and/or waterproof footwear, field guides, hand lens

Edgewood Preserve covers 813 acres of Oak Brush Plains and Pine Barrens in Deer Park see: http://edgewoodpreserve.wordpress.com/. Edgewood Preserve is New York State property, administered by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.  Participants or any users of the property should get a free (=no charge) NYSDEC managed lands access permit from NYSDEC Region 1 Office in Stony Brook, NY: 631-444-0273.

Directions: The parking lot is on the east side of Commack Road, north of the LIRR tracks.

Saturday, October 4, 2008, 10 A.M.
Blydenburgh County Park, Smithtown, Suffolk County, NY
Trip Leader: Daniel Karpen

Blydenburgh County Park contains New Mill Pond, the second largest body of fresh water on Long Island, and has a population of old growth Black Gum trees (Nyssa sylvatica), estimated at 500 or more years old. The trip will examine these old growth trees and possibly circumnavigate the pond, if participants wish to. The trees are about 1 mile from the parking lot.

Directions: Meet at parking lot at north end of Bydenburgh park.from Route 25-25A in Smithtown, go south on Brooksite Dr.; at next light (New Mill Rd.), turn right and travel to the end of the road, making the last possible left. At the end of Mill Road travel past a Blydenburgh County Park sign, to parking area. From Route 347, find Brooksite Dr. between the 347-454 junction and Rt. 111; head north on Brooksite to New Mill Rd.; go left onto Mill Road, to parking area.

Saturday, October 11, 2008, 10 A.M.
Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY
Trip Leader: Andy Greller, for the Prospect Park Alliance (Jessica DiCicco, Forest Ecologist) and LIBS

We are gathering to do a list of the plants growing without cultivation in Prospect Park. Additionally, we will evaluate the success of earlier restoration plantings of native wildflowers.

Directions: the meeting location is the Audubon Center at the Boathouse in Prospect Park.

Driving from Eastern Parkway: Head west on Eastern Parkway turning left at Bedford Ave. Continue on Bedford for 0.5 miles and turn right at Empire Blvd. After 0.3 miles turn left at Ocean Ave. In 0.6 miles take the entrance into the park merging onto the park drive. Continue on the park drive to the blinking light and turn left into the Wollman Rink parking lot. Parking in this lot is open to the public, just be sure to be in a designated spot. From the parking lot walk northwest diagonally through the concert grove (large London plane trees and busts of famous composers). Continue under the bridge and take the path to the right. You should pass our wonderful Camperdown Elm on your right. The Boathouse is the first building on your left. This is the meeting spot.

Subway from the Prospect Park: B, Q, S stop: Exit the station at Lincoln Road. The park is a block west. Cross the main drive walking west. Continue under the bridge and take the path to the right. You should pass our wonderful Camperdown Elm on your right. The Boathouse is the first building on your left.

Saturday, August 29, 2009, 10:00 A.M.
Floyd Bennett Field, Kings County, NY
Trip Leader: Rich Kelly (516-509-1094).

This site has a wide variety of interesting escaped weed species, combined with local native coastal species. A hat, water, suntan lotion, and insect repellent are all recommended. We will never be very far from the cars, so you will not need to carry your lunch.

Directions: Meet at 10:00 AM at the parking lot on the right, immediately past the entrance booth. From the Belt Parkway, take Flatbush Avenue south. Turn left to enter at the traffic light which is just in front of the bridge toll booths.

Saturday, September 12, 2009, 9:30 A.M.– 4:30 P.M.
Napeague Area Parks, Napeague, Suffolk Co., NY
Trip leader:  Steve Young

We will explore the beautiful beaches, dunes and swales of Napeague Beach State Park in the morning and continue with the dunes and salt marsh of Napeague Meadows State Park. We will look for the beach genera of Ammophila, Cakile, and Salsola and the dune and swale genera of Hudsonia, Arctostaphylos, Polygonella, Rhexia, Pityopsis, Schizaea and Pseudolycopodiella among others. In the marsh, we should see the uncommon Fimbristylis, Salicornia, Suaeda, and Sabatia.

Preparations: Bring comfortable shoes for walking on sand that may get wet. Pack a lunch for eating at Hither Hills and long pants and insect spray for the mosquitoes and ticks. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen if it's hot. See you on the island!

Directions: For the first stop, take Montauk Highway east from Beach Hampton and go just under 1 mile from Cranberry Hole Road and park along the south side of Montauk Highway just after Whalers Lane. Our next stop will be Napeague Beach State Park where we will park on the south side of Montauk Highway 0.7 miles east of Shipwreck Lane at the park entrance sign and walk to the beach. After lunch at Hither Hills State Park Campground, our third stop will be the salt marsh at Napeague Meadows State Park where we will park along Napeague Meadow Road just south of Cranberry Hole Road.