Reminder: there will be no meetings in January or February.

CANCELLED March 13, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Postponed see October 9, 2018
Lois Lindberg: “Shu Swmp Preserve and the Beaver Brook Watershed.”
Shu Swamp Preserve, officially the Charles T. Church Nature Sanctuary in Mill Neck, is a 60-acre jewel of the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary system of preserves and is one component of the larger Beaver Brook Watershed. Acquisitions by Nassau County and the North Shore Land Alliance have added critical parcels that create a natural corridor to protect this valuable ecosystem. This program will explore the area’s beauty and biodiversity, especially highlighting the wildflowers and other flora of this special place.

Lois has been involved in nature, ecology, and outdoor education and interpretation for many years. She has a degree in Biology from Hofstra University, and is a past Curator of Natural Science for Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums, having worked at Muttontown, Welwyn, Sands Point, Garvies Point, and Tackapausha Preserves. She is currently the Membership Chair for the Long Island Botanical Society, and volunteers at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay as a naturalist/field trip leader.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

April 10, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM
Lisa Synoradzki: "Welwyn Preserve’s Forest: To Restore or Do Nothing.”
Years ago, "ancient," "magnificent," and “spectacular” were used to describe the 40-acre woodland in Welwyn Preserve, known for its grove of enormous oak and tulip trees. Today, sadly, invasive species, from creeping euonymus to Japanese knotweed, are spreading unchecked from adjacent yards, threatening to give the forest habitat a new descriptor, "degraded," if nothing is done. Lisa will talk about her study on Welwyn’s plants in the context of the ecological restoration debate.

Lisa is Senior Development Officer at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). She has her Certificate in Botany from NYBG and is a certified NYBG Urban Naturalist.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

May 8, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM (Optional 6:30 PM Field Trip see below)
Jeffrey E. Hudson and Gilbert N. Hanson: "Why are Plants Thriving in Spite of Acid Rain and Acid Soil?"
Due to acid rain, natural Long Island soils are depleted in the nutrient Calcium (Ca) and enriched in poisonous Aluminum (Al). In a limited study, the speakers found that Ca is restricted to the uppermost layer of the soil where there is less soluble Al. Could it be that plant roots are getting most of their nutrient Ca in that upper-most layer of soil where the Ca is derived from decaying plant litter and atmospheric dust?

Gil Hanson is a Professor of Geology at Stony Brook University who spent most of his career in isotope and trace element geochemistry of rocks. In the last 20 years he has become more interested in the geology and ecology of Long Island. Jeff Hudson is a current Stony Brook Masters student in the Geo-science Department. He studied biology and science education and gained and interest in bio-geochemistry during his undergraduate degree. Between his undergraduate and graduate studies, Jeff was an educator and Peace Corps volunteer.
Gilbert N. Hanson: "The Natural Surface of Long Island is Covered by Pebbly Loess."
The uppermost layer of much of Long Island’s natural surface appears to consist of a dun-colored, unlayered, heterogenous, mixture of clay, silt, sand, and pebbles. This deposit is not directly related to glacial activity. The glaciers left Long Island some 20,000 years ago. At two sites, one on Stony Brook campus, dating gives ages of about 13,000 years for the time of its deposition. The hypothesis is that variations in the silt to sand ratio in this surficial layer are determining the type of soil and whether deciduous forest, pine barrens, or dwarf pine plains are found. The most important factor may be how small changes in the silt plus clay to sand ratio affects the infiltration rate of precipitation through soil.
Pre-Meeting Field trip to see Pebbly Loess: Meet at 6:30 PM at our regular meeting room. This field trip on the Stony Brook University Campus will be within a quarter of a mile of the Earth and Space Science Building where we will see the pebbly loess in an exposed section in a small stream valley and in forest soil. Walking total of about one-half mile along mostly paved areas.
Location: Museum of Long Island Natural Sciences, Earth and Space Science Building, Gil Hanson Room (Room 123), Stony Brook University, Stony Brook

June 12, 2018* Tuesday, 5:30 PM (Please note early start time)
Annual Barbecue:
The annual barbecue, featuring Chef Eric's made-to-order hot dogs and hamburgers. Salads, deviled eggs, desserts, etc. gladly accepted. The traditional location—on the green behind the Muttontown Preserve meeting house.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

September 11, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Add to Calendar
Dave Taft: “With a Little Help From My Friends—Parasites, Carnivores, Saprophytes and the Heterotrophs Among Us.”
Plants are far more than just pretty green things. In fact, some are downright Machiavellian, opportunistic, or just plain strange. Learn about the wily means through which certain resourceful plants obtain energy in this survey of the “only-sometimes–green” world of heterotrophic local plants.

Dave Taft is currently the coordinator of the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn and Queens (…the other Long Island!). Though a self-described orchid addict, he can often be observed skulking through local woodlands searching for unfortunate natural subjects to photograph, write about, or draw.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

October 9, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Add to Calendar
Lois Lindberg: “Shu Swamp Preserve and the Beaver Brook Watershed.”
Shu Swamp Preserve, officially the Charles T. Church Nature Sanctuary in Mill Neck, is a 60-acre jewel of the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary system of preserves and is one component of the larger Beaver Brook Watershed. Acquisitions by Nassau County and the North Shore Land Alliance have added critical parcels that create a natural corridor to protect this valuable ecosystem.  This program will explore the area’s beauty and biodiversity, especially highlighting the wildflowers and other flora of this special place.

Lois has been involved in nature, ecology, and outdoor education and interpretation for many years. She has a degree in Biology from Hofstra University, and is a past Curator of Natural Science for Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums, having worked at Muttontown, Welwyn, Sands Point, Garvies Point, and Tackapausha Preserves. She is currently the Membership Chair for the Long Island Botanical Society, and volunteers at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay as a naturalist/field trip leader.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

November 13, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Add to Calendar
John Potente: "Herbicides in Agriculture and Land Restoration."
John will discuss the role of herbicides in crop production and land restoration. The program will cover how they are used, what they are intended to do, and what ecological consequences may arise from their use. He will also discuss the collateral effects of herbicides on nonplant species.

John Potente is president of Native America and recently published his second book entitled Ode to an Egg, an analogy between the Humpty Dumpty story and planet Earth. In the first stanzas of Ode, Humpty is described as "an egg that was wide and a little tall, not quite so round, with a bulge in his middle," a poetic way of describing a slightly oblate spheroid, the true shape of Earth . . . and Humpty Dumpty. John, a life member of LIBS, served on the executive board for 14 years from 1998 to 2011 and was editor of the Newsletter for four years. He is still active in his dental practice.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

December 11, 2018* Tuesday, 7:30 PM Add to Calendar
Members Night
Members are welcome to bring photos, stories, specimens, and tales of peculiar sightings of favorite plants. This is a great opportunity to show what you have found while exploring on Long Island or elsewhere. Please contact Rich Kelly in advance to advise as to the approximate number of images/slides that you would like to show and preferred medium of presentation. Thanks.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

*Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30.
Formal meeting starts at 8:00 PM.
Directions to Muttontown: 516-354-6506
Directions to Stony Brook: 516-354-6506

2017 programs
2016 programs
2015 programs
2014 programs
2013 programs (partial list)
2012 programs (partial list)

LIBS Speakers' Bureau