May was for the Meadows
Warmer weather is upon us, and for many of us, that means it’s time to get to work in our gardens. Working with plants is a rewarding activity, and for us at CCE Marine it is also a really important aspect of our restoration work. So in addition to growing veggies, flowers, and herbs on your properties at home, we welcome you to join us at our facilities to take part in our upcoming Back to the Bays Stewardship Sessions this summer. which will be focused on coastal plants and grasses this month. Learn about the importance of local habitat restoration from our Habitat Team, while playing a hands-on role in our plant propagation efforts!
Our “Meadows Month of May” Stewardship Sessions kicked off with a coastal plant potting event at our Southold location on April 30. We took advantage of the Spring Seedling Sale that NYSDEC conducts each year, and stocked up on some of the species we often use in our restoration efforts. We took delivery of boxes of bare root plant material right around Earth Day and needed to get them potted up and prepared for future planting at our nursery and ultimately restoration sites. It was a beautiful day at our facility in Southold to host our potting event!
We’re looking forward to seeing these little seedlings continue to grow, and eventually serve an important role in providing habitat in our coastal ecosystem.
As we continued through the month May, we offered numerous experiences to get involved, primarily based out of our Tiana Bayside Facility. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the importance of local habitat restoration from our Habitat Team, while playing a hands-on role in our plant propagation efforts! We had a lot of work to do in the Coastal Plant Nursery we maintain on the grounds of this site, located at 89 Dune Road in Hampton Bays. Thanks to a grant from the Town of Southampton Community Preservation Fund, we will be expanding our plant and shellfish nursery areas on-site (more on this exciting project to come!) so we welcome helping hands as we split and replant our beds of beach grass, and establish new areas to grow out numerous species of native coastal grasses and shrubs.
As part of our Back to the Bays Stewardship Session lineup, also presented some fun, hands-on opportunities to create SEAd bombs! Participants worked alongside our educators to make little “bombs” filled with seeds that will help restore coastal grasses and wildflowers that will create important habitats for our local pollinators! If you couldn’t make it to our in-person SEAd Bomb programs, we welcome you to purchase one of our kits. These contain educational materials about the importance of creating and restoring coastal meadows, and all the materials you need to create about 16 SEAd Bombs. Related note, for each kit sold, one will be donated for use by local students through our Give Back program designed to connect underserved communities with opportunities to learn about and give back to our bays and coastal areas. SEAd kits are available in our Marketplace, and in person, at events such as our Bloom Festival, which we were a part of at the Suffolk County Farm on May 15th!
Stay tuned for more info about our upcoming Stewardship Sessions! (Tip: By becoming a 2021 Back to the Bays Member, you’ll get priority registration to events just like these! Join today!)
