Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt

Within the 1,100-acre Greenbelt management boundaries (roughly Sagg Road and Sagg Main Streets to the east and the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike and Ocean Road to the west), more than 600 acres have been preserved outright since 1975 by Suffolk County, Southampton Town, and the Nature Conservancy. New York State has assisted purchases with funds from the 1986 Environmental Quality Bond Act and long-term, low-interest loans. Greenbelt ponds, which are under the aegis of the Board of Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of Southampton, cover close to 300 acres.

UPCOMING EVENTS

We hope you'll come to the opening reception for the Sea and Sky exhibit at Keyes Art in Sag Harbor, which runs from the 3rd to the 12th. A portion of all sales from the show will be donated to Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt. We're so grateful for their generosity. Please stop in and enjoy the work of this terrific group of artists and the poetry reading on the 12th.

The South Fork Natural History Museum events is offering two Greenbelt events: the butterfly fireworks and forest walk. The SoFo Museum is at 377 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton. Museum events are free to SoFo members. Non-members are charged a fee. Please call 537-9735 to make reservations.

Plus, the Southampton Trails Preservation Society is hosting a walk through the Mulvihill Preserve (whose groundwaters feed the Greenbelt hydrological system) on Sunday, July 5, 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Meet at the intersection of Highview Drive and Brick Kiln Rd., Sag Harbor. 4 miles. Tony Garro, 725-5861.

And don't forget you can always take yourself over to the Long Pond Greenbelt Nature Center at 1061 Bridgehampon/Sag Harbor Turnpike and check out the new William B. Sickles Native Tree Identification Trail and spin off onto other Greenbelt trails if you wish. There's a great map at the start of the Tree Trail -- follow the Nature Center driveway all the way to the end. You'll see the map on the right.

For more information call
Dai Dayton (631 745 0689) or
Sandra Ferguson (631 537 3752)

Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt is dedicated to the preservation, stewardship, and public appreciation of the unique expanse of coastal plain ponds, freshwater swamps, wetlands, and woodlands in the Town of Southampton known as the Long Pond Greenbelt, which stretches from Ligonee Creek in Sag Harbor to Sagaponack Pond in Sagaponack.