Earth Day Action Event Tuesday Night In Southold

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NORTH FORK, NY — In honor of Earth Day Tuesday, an action event will be held in Southold to help educate on steps people can take to change the world, one garden at a time.

The event will take place at the Unitarian Universalists of Southold meeting hall, located at 51900 Main Road, at 6:15 p.m.

Those attending will learn about "exciting community and landscaping steps to change the world."

North Fork environmental groups will give presentations, followed by a discussion led by a panel of experts. Then, attendees will learn which organizations can use volunteers.

"The panel will provide practical advice on how one can transform their own piece of earth into a glorious home for birds and pollinators, and why each choice we make creates a ripple effect influencing friends and neighbors," organizers said.

Organizations participating include the North Fork Environmental Council, North Fork Audubon, ReWild and Group for the East End.

Panel participants include moderator Mark Haubner, president of the North Fork Environmental Council. Haubner is currently working with the scientists at Bio4Climate.org on several projects, including screening the film Regenerating Life, creating nature-based solutions as alternatives to engineered structures in our towns, and bringing food scraps-to-compost to all of Long Island "as the most sensible approach to our solid waste problems," organizers said.

Other participants include Robin Simmen, a landscape designer focused on native plants, sustainable horticulture, water conservation, and composting; she was formerly with Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Cornell Cooperative Extension. She holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a master's degree in landscape design. Simmen currently chairs the landscape committee at North Fork Audubon Society and oversees their demonstration gardens.

Dennis Flynn, a landscape designer and the owner of Mossy Pine Garden and Landscape Design, will talk about incorporating ecologically beneficial practices into the garden routine, especially related to maintenance and overseeing maintenance workers. He is an Audubon-endorsed Habitat and Ecosystem Land Pro (HELP).

Emily Lindback, the agricultural stewardship specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, researches ways commercial growers can reduce their nitrogen and pesticide leaching while maintaining a strong agricultural industry. She has a Master of Science in forest ecology and management from Michigan Technological University, focusing on plant physiology and gas exchange, and a BA in Environmental Science from Franklin & Marshall College. She has researched plants and their environment in Bhutan, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and has worked in Suffolk County since 2022.

In honor of Earth Day, the April 22 panel idea was jointly suggested by the UUS’s social action committee, NFEC and the NF Action Center.

Co-organizer Randy Wade reflected: "I hear from people devastated about the destruction of federal EPA environmental protections. Joining a community devoted to action helps. Putting a shovel in the ground in between contacting representatives and demonstrating also heals us."