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Save the Date:
2012 Volunteer
Orientation
Saturday, March 3
at Bridge Gardens
in Bridgehampton
OR
Saturday, March 10 at the North Fork Stewardship Center in Cutchogue
10 am to noon, refreshments will be served.
Join us for our annual volunteer orientation -- which will include information of interest to both new and returning volunteers. Friends and family are welcome to join us. Volunteers are important across the whole spectrum of programs the Trust is involved with: from Connections educational events,
trail and preserve maintenance and monitoring, to fundraising, public policy, and office support.
To register, or for more information, contact Kathy Kennedy, Outreach Manager at 631.283.3195, ext. 29. A downloadable copy of the Volunteer application can be found on our website, as well as additional information on volunteer opportunities at the Trust. We look forward to seeing you in March!
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Upcoming Connections
Programs
Winter Trail
Clean-up
Saturday, February 4
9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Amagansett
Your help is needed to remove debris and trim back branches along the beautiful trails of Amagansett. Meet us at the corner of Stony Hill and Accabonac Roads, and bring work gloves.
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Vegetable Seedlings for the Home Garden
Saturday, March 3
10:00 to 11:30 am
The Agricultural Center at Charnews Farm, 3005 Youngs Avenue, Southold
Learn the steps to take now to get your garden growing! $5/person, space is limited.
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Care and Cultivation of Orchids
Saturday, March 17
10:00 am OR 12:00 pm
Bianchi-Davis Greenhouses, 286 Doctor's Path, Riverhead
Enjoy a walking tour of the greenhouse and learn tips on caring for orchids, including transplanting and encouraging new flowers.
$15/person, includes baby orchid to take home.
RSVP required.
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For more information
or reservations for these Connections programs, please contact Robin Harris at 631.283.3195 ext. 19.
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Get ready
for Spring Planting & Farmers Markets
Branded merchandise from the Peconic Land Trust are great for digging in the dirt and visiting your favorite farmers . . . all while showing your support for the Trust's conservation mission. T-Shirts Baseball Caps Market Bags and more!  | |
Our baseball cap
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Organic cotton
T-shirts
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Roomy
Market Bag
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Visit our online store for these items and more. Or call 631.283.3195.
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2011 Annual Fund:
Thank You for Your
Commitment
to Conservation!
We met our goal!
On behalf of the Board and Staff of the Peconic Land Trust, we'd like to thank all of you who contributed to the Trust's 2011 Annual Fund drive. Thanks to you we met our goal! The Trust's Annual Fund underwrites the work of our professional staff to conserve Long Island's working farms, natural lands, and heritage. This entails everything from acquiring land and conservation easements to the management of unique properties and our natural resources, from educational programs to public policy reforms, from initiatives to assist new farmers to assuring that protected farmland remains in agriculture.
We look forward to working with you in 2012 to protect more of what we know and love. You truly make the breadth of our work possible.
With your contributions and dedication, we met our fundraising goal for 2011 and are looking forward to working with all of you on conservation, stewardship, public policy, and educational programs throughout the year and beyond.
For more information on how your support contributes to the work of the Trust, or to learn about planned giving options, please contact Rebecca A. Chapman, VP of Philanthropy, at 631.283.3195, ext. 40. Donations to the annual fund can be made at any time throughout the year through our secure website.
Thanks again for all you do on behalf of conservation.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
John Norbeck, Board Chair
John v.H. Halsey, President
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Cox Lane Farm Purchased
by Family with
Plans for a Sheep Farm
The sale to the family completes the Trust's plan to keep this farm in agricultural production. The 27.5 acre farmstead was acquired by the Trust in 2007 and protected through the sale of development rights to Southold Town.
New owners Carol Festa and Tom Geppel are planning a multifaceted family farm.
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Tom Geppel, Dan Heston, Carol Festa
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In late November, the Trust announced the sale of the 27.5-acre Cox Lane farmstead located in Cutchogue. The Trust acquired the property in 2007, with funds from the Trust's Peter J. Sharp Foundation Revolving Fund and protected it through the sale of development rights to the Town of Southold simultaneous to the acquisition, with the intention of holding the property until it could be sold to a buyer committed to agricultural production.
The sale to Tom Geppel and Carol Festa completes the intended conservation cycle envisioned in the Trust's Farms for the Future Initiative. Additionally, the sale enables the Trust to replenish its revolving fund so that more threatened parcels can be acquired and recycled for agricultural use.
"We are excited about the opportunity to deepen our roots on the North Fork with the purchase of this farm. Our decision to get involved in farming stems from our desire to help preserve the farming culture of the area while increasing awareness of the importance of eating locally grown products," said Carol Festa.
For more on this project, please read our press release. To learn more about the Trust's Farms for the Future Initiative, visit our website.
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Trust Awarded $400,000 Grant
from New York State in support of acquisition of Ships Hole Farm in Smithtown
The grant, announced on December 8, 2011, would aid in the purchase of the 23-acre
historic farmstead for use as an
agricultural and educational resource in
Western Suffolk County.
In early December, the Trust received notice on the awarding of a $400,000 grant from New York State as part of its Strategic Plan a nd Regional Project Awards. The award was one of 66 awards on Long Island designed to stimulate job growth.
Dating back to 1820, Ships Hole Farm is one of the last surviving, active farm properties in Western Suffolk County. Owned by the Nicodemus family since 1927, in 1986 the family sold development rights on 20 of the existing 23 acres to Suffolk County.
The Trust currently owns a 16-acre adjacent woodland parcel, which was donated to the Trust in 1999 by a Nicodemus family friend and business associate, William Crocker, who had acquired the property from the family in 1962. Both properties are located along the Nissequogue River.
The grant will contribute to the $1.6 million the Trust needs to raise to acquire the property and to cover initial costs to establish the working farm.
"This property is a great example of how the Trust can work with families and the community to protect important assets that represent our agricultural heritage and provide an opportunity for future generations to experience it first hand," said John v.H. Halsey, President of the Trust.
For more information on the project, and how it would tie in with the Trust's Farms for the Future initiative, please read our press release. To get involved in the project, please contact Stephen Searl, Project Manager, at 631.283.3195, ext. 22.
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Legislative Update:
Proposed State Budget
Lobby Days
in Support of Natural Land &
Farmland Protection
With the release of his proposed budget in mid-January, New  York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has maintained funding for the Environmental Protection Fund at $134 million -- including $12 million for farmland protection and $17.5 million for open space land protection, which includes funding the Land Trust Alliance Conservation Partnership Program. This is great news given the current economic climate and the past cuts to the funding.
To help ensure that the EPF budget is maintained through the State's Assembly and Senate, the Trust will be participating in two important lobby days in mid-February -- the No Farms No Food rally, organized by the American Farmland Trust, and the EPF lobby day organized by Friends for the Environment and the Land Trust Alliance. Over those two days, we will be urging our local legislators to hold the line on the EPF, and keep this line item working in support of land conservation. If you would like more information on the upcoming lobby efforts, or are interested in joining us in Albany, contact Julie Zaykowski at 631.283.3195. For more information regarding the Trust's public policy efforts, visit our website.
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Third Annual Bridge Gardens
Lecture Series
Topic: Sustainability
Plan to join us once again as we bring a wide-array of  experts to Bridge Gardens for a lively exchange of ideas -- focused this year around the topic of living a sustainable lifestyle, inside and out.
All lectures begin at 1:00 pm, at Bridge Gardens: 36 Mitchell Lane, Bridgehampton. Lectures are free for Bridge Gardens members; $15 for non-members. Reservations are requested. Refreshments will be served after the talk -- please plan to stay to continue the conversation.
Sunday, March 4: Creating a Sustainable Landscape with Vincent Simeone of Planting Fields Arboretum
Sunday, March 18: Naturalistic Whole Property Design
with Duncan Brine of Garden Large
Sunday, April 1:
Green Garden, Green City: Modeling Environmental Sustainability and Stewardship at Brooklyn Botanic Garden with Scot Medbury of Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Sunday, April 22:
From Versailles to the New York City Rooftop: A Vegetable Garden Odyssey with Christian Duvernois and Jacob Lange of CD Gardens
Sunday, May 20:
Designing Green, Inside and Out with Ed Krug of Blu Homes, Carolyn Tierney of ECOterior Solutions and Kati Curtis of Nirmada.
For more information, visit our Connections calendar online. For reservations, contact Robin Harris at 631.283.3195 ext. 19.
For more information on Bridge Gardens and memberships, visit our website. You can also become a fan of the Gardens on Facebook or join our email list to hear all about upcoming programs at the Gardens as well as gardening tips from Garden Manager Rick Bogusch.
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Peconic Land Trust Conserves Long Island's working farms, natural lands, and heritagefor our communities now and in the future.
To learn more, visit us online at www.PeconicLandTrust.org or call 631.283.3195.A copy of the last financial report filed with the New York State Attorney General may be obtained by writing to: New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or Peconic Land Trust, PO Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969.
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