Last Saturday, June 17, the Long Island Pine Barrens Society packed their cars full of tents and posters, and made their way to Southaven County Park, where a very special celebration was held. The tents were built, and posters placed, a single podium was the center of attention, as a long banner was strung between two trees behind it. Slowly, the chairs behind the podium were filled with representatives from all across the county, and by the time 10AM came around, the stage was set for the Pine Barrens Protection Act’s 30th Anniversary.
The event, much like the act it commemorated, was in turmoil all the way up until the morning it was meant to take place. The forecast called for thunderstorms starting at the very moment the celebration would have begun, and the night before was fraught with anxiety over how the event would be held in a downpour. Despite that though, the weather on the day of the event was some of the best we’d had that week; clear skies and chirping birds made the atmosphere perfect for the commemoration taking place.
Photo by Wayne Cook
The day opened with a short speech from our Executive Director Dick Amper, offering a retrospective of what it took to make it to this point, through all the work that spanned not just the last 30 years, but the society’s entire existence. After he stepped away from the podium, Amper was quickly replaced by Society Board Member Tom Casey, who offered some words of his own, before introducing our “star-studded” lineup of speakers.
Local representatives, both former and current took to the podium, to offer not only retrospectives, but their hopes for the future, and what work remained for the Society and Long Islanders to do. While many of these speakers had been there when the Act was first passed, several were also newer figures in Long Island politics. The speakers offered the insights of those who were allowed to serve a Long Island that had already been, in many ways, preserved. These talks took up the first hour of the day and led directly into the second highlight of the event, The Best of The Rest.
Photo by Wayne Cook
After a short break in speeches, and some live music from the returning Sunnyland Jazz Band, Society Board Member and environmentalist John Turner took center stage, to offer the crowd and attending representatives a deeper insight into the Society’s newest endeavor. The Best of The Rest will be one- year-old in August, and its progress and plan were told with a dedicated eloquence by Turner, keeping the energy of the event high as he spoke on the natural flora and fauna of the different properties. While many of us were already deeply involved with the initiative, Turner’s confident speech made it once again seem like a brave new campaign to preserve Long Island.
Photo by Wayne Cook
When Turner stepped away from the podium, another round of music followed, keeping the crowd in good spirits before moving into the last speaker of the day. It was about an hour and a half into the event when Society Board Member Nina Leonhardt took to the podium, to announce the results of the 2023 Middle School Kids Go To College Science Fair. The science fair, the culmination of a program sponsored by the National Grid Foundation since its inception, has slowly but surely become just as much a part of the Society’s identity as its preservation efforts, having run now for just over 10 years. The program has brought middle school students into a college environment, affording them the opportunity to visit Stony Brook University and hear a talk from SOMAS Professor Dr. Chris Gobler. Even in the deep years of the pandemic, students were assembled via Zoom, and given the chance to hear an in-depth explanation of Long Island’s water quality issues, before being asked to create projects of their own on the matter. Students would research, prepare, and present their projects independently, impressing Society staff more and more with each passing year.
This year offered us the unique opportunity to present the winners of the science fair their awards during the 30th Anniversary Celebration, instead of via zoom or at an indoor location. Leonhardt called students one by one to the podium, to be presented with their certificates of recognition. Dick Amper congratulated each student-scientist.
Award recipient student scientist Patrick Halpin standing with someone from the crowd, also named Patrick Halpin.
Photo by Wayne Cook
By the end of the short ceremony, moods were kept high by the band offering one final performance, before the speakers took a final bow, and dispersed for the more independent portion of the event. On the west side of the site, students had their award-winning projects on display for attendees to view and interact with. Right next to them was a collection of boards, detailing the timeline of events leading up to the Pine Barrens Protection Act’s passage, as well as plenty of materials about the Society itself.
Photo by Wayne Cook
And for those too giddy being in a park to stay in just one place, John Turner offered a special guided hike of the park, taking guests from the event site down to the Carman’s River. While it wasn’t a particularly long walk, it was jam-packed with observations and information. No plant went unchecked, and no single tweet from a bird went without identification. Though the walk itself would have only taken about five minutes to complete, the hike lasted closer to an hour as every possible detail was explained along the way.
Photo by Dylan Eiden
And then, the event was over. Attendees stayed to chat for a bit, but by 12:30, you could barely tell there had ever been an event at the park. Then, as the last box was packed into the last car, the skies opened up, and the forecasted downpour finally came, lowering a literal curtain down over the Pine Barrens Protection Act’s 30th anniversary.
By Andrew Wong, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
Cover Photo by Wayne Cook
