Marine Meadows Program
Create New “Marine Meadows” with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Help Restore Marine Habitats in our Local Estuaries
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (CCE) in partnership with the Southampton Town Trustees will offer a Marine Meadows Program Workshop on Saturday, November 5 at the Southampton Parks and Recreation Facility on Newtown Road in Hampton Bays from 2pm-4pm.
Participants will weave eelgrass shoots (harvested from healthy donor meadows in local waters) into burlap planting discs. Once assembled, these discs will be planted by SCUBA certified CCE Marine Program staff in carefully selected restoration sites in our local estuaries.
These newly created “marine meadows” will serve as important marine habitat for many species of finfish and shellfish. These habitats help enhance the health and productivity of our local bays.
The Marine Meadows Program is a collaborative, community based component of CCE’s Eelgrass Restoration Initiative funded by Suffolk County’s Water Quality Protection and Restoration Program.
By offering Marine Meadows Workshops throughout Long Island, CCE is providing an opportunity for community members to learn about the importance of eelgrass while participating in hands-on activities that help further restoration efforts in our region.
Registration is free, but required as space is limited. For more information on the Marine Meadows Program, or to register for this event, please contact Kimberly Barbour, Habitat Restoration Outreach Specialist at kp237@cornell.edu or 631-852-8660.
To learn more about CCE’s Marine Meadows Program, find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marine-Meadows-Program/210110862383997
For more information on CCE’s overall seagrass conservation efforts, please visit www.ccesuffolk.org and look under our Marine Program section.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is a non-profit educational agency dedicated to strengthening families and communities, enhancing and protecting the environment, and fostering countywide economic development. Affiliated with Cornell University, and funded in part by Suffolk County government, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County is part of the state and national extension system that includes the land-grant universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. CCE’s sites and program areas include Agriculture, Marine, 4-H Youth Development, Family Health and Wellness, Suffolk County Farm and Education Center and Suffolk County Peconic Dunes Camp.
