Events and Monthly Meetings
Monthly Meeting
About Monthly Meetings
Each month from September through May, South Shore Audubon Society presents a nature-themed program. All are invited to attend; and there is absolutely no charge.
DATE: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
TIME: 7:30 P.M.
PLACE: Freeport Memorial Library - 144 W. Merrick Rd. (at S. Ocean Ave.)
Speaker(s): Dr. Paul van Wie
Topic: The Hempstead Plains: The Last Stand of a Long Island Grassland
The Hempstead Plains is a rare East Coast prairie ecosystem that once covered 40,000 acres of central Long Island but today faces the risk of disappearing forever. This globally unique grassland has lost over 99.9 percent of its historic area to development and is designated G1 Critically Imperiled. Resembling the prairies of the Midwest—but sitting just east of New York City—the Hempstead Plains provides key habitat for birds, insects, and numerous rare and threatened plant species. Source: HempsteadPlains.org
Join us as Dr. Paul van Wie, president of Friends of Hempstead Plains, shares his knowledge of the fascinating ecological and human history of the Plains and the ongoing efforts to protect and restore the native prairie so that it will endure for future generations.
Paul is also a professor of history at Molloy University; vice president of the Agricultural Society of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties; and trustee of the Nassau County Historical Society and the Franklin Square Historical Society.
Open to the public. Free of charge. Light refreshments served. No need to RSVP.