Coming Soon: The 2022 CEED Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Saga …

Coming Soon: The 2022 CEED Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Saga …

Coming Soon: The 2022 CEED Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Saga …

Dear Friend of CEED,

Hi!  It’s me, Hubert the great horned owl. Last year, I was one of the key players in CEED’s Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Challenge last year.  But I’m taking a break this year.

So you may be wondering, “If not Hubert, then Who, Who, Who will be CEED’s Giving Tuesday stars?”  Let me introduce them:

Robert – a “wild” northern bobwhite quail who was brought to us because he’s not really very wild and is a little too friendly with humans.

Edward – an adorable and sweet Virginia opossum.

Frodo – a large, and slippery bullfrog.

Be sure to watch for the CEED Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Saga … coming to your email and social media soon. Click here to get on our email listClick here to get in on the CEED Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Challenge even before the Saga begins …

 

Hubert the great horned owl

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I’m giving in … a raccoon is nothing if not flexible …

I’m giving in … a raccoon is nothing if not flexible …

I’m giving in … a raccoon is nothing if not flexible …

Okay, so last year, I begged you … begged you … not to support CEED. That’s because I used to live in the Washington Lodge and my raccoon buddies and I had such a deal going on.

I was hoping that if you didn’t support CEED on Giving Tuesday, CEED would fail, and me and my buddies would get the Lodge back and it would be Party Time again!

Sadly, my plan didn’t work. CEED friends like you supported CEED … and they repaired some of the holes in the ceiling, installed a fire safety system, and returned the Washington Lodge to the community.

At first, I was sooo grouchy about that. You might have heard my screeching and wailing in the night. But I’ve come around. Looking in the windows, I can see that actually, what they’re doing to the Washington Lodge is pretty darn nice.  There are no more leaks in the roof for example. I mean, what’s the point of being indoors if you still get rained on? But now that the Lodge is starting to look pretty good, and it’s nice and dry, I’m thinking, maybe it’s time for me to join this whole CEED thing.

I noticed they have three new native animals at CEED:  an opossum named Edward, a quail named Robert, and a bullfrog named … well, I can’t remember, but who names a bullfrog anyway?

I hear that the new guys are going to be leading the charge on Giving Tuesday. And now that I’m kind of hoping I get added to the ranks of CEED Animal Ambassadors someday, I’m changing my tune. I want that place to be so nice when I move in.

So when the new guys write to you next week on Giving Tuesday, please follow their lead and support CEED.  You heard me say “please” right?  I don’t do that often.

Joey Raccoon

P.S.  I heard there’s going to be another Matching Gift Challenge, where a CEED Board member will match any gift you make up to $2,500. I hope you make them cover the whole thing. I don’t think you even have to wait till Giving Tuesday.  The Giving Tuesday Matching Gift Challenge has already begun!

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2022 Year End Report and Appeal

2022 Year End Report and Appeal

2022 Year End Report and Appeal

Dear Friend of CEED,

We’re so grateful for all who support CEED and take part in our programs. Thanks to you support, our small but growing organization has accomplished a lot this past year.

  • Our Nature Experiences and Wave Maker programs offered close to 200 local children the opportunity to explore, discover, and learn about local fauna and flora, while preparing to become stewards of our planet.
  • We presented over 100 Connect-to-Nature programs in over 75 schools and libraries, mostly on Long Island.
  • 7 community events celebrating various aspects of our local environment gave over 1000 visitors the opportunity to discover CEED’s 70+ acre campus and mission.
  • 17 artists created and installed outdoor sculpture for our “Sculpture on the Trail” exhibition, in conjunction with 9 poets who wrote and performed specifically for this event (thank you Inspiration Plus and South Bay Artists Association for your generous participation).
  • Local artists, contractors, and craftspeople have all stepped forward to be a part of our restoration and renovation efforts, including Jennifer Lucas, who created painted panels depicting the seasons, installed around the front doorway of the Washington Lodge.
  • Interns from Stony Brook University developed and honed their skills as they helped with creating citizen science opportunities and explored the logistics of running a nature
  • We opened the Washington Lodge’s Woodlands Hall, after raising over $35,000 necessary to install a fire safety system and make other There’s a lot more work to be done, but we aim to return the entire Lodge to the community, with your help!

As a lean, forward-looking non-profit organization, CEED needs your help today. We’re trying to raise $25,000 in donations before the end of the year.

Gifts made to CEED will help fund our workshops, famous “Owl Prowl” walks, lecture series, the Winter Solstice Festival, and more.

If you can give $250 or more, we’d love to send you one of our insulated, CEED travel cups. If you could possibly make a gift of $2,500 or more, you could sponsor one of 20 unique, handmade benches, created especially for CEED, which will bear a plaque engraved to your specification and will be displayed in CEED’s backyard.

Other gift opportunities are available, and I am happy to discuss them with you. Please call me at 631-803-6780 or email sally@ceedli.org if you are interested in hearing more about donation opportunities.

Any gift you can make is tax-deductible and will be greatly appreciated. Will you help?

We depend on our friends to help create this community nature destination in Brookhaven Hamlet. Please continue to support CEED by donating. And don’t forget, our trails are always here for you to connect, enjoy, and explore! Thank you!

With gratitude,

Sally A. Wellinger, Executive Director

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Sneak Preview – Artist Statement

Sneak Preview – Artist Statement

Sneak Preview – Artist Statement

When you visit Sculpture on the Trail … an Art & Nature Exhibition on Saturday August 20, 2022 you’ll see seventeen works of amazing outdoor art by world-class sculptors. It’s been exciting to watch the sculptures being installed. There are discoveries around every turn on the trail. Here’s how John Wittenberg describes his work …

Four by Four Spread was created specifically to dialogue with the landscape of The Center for Environmental Education and Discovery. It speaks to the serious and complex issues concerning invasive plants and their impact on Long Island’s environment. The work is constructed with Golden Bamboo, a Class 2 invasive species. The geometric regularity of the fixed distances between each of the bamboo elements is meant to highlight and contrast man’s intrusion into the natural surroundings.”

We’re so excited to be offering this unique event to all our friends and to the public. And we hope you’ll stay for the Reception afterwards, where you can talk with artists like John and hear the cool jazz/blues band Natural Causes. The festival is completely free, and the Reception is a fundraiser for CEED. Tickets are available for the Reception by clicking below.

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CEED Summer Appeal … We Need Your Help

CEED Summer Appeal … We Need Your Help

Dear Friend of CEED,

This is quite an exciting time for the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery. And we are honored to have you with us as we gain momentum.

I want to invite you to Sculpture on the Trail … an Art & Nature Exhibition on August 20, 2022. We have joined with Inspiration Plus, a wonderful organization that fosters art on the south fork. Together, we have recruited seventeen amazing sculptors who have chosen a special spot on our North Trail and created a sculpture to honor the connection between art and nature at that spot.

Just imagine walking the trail and finding a new surprise of world-class art around each corner!

The exhibition will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, but the day is not over at that point. In fact, at 3:30, we’re holding a special reception where you can meet and chat with the artists, while listening to blues and jazz music by the band Natural Causes. The sculpture event is free, but registration is required for the reception and concert. Go to ceedli.org for more info and to register.

Registering for the reception is one way to help CEED. And we need your help because a lot has been going on this year, and more is coming this fall. Here are just a few things to note:

  1. Thanks to generous donations, we installed a new fire safety system throughout the building and at long last, we have approval to use three rooms on the first floor for education and meeting purposes. With additional donations and volunteer work, we also renovated the Woodlands Hall, with the official opening in mid-May. Since then, we have had many programs in the hall.
  2. We added a Camp Director position and six per diem staff. We are still fine-tuning these positions, but the demand for our programs from schools and other organizations is really strong and having the new indoor space allows us to have onsite field trips now.
  3. We began our Wave Maker program for children 8-17, on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Go to ceedli.org/wave-makers/wave-makers-restoring-the-world/
  4. At the request of parents, we expanded our summer program and included kindergarteners. We’re so grateful to all our supporters that so many children have gotten a chance to explore and experience our Long Island nature.
  5. We installed 21 brand new windows, which is great. Of course, there are 43 windows on the first floor alone and a total of 88 windows altogether! We have a long way to go.
  6. We officially completed our 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. Our focus revolves around four anchors: Climate Change, Biodiversity, Water Sources, and Sustainability.
  7. We re-ignited and fine-tuned the Seed & Soil event to foster sustainable gardens and lawns. Thanks to everyone who participated! We’re planning an even bigger and better event next year!
  8. We started a garden group to work on our raised garden beds. Thanks to volunteer gardening expertise, each raised bed garden now has a specific education purpose.

Here is what is to come for the next few months:

  1. Renovating a second restroom for public use.
  2. Repairing the ceiling in the kitchen and main first floor hallway.
  3. Renovating the large room on the east side of the building as the Marine Hall.
  4. Growing our adult and family programs.
  5. Increasing our art and cultural offerings aligned with our four anchors.
  6. Work on a Building Conditions Report to help us create a plan for environmentally friendly and efficient systems for electricity, heating, and wastewater.

As a non-profit, we need continued support and volunteer help to make this happen.

We truly appreciate your support and hope you will help CEED continue to provide low-cost and no-cost programs, fund our ongoing renovation of the Washington Lodge, and help us develop as an organization that connects people to nature.

So please take just one minute to make a donation at ceedli.org/donate. I would be so grateful. And then, reward yourself by going outside to enjoy the rest of this Long Island summer!

Sally Wellinger

Executive Director

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Resting on the Shoulders of Volunteers

Resting on the Shoulders of Volunteers

Resting on the Shoulders of Volunteers

One of the world’s greatest scientists, Isaac Newton, wrote about the people who came before him, “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”

At CEED, we recognize that so much of what we have accomplished has been done by standing on the shoulders of Volunteers! So many people have pitched in to create this new community center dedicated to connecting people to nature.

The value of all that work, and expertise, and soul is incalculable!

Of course, as we continue to grow and expand, we’re still very much dependent on volunteers.  We still have a bare-bones staff of 2 ½ full time people. If you believe in what CEED is doing and want to help, we would love to talk with you. You’ll have some fun, meet some nice people, and go home feeling good about your day.

On the second Saturday of every month, we hold Volunteer Day, when friends come from near and far to get their hands dirty, and clear trails, plant gardens, remove invasive plants, spruce up the Washington Lodge, and support CEED in a hundred other ways.

If you want to do something more intensive, more long-term, or using professional skills please email us at info@ceedli.org and we’ll figure out where we can use your unique talents. Just to give you some ideas, we’re always looking for:

  • Marketers
  • Social Media mavens
  • Writers
  • Photographers
  • Carpenters
  • Gardeners
  • Office workers

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