Earth Day Grand Opening of the Suffolk County Environmental Center in Islip

Left to right:  Victoria DiRago; JoAnna Bertolino; Caroline Gonzalez; Sarah Collins; Maddie Feddersen; Senator Owen H. Johnson; Olivia Bouler; Mikey Green; Colin O'Connell; and Reid Hicks.

Members of the 5th grade class at Islip's Sherwood Elementary School joined Senator Owen H. Johnson on Earth Day, April 22, 2010, for the Grand Opening of the Suffolk County Environmental Center in Islip near the shores of the Great South Bay.

Located at the Historic Scully Estate, the Suffolk County Environmental Center will serve as the gateway to Suffolk County’s park system.  Seatuck Environmental Association, a not-for-profit, operates the center and has developed educational programs for children and adults that vary with changing seasons and wildlife cycles and landscapes.. 

The new center is the product of a public/private partnership between Suffolk County and Seatuck Association.  It encompasses 70 acres of salt marsh, freshwater wetlands, mature upland forests and the spectacular 27-room, 1917 mansion designed by architect Grosvenor Atterbury.  The facility is considered one of the leading environmental education centers in the Northeast.