The Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor unveiled its recently restored 10 acres of native grassland during the museum’s Earth Day celebration, “Artful Earth,” on Sunday, April 27.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $75,000 grassland restoration project on the William Cullen Bryant Preserve marked the start of a day of nature and art activities for museum visitors of all ages.
According to Beth Horn, executive director of the Nassau County Museum of Art, and Jean Henning, conservation project coordinator at the museum, the restored native grasslands will not only capture carbon and provide fresh oxygen but also act as a filter for the area’s groundwater and aquifers.
Henning said the celebration marked the culmination of years of work put into beautifying the once overgrown landscapes of the former Frick estate.
“I mean, I can’t quite believe that this has happened,” Henning said. “It’s a long time coming, with a lot of people’s help.”
Henning said the idea to plant the fields of native grass on the museum property came about around a decade ago when her friend, Jane Jackson of the North Shore Land Alliance, told her that Long Island needed more native grass and flowers and that planting them on flatlands, like the ones on the museum property, would support the environment.
The idea swirled around Henning’s head as she walked through the William Cullen Bryant Preserve and noticed a lack of native plants.
“I thought this is all weeds, it’s dead,” Henning said. “There’s nothing going on here.”
Using the advice Jackson had given her, Henning then collaborated with other staff members at the Nassau County Museum of Art to launch the Restoring Coastal Grasslands project.
Since the spring of 2023, those involved in the project have been mowing and planting native grasslands, which Henning and Horn said will provide shelter for animals such as owls, bluebirds, foxes, and deer.
Over 30 species of native grasses and wildflowers have been planted, and Henning said the plants will continue to grow taller throughout the year.
To make the project a reality, organizations including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Long Island Sound Study, the Garden Club of America, and the North Country Garden Club provided a total of $75,000 in grants, Henning and Horn said.
Horn said that in recent weeks, she had been concerned about the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s remaining $35,000 in grant funding for the project due to federal funding cuts in other grant projects. The grant was awarded without issue, however.
Peggy Maslow of the North Shore Audubon Society, who helped secure the project’s funding, and Mayor of Roslyn Harbor, Sandy Quentzel, who said the museum had the village’s full support, joined Henning and Horn to cut the ribbon on the restoration project.
After the ceremony, the Nassau County Museum of Art then hosted six other events to celebrate Earth Day, including nature walks and arts and crafts activities.
Adults enjoyed a guided nature walk led by educator Virginia Dankel to identify blooming plants, or watched artist Jim Minet create charcoal drawings outdoors, and learned to create sustainable felted art with artist Oksana Danzinger.
Kids in attendance also took to crafting their own artwork by using recycled materials, such as straws, bottle caps and cardboard to engineer a “machine” of their imagination that could help the environment.
“Thank you to everyone,” Horn said at the event. “Enjoy Earth Day, because [on] Earth Day, we celebrate here the combination, the marriage, of art and nature.”
