Friends of Connetquot Lecture Series

The Friends of Connetquot is constantly looking for exciting and new ways in which its members and the general public may experience the Preserve. We are happy that the lecture series we have presented in the past were so well received. As a result, we are pleased to announce the details of the 2012 Friends’ Lecture Series below.

The Friends invite the public and all members to take advantage of this benefit. We hope to see you at each lecture and look forward to meeting you and answering any questions that you may have about the projects and programs you are so generously supporting.

Please Join Us at Connetquot River State Park Preserve, Main Building

Lectures are open to the public, so bring a friend along!

Free Admission and Refreshments

To Reserve, please call: 631-581-1072 or via email at rsvp@friendsofconnetquot.org

Upcoming Lectures

We are currently finalizing the lecture schedule for 2012. Please check back, join our email list or visit our Facebook page for updates.

Past Lectures

Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker: Jerry Trapani

Topic: "History of Horse Drawn Carriages: From New York City to the Great South Bay"

Jerry Trapani is an experienced professional farrier and noted competitor carriage driver who founded the Paumanok Driving Club of Long Island.  He is also a member of the Carriage Association of America and has given seminars at the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages.

Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker: Nick Karas

Topic: "Salvelinus fontinalis (Brook Trout)"

Nick Karas is a former Newsday outdoor columnist and author of seventeen books on various subjects, including Brook Trout, which the American Literary Society proclaimed one of the ten best books on angling in the English language.  His most recent novel is The Last Whaler.

Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker: Shaibal Mitra

Topic: "Bird Migration Through Long Island"

Shai Mitra has studied birds in the northeastern United States and around the world for over thirty years.  He has a BA in Biology and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology.  Among other pursuit, Shai Mitra is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the College of Staten Island and editor of The Kingbird, a publication of the NYS Ornithological Association.

Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker:  Linda Kasten, artist, past president of the now dissolved William K. Vanderbilt Historical Society, former employee of the Southside Sportsmen’s Club, and present environmental educator in the Environmental Office of NY State Parks.

Topic: "From Sportsmen’s Club to Park Preserve"

Saturday, June 19, 2010 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker: Harry W. Havemeyer, author of "Along the Great South Bay: From Oakdale to Babylon The Story of a Summer Spa 1840 to 1940." Harry Havemeyer is a four generation summer resident of the town of Islip. His ancestors first rented a cottage in 1884 and in 1889 bought a home in Islip.

Topic: The Cultural History of the Southside Sportsmen’s Club.

Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 1:30 P.M.

Speaker: Gary Lawton, Regional Environmental Manager, L.I. State Park Region

Topic: The Natural History of Connetquot River State Park Preserve