ReWild Long Island Chapters
In 2018, ReWild Long Island was born as a small community organization in Port Washington. Since inception, ReWild Long Island has always had aspirations to make a positive impact on the entire island. As the name suggests, our goal has always been to rewild the entireity of Long Island and promote biodiversity and sustainability across the suburban, exurban, and rural communities spread across its diverse ecosystems.
Today, the Island faces many shared challenges, including mindless development, pollinator loss, canopy destruction, aquifer depletion and contamination, and climate and biodiversity threats to our waters. These common threats called for a shared response. We realize that, despite being administratively segmented into hundreds of villages and townships, the ecosystems on Long Island are interconnected. This is why we have always been inspired by the adage that, while we work locally, our impact and thinking must be eco-systemic. By co-ordinating our efforts across the island, we can see rich dividends, from pollinator gardens dotting pathways to rain gardens that restore the aquifers, canopy restoration to the cessation of polluted runoffs into the ocean waters.
We are excited to announce that, in order to further our impact and better serve our community, we are now organizing ourselves into four chapters. The Cow Neck Peninsula Chapter will continue our work initiated in Port Washington and serve nearby areas including Manhasset, Plandome, and Roslyn. The South Nassau Chapter will encompass Rockville Center, Valley Stream, Baldwin, and nearby areas. The Mid-Suffolk Chapter will cover Lake Grove, Three Village, Ronkonkoma, Port Jefferson, and nearby towns. Our newest East End Chapter serves East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, and nearby areas.
The four chapters are a humble start for a nascent organization, and surely don’t cover most of Long Island. We welcome other groups to join us to fill those wide gaps, as chapters or as partners, making it easier for Long Islanders to further climate resilience and biodiversity closer to home.
We look forward to continuing our work towards a more sustainable and healthy future for all of us on the island. Join us in our mission and be a part of the movement to ReWild Long Island.
