Last Sunday my family spent the afternoon at Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River for their free summer concert series. It checked some boxes that rarely all get checked at the same time. It was:
✅ inexpensive,
✅ close by (under ½ hour drive), and
✅ enjoyed by the kids AND the adults.
On our way in we stopped into the new visitor center, which is a beautifully designed space with warm wood and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the grounds, and the exhibits are genuinely interesting. There's a large interactive touch table where you can explore the arboretum's collections, identify trees, and learn about the river ecosystem.
The new visitor center's interactive touch table
Some of the windows have tree identification graphics overlaid directly on the view outside, so you're looking at a Chinkapin Oak through glass that tells you exactly what you're looking at and why it matters in a changing climate. My kids were immediately hands-on with all of it.
View from inside visitor center
Before lunch we started on the river walk, a winding path along the Connetquot River lined with trees that have been growing here for over a century. No agenda, no destination, just trees and water and the occasional great blue heron doing its thing. At the farm near the end my wife wandered into the dahlia section and didn't want to leave. My kids found the chickens. We wandered on when we were ready.
An arboretum path near the Connetquot River
Along the trails there are interpretive placards about the wildlife, trees, and ecosystem — raccoons, muskrats, red foxes, the Connetquot watershed. Interesting stuff that most people give a quick glance and keep walking.
As someone who's been thinking a lot about how nature-based nonprofits can deepen visitor engagement, I couldn't help but think an audio component would make it even more powerful — for kids, for adults who want a richer experience, for accessibility and multi-language translation, and as a tool for understanding how people actually move through the space. GPS and beacon technology can surface audio content as you move through different parts of the grounds, bringing what you're looking at to life and enhancing the experience throughout the whole visit without ever pulling you away from it. ( If anyone at Bayard Cutting is reading this and wants to explore what that could look like, I'd love to talk 📩 .)
placard on the trail
Then lunch. On the porch of a 19th century mansion, looking out over manicured grounds and the Connetquot River, we had a surprisingly good meal from the cafe. Reasonably priced, fresh, unhurried. Strawberry lemonade with sunlight through the trees, and no one looking at their phone.
Me in front of Easy Street performing at the carriage house
By the time Easy Street started playing in front of the carriage house, there were people singing along and dancing. Not performing, just actually dancing because the music was good and the setting made it feel right.
The Cost: $8
Yes, just eight dollars for parking. And I bought lunch, which was its own expense I chose to add. But the main experience was the same price as a coffee and infinitely more fulfilling.
That $8 also goes back into the arboretum. Which means it's less of an admission fee and more of an investment in the next time you visit…and the time after that.
Like other nonprofits, the people at Bayard are maintaining grounds, creating events, and making wonderful afternoons possible all the time, usually with little resources and limited staff. It is admirable and appreciated by those that know.
And there are places like this all over Long Island. Most people drive past them without knowing what's inside. I did for years. That's the whole reason for Proof Positive Network, so more people can know about and enjoy these nonprofit spaces that are rejuvenating in so many ways and right around the corner.
Just find one you like and hopefully I'll see you there.
Till next time,
-Michael
