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Volunteering
Connect with the People and Places Around You Again.

Paid part-time fellowship to gain hands-on experience in oyster conservation and estuarine education.

Seatuck Environmental Association is looking for fellows to join the ISLE Project — Introducing Students to Long Island's Estuaries.

As a fellow, you'll assist with hatchery operations including algae cultivation, oyster broodstock conditioning, and care of juvenile oysters through various growth stages. You'll also help maintain hatchery equipment, tend to oysters at grow-out sites, lead hatchery tours, and support educational programming for the public.

This is a great opportunity for college students interested in marine science, environmental education, or conservation to gain real-world experience while contributing to oyster restoration efforts around the Great South Bay.

Good Job
Fulfilling Work Using Your Skills for Something Meaningful.

Good to Know
News and good work worth knowing about.

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 interactive and genuinely interesting.

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.

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.

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. 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

If Your Organization has Events, needs Volunteers, or is Hiring — let me know.
Listing is free. We review all submissions and publish what fits our audience and editorial standards.

So many other good things on the site that we can’t fit in the newsletter so check it out if you’re looking for something good to do.

If you have a comment or idea just reply to this email. I read them all and appreciate your thoughts.

P.S. — if you know someone who'd ❤️ this, please share it with them. PPN grows when good people tell other good people about it.