Sag Harbor

Stewardship Site

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Upcoming events near Sag Harbor

Background + Goals

Since 2016, Cornell Cooperative Extension has been restoring eelgrass to an area in Sag Harbor designated for restoration based on improving conditions and nearby naturally existing eelgrass. Each planting is marked by labeled stakes to map where new and old plantings meet. The oldest plantings have become dense eelgrass, indistinguishable from nearby natural eelgrass meadows. Bay scallops, hard clams, whelks, northern puffer, sea bass and other species are frequently encountered here in the eelgrass. This restoration site has become our best success story in the Peconics, and we plan to keep progress going on this front and expand our work to include additional species.

With the generous support provided by our donors through our Sag Harbor Stewardship Site fundraising campaign, pared with proceeds from Kidd Squid’s Brew for the Bays, we have officially adopted this site into our long term restoration network! We’ve worked hard in 2024 to select an appropriate site to establish a spat-on-shell oyster reef, got the required permits in place, and conducted our first annual oyster reef deployment in the waters off of Steinbeck Park this summer!

In order to continue our eelgrass and oyster reef plantings in 2025, a fundraising drive is currently in effect. If we meet our target we will be able to both continue and expand our eelgrass restoration efforts; monitor and expand our spat-on-shell oyster reef; conduct shellfish population enhancement seedings to bolster local bay scallop and hard clam populations in the waters off of Sag Harbor; and provide the community free education programs and stewardship sessions to engage in this important work. Check out the slide presentation below, and donate today or contact Kimberly Barbour at kp237@cornell.edu for more information.

Collaborations

In the News

Featured
Community, conservationists establish small oyster reef in Sag Harbor - Newsday
Community, conservationists establish small oyster reef in Sag Harbor - Newsday

Kate-Rossi Snook led a large gathering of volunteers and supports in the deployment of our Sag Harbor Oyster Reef!

Full Article

Toward a New Oyster Reef in Sag Harbor - The East Hampton Star
Toward a New Oyster Reef in Sag Harbor - The East Hampton Star

“We have to be proactive, we have to remain proactive,” said Sag Harbor Village Mayor Thomas Gardella at an Aug. 21 event on the beach near John Steinbeck Waterfront Park, hosted by the nonprofit Back to the Bays.

Full Article

Sag Harbor Cinema Celebrates Earth Day With Films - 27 East
Sag Harbor Cinema Celebrates Earth Day With Films - 27 East

Sag Harbor Cinema will screen Anne Belle’s 1976 film short film “Baymen — Our Waters are Dying,” recently restored by the New York Public Library, together with Greek filmmaker Leon Loisios’ “Fishermen and Fishing” (1961). The screenings will take place on Sunday, April 21, at 1:30 p.m. and will be followed by a presentation by the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Back to the Bays initiative, with a special focus on the Sag Harbor Stewardship Site.

Full Article

Earth Day event across the moat: Shelter Islander presents on keeping bays healthy - Shelter Island Reporter
Earth Day event across the moat: Shelter Islander presents on keeping bays healthy - Shelter Island Reporter

On Sunday, April 21, a special Earth Day film screening event will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Sag Harbor Cinema in collaboration with Back to the Bays, an initiative of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Marine Program.

Full Article

North Fork Polar Bears ‘Splash for CAST’ plunge returns Jan. 28 - The Suffolk Times
North Fork Polar Bears ‘Splash for CAST’ plunge returns Jan. 28 - The Suffolk Times

The North Fork Polar Bears, a winter swimming group with more than 130 members, will host its second annual Splash for CAST on Sunday, Jan 28. The event benefits the nonprofit Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation in Southold, CAST, as well as CCE Marine Program’s Back to the Bays Initiative.

Full Article

Brewed for the Bay: Kidd Squid’s latest beer is set to give back in a big way - Southforker
Brewed for the Bay: Kidd Squid’s latest beer is set to give back in a big way - Southforker

“This Brew for the Bay is going to help us meet our fundraising goal for establishment of a Back to the Bays Stewardship Site in Sag Harbor,” Kimberly Barbour.

Full Article

Kidd Squid Joins With Cornell Cooperative Extension To Support Eelgrass Restoration - 27 East Sag Harbor Express
Kidd Squid Joins With Cornell Cooperative Extension To Support Eelgrass Restoration - 27 East Sag Harbor Express

A brand new brew from Kidd Squid will raise funds for reseeding oysters and planting eelgrass in Sag Harbor, keeping the waterways clean in a village built on the bay....

Full Article

Giving Back to the Bay with a Limited IPA from Kidd Squid in Sag Harbor - Dan’s Papers
Giving Back to the Bay with a Limited IPA from Kidd Squid in Sag Harbor - Dan’s Papers

Kidd Squid Brewing Co. is teaming up with Cornell Cooperative Extension to launch a limited run of Brew for the Bay Sag Harbor. “This is direct giving with a happy limited edition liquid gift from Kidd Squid in return,” said Rory McEvoy, owner, brand guru and brewmaster of Kidd Squid Brewing Co. “Every penny after tangible costs goes to fund eelgrass and oysters in Sag Harbor.”

Full Article

Biologists express renewed optimism for Peconic Bay scallops - WSHU Public Radio
Biologists express renewed optimism for Peconic Bay scallops - WSHU Public Radio

After multiple consecutive years of seasonal dieoffs among the bay scallop populations, a small subset expressing strong survivability has been documented. The CCE Marine researchers and hatchery team will be working to assess those genetics and is embarking on a series of spawns using those adults as broodstock.

Full Article

Cornell Cooperative Extension To Host Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach - 27 East, The Sag Harbor Press
Cornell Cooperative Extension To Host Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach - 27 East, The Sag Harbor Press

With funding support from the community, CCE Marine will host a Marine Meadows Workshop on October 21, at Havens Beach, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Eelgrass serves as a habitat for oysters. Oysters help filter and keep our waterways clean.

Full Article

Scientists Scramble to Help Bay Scallops Survive Climate Change - Civil Eats
Scientists Scramble to Help Bay Scallops Survive Climate Change - Civil Eats

Researchers at Stony Brook University and CCE have joined forces and begun to selectively breed Peconic Bay scallops in an effort to help them resist the effects of climate change and restore their populations.

Full Article

New effort by Cornell Cooperative Extension fights for bay scallops’ survival - The Suffolk Times
New effort by Cornell Cooperative Extension fights for bay scallops’ survival - The Suffolk Times

A new project has been launched to ensure the long-term survival of the Peconic Bay scallop by shifting spawning from summer to fall at Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Southold hatchery.

Full Article

Blog Posts

On the Water + In the Field Blog
Back to the Bays Midsummer Update 
Back to the Bays Midsummer Update 

Our Back to the Bays Team has been busy to say the least this summer! The majority of our fieldwork, and plant and animal care in our shellfish and coastal plant nurseries takes place during these warm weather months. And it takes a lot of hard work to keep everything thriving and growing.

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Celebrating Seaweed: Our Art and Awareness Event
Celebrating Seaweed: Our Art and Awareness Event

Back to the Bays is thrilled to share the success of our recent art and awareness event, This is Seaweed, hosted at Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton. The opening reception on July 19th was a remarkable evening, with a tremendous turnout and an incredible show of support for our Back to the Bays Seaweed Initiative.

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Kidd Squid’s Brew for the Bay Helps Us Finish Off 2023 On A High Note!
Kidd Squid’s Brew for the Bay Helps Us Finish Off 2023 On A High Note!

Last Friday, December 15th we celebrated the release of our special beer collaboration with Kidd Squid Brewing Co. at their brewery in Sag Harbor. Before the event was even over, every last case, can, and keg was gone! We are so grateful for the overwhelming support of the Sag Harbor community and everyone who purchased the special Hazy IPA (produced with all NY sourced grain!), dubbed the “Brew for the Bay Sag Harbor”.

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Sag Harbor Village Presentation
Sag Harbor Village Presentation
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Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach, Sag Harbor
Marine Meadows Workshop at Havens Beach, Sag Harbor

Learn what it’s like to attend a Marine Meadows eelgrass workshop and how the work of our marine stewards contributes to the restoration of this important habitat.

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POV: You’re a Back to the Bays Intern
POV: You’re a Back to the Bays Intern

Our summer 2023 College Interns reflect on their summer of learning and stewardship with Back to the Bays.

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