Shifting Sands: A Natural History of Coastal Long Island

Join historian and naturalist Betsy McCully for a slide-illustrated talk on Long Island’s beaches, barrier islands and salt marshes. Dr. McCully will discuss how Long Island was shaped by glaciers and natural processes over tens of millennia, how our human activities have degraded its shores and waters, and how we can play a creative role in restoring and preserving its coastal ecosystems. With particular focus on the South Shore, she invites her audience to explore with her the wonders of Long Island’s diverse coastal habitats.

Bio: Betsy McCully is the author of City at the Water’s Edge: A Natural History of New York, and most recently, At the Glacier’s Edge: A Natural History of Long Island from the Narrows to Montauk Point. She has given many lectures on the natural history of the New York region. A longtime resident of Long Island, she has explored and documented its diverse habitats for decades. She has created an educational website, www.NewYorkNature.us/