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Beautifying a Bayville beach
OBEN holds ESY Olympics
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VOL. 127 NO. 33
AUGUST 15 - 21, 2025
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Planting Fields earns highest accreditation
By LUKE FEENEY lfeeney@liherald.com
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Monitoring water quality with Friends of the Bay August is National Water Quality Month, and the environmental group Friends of the Bay has been marking the month by monitoring the water in Oyster Bay, Cold Spring Harbor and Mill Neck Creek, as it has since joining an environmental study created eight years ago. “People should always be concerned about our water quality,” Christine Suter, the nonprofit organization’s executive director, said. Oyster Bay has cleaner water than other bays around Long Island, Suter said, but she emphasized the need “to remain vigilant in how our activities on land are affecting water quality.” Friends of the Bay, which is based in Oyster Bay, has been monitoring water quality in the three bodies of water since 1998. In addition to it’s own pathogen monitoring network it has also taken part in Save the Sound’s U n i f i e d Wa t e r S t u dy since it was launched in 2017. Save the Sound is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Long Island Sound and other climate-related issues. The Unified Water Study has two tiers of testing, which takes place twice a month. “I knew there were some nutrient issues
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final review by the AAM’s accreditation commission. The rigorous evaluation took into The Planting Fields Founda- account gover nance, collection has been awarded accredi- tions care, financial health and public service. tation by the AmerKayla Cheshire, ican Alliance of t h e fo u n d at i o n’s Museums, putting communications the historic organiand marketing zation in the top 3 manager, said the percent of museprocess was ums nationwide demanding, but and making it the rewarding. first New York state “It’s something park site to achieve that we apply for, the honor. and it’s a process The designation, where they actually announced on Aug. come and they see 6, recognizes the our collections,” foundation’s dedicaCheshire explained. tion to preserva“They take a look at tion, education and the museum from cultural programevery standpoint: ming. Of the culturally, historination’s estimated cally, what it is that 33,000 museums, we’ re working just over 1,100 have GINA WOUTERS towards, how we ear ned accredita- President and CEO, plan on accomplishtion, according to Planting Fields ing that, what our the AAM. Planting Foundation plan is for the Fields, in Oyster future — and so it Bay, now joins 70 accredited museums in New can be a grueling process.” The foundation first began York state. The multi-year accreditation working toward accreditation process required the founda- in 2020, its president and CEO, tion to undergo a comprehen- Gina J. Wouters, said, starting sive self-study, a site visit by w i t h t h e A A M ’s M u s e u m museum professionals and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
By WILL SHEELINE
wsheeline@liherald.com
I
Luke Feeney/Herald
Days at the People Loving People Free Arts & Adventures Camp are structured but lively, with campers getting the chance to engage in free play and make music as well as arts and crafts.
Hamlet rallies behind free summer camp program By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
When Valerie Monroe and the other leaders at People Loving People, an Oyster Bay nonprofit which runs a local food pantry and organizes community projects, first discussed creating a free summer camp for children in, they hoped to give a handful of kids a safe and enriching space. Eight weeks later, the People Loving People Free Arts & Adventures Camp has welcomed dozens of children into a program filled with history, creativity and connection — and it was all made possible by the community itself. “We had a very, very big
turnout for our after-school program called Homework Helpers, and we knew that was something that was important to the community,” said Monroe, a co-founder of the nonprofit People Loving People. “In the past, we would normally sponsor three, four or five children to go to the Boys and Girls Club, but we couldn’t sponsor all the kids we knew needed it. So I thought about it and said, ‘Instead of sponsoring these kids, let’s run a camp program for 25 to 30 kids.’ And that’s how it started.” The camp, which began July 1 and continues through Aug. 22 at the First Presbyterian Church of Oyster Bay, has brought together CONTINUEDchildren ON PAGE 13
t’s something that we do because we want to be an incredibly professional organization, and be among the best museums within the country.