Bethpage State Park Ecology

  Did you know that pollinator conservation and awareness is an integral part of our environmental initiatives at Bethpage State Park? Over the years we have learned that providing forage for hungry butterflies, moths, bees and hummingbirds encourages pollination and facilitates the next generation of plants. This process also helps beautify our park. No greater example exists than within our Picnic Pollinator Garden! Today this garden grows lush and tall. It contains over 100 native plants, blooming as early as April and well into October.      While the intention of creating this garden was to promote biodiversity,  it has led to far more opportunities. The first is offering the local community an outdoor classroom; a chance to explore the plant- insect interactions that make for a thriving, cohesive habitat. The second opportunity is providing an outlet for data collection. In this case, monitoring and documenting pollinating species. Data coll...

As we know, with warm weather comes new life! Birds lay eggs that hatch and become fledglings! Mammals born to litters, stay close to their siblings while parents do the work of searching for prey! This bustling activity, this time of year, means that Bethpage State Park is no stranger to a huge amount of wildlife sightings; with that, often comes added responsibility on our part as a park! Sometimes baby animals require extra attention and a little human intervention, in the event they are injured or displaced from their nests. This month, we had two separate instances where this had occurred. Luckily, staff rose to the occasion to offer a helping hand and we want to share those moments with you: The first wildlife rescue story took place on June 4th. An Eastern Screech Owl chick was found on the ground, early that morning, on our Green Course. It was noticed by park staff who were out mowing fairways by the woodline. John (a member of our maintenance crew) kindly made sure the young ...