Rain gardens and native plants

We began the 2026 meetings on March 19 at the Center Moriches Library. Our speaker was Roxanne Zimmer from Cornell Cooperative Extension.

She spoke about rain gardens. They are shallow landscaped depressions with added native plants. The plants catch, filter, and absorb storm water runoff. The runoff comes from roofs, driveways and lawns.

The water slowly seeps into the ground to reduce flooding, erosion and pollution. The plants’ deep roots help absorb the nutrients.

Native plants adapt to these gardens and are easy to maintain. They attract birds, butterflies and pollinators.

We enjoyed the lecture, as Roxanne is a wonderful speaker and teacher.

Our April meeting was a lecture about the Mastic Beach Conservancy. This organization is trying to fight the effects of climate change, sea-level change, and to increase the uses of the 6 and 1/2 miles of public accessible waterfront for parkland, recreation and nature trails. The group uses kelp, oysters, and eelgrass seeding for the health of the water.

The club became more aware of our seashore in Mastic and its needs. Maura Spery was a dynamic speaker and the club gained awareness of our neighboring challenges.