Pollinator Pathway
Great River
Welcome to the Great River Pollinator-Pathway!
Great River is a hamlet in Islip Township, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is situated approximately 50 miles (80 km) (55 mi driving) east of New York City on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Island. Great River is part of Islip Township, which is the third largest township in the State of New York.
Great River is home to The Connetquot River, Timber Point Golf Course & Marina, The Bayard Cutting Arboretum and CSA Farm and The William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden.
Great River, NY is part of the Islip Township Pollinator Pathway and is part of the Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators (SAP). For more information, visit https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/ and https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/islip.
We are attempting to identify “qualified “pollinator gardens within Great River and add them to the L.I. Pollinator Pathway Map. We want to identify gaps and see a lot more butterflies & bees in 2023!
The Bayard Cutting Arboretum
The 691-acre Bayard Cutting Arboretum was the former home of William Cutting, now a New York State Park with a mission “to provide an oasis of beauty and quiet for the pleasure, rest and refreshment of those who delight in outdoor beauty; and to bring about a greater appreciation and understanding of the value and importance of informal planting.” The current collection of fir, spruce, pine, cypress, hemlock, yew and other lesser-known conifers is one of the most extensive to be found in the United States. Perennial borders, woodland trails, coastal gardens, natural wetlands, forest, and a CSA farm can also be found in the arboretum’s vast acreage.
Bayard Cutting Arboretum 440 Montauk Highway Great River, NY 11739 Arboretum Office: 631-581-1002 Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/95/details.aspx
The Bayard Cutting Arboretum CSA Farm
The Bayard Cutting Arboretum CSA farm was established in 2012 on a parcel of land which overlooks the Connetquot River. Two and a half acres are currently under cultivation. There are three growing fields, an herb bed, and a cut flower bed. The Farm offers a plethora of organic varieties of vegetables and culinary herbs and flowers as a pick your own option. Members are encouraged to participate in seeding, planting, field maintenance, and harvesting in order to fully connect to the farm, the land and to each other.
Farm Information Bayard Cutting CSA Farm Office 631-256-5048 Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/95/details.aspx
Oak Park - Bayard Cutting Arboretum
440 Montauk Highway, Great River, NY 11739
Oak trees are among the best homes for hundreds of pollinator species. Walk through Oak Park, originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The collection now includes over 35 species of oak including the magnificent Black Oak, one of the oldest trees at the Arboretum.
The William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden
The William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden is located within the 690-acre Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park. The garden boasts over 1,300 dahlias plants with 300 varieties. Come visit The Garden and see a variety of dahlia forms from tiny blooms to "dinner plate” dahlias that are over fifteen inches in diameter. The William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden is the largest Public Dahlia Display Garden on the East Coast. The Garden is managed and maintained by The Long Island Dahlia Society (LIDS), a dedicated, “All-Volunteer” non-profit organization. The L.I. Dahlia Society hosts an annual “Dahlia Show” each year in September on Labor Day Weekend. At this event, East coast Dahlia growers compete for the top prizes in dahlias. The show is free to the public with admittance to the Arboretum. The William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden is named after its founder and designer, William Wolkoff.
William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden Bayard Cutting Arboretum 440 Montauk Highway Great River, NY 11739 Long Island Dahlia Society P.O. Box 66 West Sayville, NY 11796 Website: https://www.longislanddahlia.org/
This is “The Long Island Pollinator’s Pathway Map”. If you reside in Great River and have a “Qualified” Pollinator-Friendly Garden that you would like to add to the map, please click on the link below to register.
For more information, please visit https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/about and https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/islip.
Partner Organizations Involved:
Islip Township
Supervisor Angie Carpenter (631) 224-5500
Office Address: Town Hall Second Floor 655 Main Street Islip, New York 11751
Department of Parks & Recreation
Commissioner Thomas Owens
Office: Brookwood Hall 50 Irish Lane East Islip, NY 11730
Email: commissioner-rec@islipny.gov
Website: https://islipny.gov/departments/parks-recreation-and-cultural-affairs
Phone (631) 224-5411 Fax(631) 224-5440
Office Hours: M-F 8:30am to 4:30pm
Department of Environmental Control
Commissioner Martin J. Bellew
Office: Town Hall West 401 Main Street, Room 302 Islip, NY 11751
Email: commissioner-dec@islipny.gov
Website: https://islipny.gov/departments/environmental-control
Phone (631) 595-3630 Fax (631) 224-5651
Office Hours: M-F 8:30am to 5:00pm
Islip Town Parks Foundation
Website: https://isliptownparksfoundation.org
Bayard Cutting Arboretum
440 Montauk Highway Great River, NY 11739
Arboretum Office: 631-581-1002
Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/95/details.aspx
Bayard Cutting Arboretum CSA Farm
Office 631-256-5048
Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/95/details.aspx
William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden Bayard Cutting Arboretum
440 Montauk Highway Great River, NY 11739
William Wolkoff Dahlia Garden Bayard Cutting Arboretum
440 Montauk Highway Great River, NY 11739
Long Island Dahlia Society
P.O. Box 66 West Sayville, NY 11796