A beach walk and some wine? Back to the Bays has got you this summer.
A beautiful new Long Island field guide and a refreshing rosé made by Borghese Vineyard & Winery have just been released in support of the Back to the Bays initiative, part of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s (CCE) Marine Program.
The compact, full-color Long Island Marine and Coastal Field Guide contains illustrations of plants and shrubs, trees, seaweeds, shells, sponges, crabs, fish, birds, turtles and cetaceans, with information on different marine habitats like estuaries and salt marshes, eelgrass meadows, sand and mud flats, rocky shores, and open ocean.
Created by Carolyn Munaco, CCE Marine’s resident artist and art/science educator, and Hazel E. Wodehouse, CCE marine educator and volunteer coordinator, the guide is a fun way to identify different species on your beach walks and gain some insight on our local marine ecosystems.
Kimberly Barbour, director of Back to the Bays, says that the field guide “has been a true labor of love. Carolyn Munaco is our very talented resident artist that we are lucky to have…she produced [paintings of] over 250 species for the guide.” Wodehouse “did a painstaking job of narrating the whole field guide and putting it all together in a way that’s very useful…it really is an incredible guide.”
After your beach walk, crack open a bottle of chilled Rosé for the Bays—perfectly light and crisp and great to enjoy on a summer day. Allissa Goodale, Borghese’s winemaker, describes it as “a crowd-pleaser…it is the lightest, driest, most crisp rosé that we produce.” The wine, which retails for $25, is a blend of merlot, cabernet franc, pinot noir and chardonnay and comes in four different label designs by Munaco, featuring a heron, an oyster, a clam and a seahorse. Borghese has been making rosé since 2016 in support of the program.
Back to the Bays celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and provides creative, fun ways for the public to learn about local marine resources— you may have attended a paint and sip craft session, learned about coastal gardening or horseshoe crab tagging, attended Greenport Shellabration or caught a marine-themed lecture at a local brewery. Accessible programs like these complement CCE Marine’s scientific research and restoration projects, which are many. Current work includes a scallop restoration project, the well-known SPAT program that grows and seeds the bay with tiny shellfish, water quality monitoring, recovery of derelict fishing gear and much more.
“Buoys for the Bays” is the next project where art and science will come together to support the marine environment. Reclaimed fishing buoys will be transformed into artwork by artists and community members and featured in a silent auction to benefit the program.
Participants may pick up buoys at Borghese Vineyard & Winery from June 7-July 10, and two buoy painting workshops will be held for artists in need of guidance. Workshops commence on June 13 and July 11 at 5 p.m. at Borghese for a $20 contribution, which includes a glass of wine—rosé, no doubt.
The “Buoys for the Bay” exhibit and auction opens on Thursday, July 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Borghese and will be displayed until Labor Day—stop by to check out the buoys and raise a glass for the bays.
The Long Island Marine and Coastal Field Guide is $35 and may be obtained through Back to the Bays’ website.
Back to the Bays Rosé is $25 and may be found at Borghese Vineyard & Winery, 17150 Middle Road, Cutchogue, 631-734-5111.
