News & Announcements
January 2024
Garden Club of America Announces 2024 National Medalists
The Garden Club of America (GCA) announced the recipients of its 2024 national medals, the highest honors bestowed upon individuals and organizations by the GCA for distinguished achievements in areas related to its purpose. With a long-standing tradition of celebrating extraordinary efforts to protect and beautify the planet, The Garden Club of America will present the medals at its 111th annual meeting in April 2024 in Hartford, CT.
The North Country Garden Club of Long Island (NCGC), a member of the Garden Club of America, is pleased to announce that Lisa W. Ott, long-time NCGC member, resident of Oyster Bay and President and CEO of the North Shore Land Alliance, is one of the GCA’s 2024 medalists. The Achievement Medal recognizes Ms. Ott’s personal and professional commitment to the protection of the environment while educating others to do so as well. Ms. Ott, a past president of NCGC, has served the GCA in many roles including as the Chair of the National Affairs and Legislation Conference, an annual event in Washington, DC at which GCA members hear from conservation leaders and meet with lawmakers to defend ongoing conservation and environmental legislative efforts.
In response to the announcement, Lisa Ott remarked: “I am extremely grateful to the North Country Garden Club for nominating me for this wonderful award from the Garden Club of America. In honoring me, they are also honoring the many people who are involved in making land conservation happen. Through the generosity of our community, partnerships, connections and education we are all making a difference! It is a pleasure and a privilege to play a part.”
Lisa Ott
Photo credit: Elizabeth Hawkey
December 2022
With the goal of expanding our outreach in the community, the North Country Garden Club’s Civic Projects Committee has begun a relationship with the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club. We began last June with the planting of herbs and vegetables tended by the children in the summer program.
We have recently begun a series of sessions focused on gardens, nature, floral design and nutrition for the Glen Cove Boys & Girls Club’s after school program. The first session, held on December 8th was spearheaded by Hanna Robinson. Hanna spoke to the children (ages 6-8) about how to nourish their bodies with real, whole foods (plants and animals). As an activity, she had them trace their bodies and draw pictures, both inside and out, showing what would create a healthy environment to grow. The kids and presenters had a wonderful time together and both are eager to repeat the experience. The January 2023 session will teach the students about birds with the creation of a bird feeder. The February 2023 session will be about the benefits of composting.
June 2022
Talented floral designers from the North Country Garden Club once again participated in the Art in Bloom exhibition at The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington. Three other Garden Club of America clubs also took part in the exhibition: North Suffolk Garden Club, South Side Garden Club, and Three Harbors Garden Club.
The 12 floral arrangements created by the garden clubs were inspired by works of art on view in two exhibitions: Moonstruck: Lunar Art from the Collection and Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. More than 400 people viewed the Heckscher’s third annual Art in Bloom during the weekend of June 10-12.
NCGC’s design teams included Hanna Robinson and Abby Weir, Jennifer Ely and Elaine Postley, and Heather Whitman and Christina Wilmerding.
June 2021
Three teams of North Country Garden Club floral designers participated in The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington Art in Bloom exhibition during the weekend of June 11-13. Our teams created floral arrangements inspired by works of art in the Museum’s centennial exhibition: The Heckscher Museum Celebrates 100. Three other Garden Club of America clubs took part in the exhibition: North Suffolk Garden Club, South Side Garden Club, and Three Harbors Garden Club. There were twelve designs overall and each was a unique and creative interpretation of one of the Museum’s pieces from its permanent collection.
NCGC’s designers included Gigi Sheldon and Meredyth Smith, Meredith Olt and Virginia Pierrepont, and Abby Weir, and Sarah Blundin.
For more information, visit heckscher.org/events/art-in-bloom/
NCGC Receives GCA P4P Grant
Fall 2020
NCGC is pleased to announce that it has been given a $2,500 “Partners for Plants” (P4P) grant from The Garden Club of America (GCA) to support NCGC’s work with the North Shore Land Alliance (NSLA) on the revitalization of the 4.5 acre meadow at the Humes Preserve in Mill Neck. P4P is a joint program of the GCA’s Conservation and Horticulture committees to monitor and conserve rare plants, restore native habitats and remove invasive weeds on federal, state and local public lands. P4P volunteers have partnered with land agencies to conserve a variety of natural open spaces throughout the United States. Since the program’s beginning in 1992, there have been more than 470 projects nationwide.
The mission of this revitalization project is to restore the meadow to a welcoming habitat for native plants, migrating birds and other wildlife species. NCGC worked with landscape consultant Pennington Grey and the NSLA to install native wildflower plugs for over 5,000 square feet of the meadow.
Working with the North Country Garden Club on this project is Gabriella Rivadeneira, a junior at Cold Spring Harbor High School. “Gabby” lives in Lloyd Harbor and is interested in conservation and politics. Together with Gabby, we will engage other high school students who are interested in learning about how native meadows contribute to our environment.
The Humes Preserve is a significant asset in the Mill Neck community. Now open to the public, it is a place for visitors to hike on trails, watch birds and see native plants. NCGC is excited to be involved in this important project.
For more information: North Shore Land Alliance Humes Meadow Restoration
Click on the three icons below to watch videos of the Humes Preserve tours with landscape consultant Pennington Grey:
Food and Flower Donations
Summer 2020
NCGC members are participating in an important project this summer. We are providing fresh food and flowers from our gardens as well as staples to two local organizations that help local families in need and suffering as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. The two organizations are the People’s Pantry, a pop-up food donation organization based in Oyster Bay which serves more than 160 families and NOSH, a community-based nonprofit which serves approximately 225 families each week in Bayville, Glen Cove, Glen Head, Locust Valley, Sea Cliff and Lattingtown.
We also donated funds to local caterer Mar Slocum to provide nutritious meals for healthcare workers at Glen Clove Hospital and St. Francis Hospital.
NCGC Scholarships
June 2020
The North Country Garden Club of Long Island, Inc. (NCGC) is pleased to announce that it has awarded a Virginia W. Smith Scholarship to two local high school seniors. The annual scholarship, named after NCGC member Virginia W. Smith, awards a gift of $2,500 to a local high school senior whose college studies focus on horticulture, conservation or the environment. NCGC is fortunate to have received applications from several very accomplished candidates. Due to quarantine conditions, video interviews were held.
This year the recipients are:
Caitriona Greene: Caitriona, a Glen Cove High School senior, will be attending the University of Rochester’s Early Medical Scholars program. Her many service-learning commitments have concentrated on the protection of the environment and human health. Her research work has been focused on the negative impact of biomedical waste on climate and health, which she hopes to continue in her future studies.
Christina Wile: Christina, a senior at North Shore High School, plans to study Viticulture and Enology and Journalism at Cornell’s School of Agriculture. Christina is also a committed contributor to the community with volunteer positions at St. Francis Hospital and Riding for the Handicapped. She has also built rain gardens to prevent runoff and built a community butterfly garden.