ChangeHampton, an East Hampton-based organization that promotes sustainable landscaping practices to support biodiversity, is hosting a forum at The Nature Conservancy on Sunday, July 20, to discuss what can be done to move the metaphorical needle.
“How to Move the Eco-Needle on Our Lands” will examine what solutions — carrots or sticks — are the most effective to achieve habitats that support wildlife and protect the natural beauty of the East End.
The forum will pose a number of questions to assess how well the East Hampton community is overseeing natural treasures: “We have conserved a great deal of land, but have we restored habitat? Are we adequately protecting the aquifer, the bays and ponds? What are we doing about the use of dangerous chemicals on lawns, bushes and trees?”
The forum will consider what other communities have done, including municipal and grassroots programs regulating leaf blowers, limiting lawns, promoting rain gardens and bioswales to capture runoff, encouraging pollinator gardens and meadows to save insects and birds, and instituting programs to educate on and therefore reduce the use of land-care chemicals.
The panel will include Perfect Earth Project founder and landscape architect Edwina von Gal, Whitmores partner Mariah Whitmore, Oza Studio principal and LEED-accredited architect Nilay Oza, Town of East Hampton Environmental Protection Director Kim Shaw, activist and environmentalist Filippine de Haan and real estate professional Michael Schultz. ChangeHampton board member Biddle Duke will moderate.
The forum will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 20, at The Nature Conservancy at 142 Route 114, East Hampton. RSVP at changehampton.org/events/forum-about-bio-diverse-non-toxic-sustainable-land-care-practices/
Staff Writer on Jul 15, 2025