Photo Walk #4: Marine Nature Study Area
50 Photo Walks in 2024.
Yesterday my son Logan and I drove over to Oceanside to check out the Marine Nature Study Area. I had heard about this preserve while researching places I could take my daughter’s Girl Scout troop. I was intrigued upon finding this place, which is just a few miles from where I live, but which I had no idea existed until just a few months ago. The photos that I found online of boardwalks snaking through the marshes reminded me of the Everglades!
After inquiring about setting up a tour for the Girl Scout troop, I found out that the offices and bathrooms at the Study Area are currently under construction, so I figured I’d better go over there myself and check it out before showing up with eleven 12-year-olds.
The Study Area did not disappoint! It is a beautiful spot, nestled amongst houses along the canals of Oceanside, and looks out on Middle Bay, which separates Oceanside from Long Beach (and the current construction is very minimal from a visitor’s standpoint).
According to the Town of Hempstead website:
“The Marine Nature Study Area (MNSA) is a 52-acre preserve that opened on Earth Day, April 1970, and is devoted to environmental education and natural history in Oceanside NY.
MNSA differs from most other community undertakings in that the design provides for education, research preservation and management practices. Objectives of such an area program include: an outdoor laboratory for elementary and secondary schools, salt marsh ecology, marine conservation practices, earth science, marine biology, and nature study.
The MSNA salt marsh is bordered on the south by Middle Bay, on the west by Bedell Creek, on the east by an unnamed tidal watercourse, and on the north by developed home sites.
The area has seven designated observation and study sites equipped with visual aides. Elevated board walkways have been constructed to provide access from the "Salt Marsh Ecosystem Site" to the "Marine Algae Site" and to the "Dune Community".
It was a gorgeous day, and Logan really enjoyed our walk around the preserve. I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.
(All photos shot on Fuji xt-30ii. These are SOOC jpgs, using the recipe “Nostalgic Negative”)