Udalls Cove Preservation Committee

10/11/2026

Friends, UCPC will again this year be participating in this very enjoyable Autumn festival. Stop by our table and say hello!

10/03/2026

ANOTHER EAGLE HAS LANDED! Today Sebastian Martin of Troop 268 completed his Eagle Scout Project. Working with his crew of about 15, he installed 64 linear feet of wooden walkway over an often muddy section of trail near Aurora Pond. He and his team also placed one cubic yard of 3/4-inch gravel over a heavily eroded section of trail at the foot of Little Neck Road, along with a water bar to help divert the excess rainwater to the side of the trail. They also cleared away excess vegetation from the sides of the trail. Bravo, Sebastian!

10/02/2026

Sunday is Estuary Day, and the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee will be there! See the flyer for details:

10/01/2026

Here's an opportunity for some great fun this weekend at the Alley Pond Environmental Center -- an OPEN HOUSE and CLOTHING SWAP on Saturday, October 3, from 9 AM to 1 PM:

Thursday, October 29th | 1:00 pm - 2:15 pm

09/14/2026

Yesterday --a VERY rainy day! -- Evan Doyle of Troop 153 completed his Eagle Scout project. Leading his team, he installed 64 linear feet of wooden walkway over an extremely wet and muddy section of the "Yellow Trail" in Alley Pond Park. (This part of the trail is accessed from 233rd Street, a short dead-end street south of Northern Boulevard, next to the Chevrolet dealership.) His team also cleared a lot of invasives from trails in the Old Oak Section of Alley Pond Park, east of the golf driving range. They cleared Wisteria vines, Porcelain Berry vines, Multiflora Rose and Japanese Knotweed. Congratulations, and a big Thank You, to Evan!

08/23/2026

08/12/2026

Here's an incredible video by Vincent Panaro, taken at a mooring not far from the Douglas Manor dock in Little Neck Bay. It shows a whole school of baby rays! (Many different species of rays live in Long Island Sound -- I'm not certain which species these are.) These babies are reportedly only the size of a man's hand. WOW!

08/01/2026

Following the lead of our friends at the Douglas Manor Environmental Association (DMEA), today we installed these two signs on the Back Road (Sandhill Road). One faces the traffic coming from Douglaston towards Aurora Pond, and the other faces the traffic coming from Little Neck towards the pond. (A few weeks ago DMEA installed a similar sign near the boat launch ramp at Douglas Manor's Memorial Field.)

06/23/2026

On June 21 four Scouts from Troop 71 were formally awarded the coveted rank of Eagle Scout in a ceremony called a Court of Honor. Two of those four Scouts did their Eagle projects with the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee -- James Griffith and Nick Tonorezos. James built 500 linear feet of trail in the Old Oak Pond section of Alley Pond Park (between Douglaston Parkway and the Douglaston golf driving range). Nick built 500 feet of trail along the edge of the Udalls Cove wetlands in the Village of Great Neck Estates -- the first of what will be ultimately be a 5-phase trail construction project. Both Scouts carried out their projects in 2024 (and both are now in college). Since these two young men completed their projects, three other Scouts from Troop 71 have also completed their Eagle projects with our organization, continuing the trail project started by Nick. Brothers Chris and Nic Katsoulis were formally inducted as Eagle Scouts a few months ago, and we are certain that Max Tonorezos -- Nick's brother -- will in due course also be inducted. Congratulations to James and Nick, and thanks to all the Troop 71 Scouts!

06/20/2026

Congratulations to Phoebe Paek of Scout Troop 1923 in Queens! Yesterday she completed her Eagle Scout project. She built four Bluebird nesting boxes and installed them near the Alley Pond Environmental Center. The boxes are constructed of red cedar; the roofs are plywood treated to be weather-resistant. Each has a door that can be opened to clean out the box.
The Bluebird is New York State's official bird, but its population has fallen over the years. We hope that some lucky Bluebirds will take up residence in the nesting boxes Phoebe built. We know there are Bluebirds in the area -- three of them were photographed last Fall by an APEC staff member.