Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County CCE Suffolk is a land-grant nonprofit agency established in 1917, conducting research-based programs. (STEM)
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Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) is a non-profit community education agency established in 1917. We are affiliated with Cornell University as part of the national land grant university system started in 1862. We are educators, researchers, specialists and support personnel who are dedicated to making Suffolk County a desirable place to live and work. CCE-Suffolk's professional team helps preser

ve our county's vast heritage, protect our eco-systems, support families and provide our youth opportunities for community service and research-based education in science, technology, engineering and math.

Over 40 women came together for a full day of learning, connection, and empowerment, and left with knowledge they can us...
06/18/2026

Over 40 women came together for a full day of learning, connection, and empowerment, and left with knowledge they can use immediately.

CCE Suffolk's Transforming Women's Health conference brought Dr. Razia Jayman-Aristide to Riverhead alongside sessions on brain health, pelvic floor exercises, the connections and challenges that shape women's wellbeing, and understanding how anxiety and depression show up differently in women.

This is what our Community Education team does, creates spaces where accessible, evidence-based health education meets the people who need it most. And based on the response, this won't be the last one!



Vanessa Pino Lockel CCE Suffolk County- Community Education & Nutrition Legislator Greg Doroski

In June alone, our farm education team will visit more than 30 schools across Long Island. From Bretton Woods Elementary...
06/12/2026

In June alone, our farm education team will visit more than 30 schools across Long Island.

From Bretton Woods Elementary to Springs School, from Patchogue to Southold, CCE Suffolk's educators are bringing farm animals, plant science, insects, and ecosystems directly into classrooms every single day this month. Kids are meeting llamas, hatching chicks, studying butterflies, and learning where their food comes from, without ever leaving school.

By the time summer break starts, thousands of Suffolk County students will have had a hands-on experience with a CCE farm educator. That's the kind of reach you don't see on a single event flyer, but it's happening every week.

Your lawn looks stressed. Before you reach for the fertilizer - read this.As temperatures climb, cool-season grasses on ...
06/09/2026

Your lawn looks stressed. Before you reach for the fertilizer - read this.

As temperatures climb, cool-season grasses on Long Island naturally slow down. That brown patch? It's probably not a pest problem, it's heat stress. And the instinct to throw nitrogen at it usually makes things worse.

CCE Suffolk Turf & IPM Specialist Garrett Price has three rules for getting through summer: water deeply and less often, mow at 3 to 4 inches, and avoid unnecessary inputs. That's it.

Here's why this matters beyond your yard: excess fertilizer doesn't stay on your lawn. It washes into the groundwater and eventually into our bays, the same bays where our marine team is working to restore oyster reefs and cultivate kelp to pull nitrogen out of the water. Your lawn care decisions and the health of our coastal waters are more connected than you think.

Read the full guide: ccesuffolk.org/horticulture-lab/horticulture-factsheets/lawn-care

Strawberry season is open. And if you've ever wished you could hold onto that taste a little longer, you can! CCE Suff...
06/05/2026

Strawberry season is open. And if you've ever wished you could hold onto that taste a little longer, you can!

CCE Suffolk's canning and food preservation program teaches you how to safely preserve the fruits, vegetables, and flavors of every season. From boiling water bath basics to pressure canning, fermentation to freezing, these are skills that connect you directly to what's growing on Long Island.

It's one of our most popular programs for a reason: it sits at the intersection of agriculture and nutrition. Our Ag team researches what grows best here. Our Community Education team teaches you how to make the most of it. And canning ties it all together, from the farm, to the jar, to your table in January.

Our last session this spring is June 13 and spots fill fast. Visit ccesuffolk.org to register before they're gone.

Planting oysters in Hampton Bays. Paddling out to plant bay scallops in Southold. Building seahorse hotels by hand. Bagg...
06/02/2026

Planting oysters in Hampton Bays. Paddling out to plant bay scallops in Southold. Building seahorse hotels by hand. Bagging recycled shell on Shelter Island. Testing water quality along the way.

This is what our marine stewards have been up to, and this is just a snapshot. Across multiple sites and multiple sessions, community volunteers are working alongside CCE Suffolk's marine team to restore oyster reefs, support scallop populations, protect seahorse habitat, and monitor the health of our bays.

Every steward who shows up, in the water, at the table, on the shore, is part of something bigger than a single session. They're helping rebuild the coastal ecosystems that define life on Long Island.

Want in? Follow Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program and Back to the Bays for upcoming sessions. No experience needed, just a willingness to get your hands wet!

Diabetes education that meets people where they are: in clinics, on mobile vans, and through screens across Suffolk Coun...
05/31/2026

Diabetes education that meets people where they are: in clinics, on mobile vans, and through screens across Suffolk County.

CCE Suffolk's diabetes education team works inside Sun River Health centers from Amityville to Riverhead, providing in-person education for adults living with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Beyond those walls, they reach patients across the county through telehealth, making sure geography doesn't limit access to care.

And then there's the mobile van. CCE Suffolk coordinates Sun River Health mobile screening events at fire departments, libraries, food pantries, senior centers, and veterans sites across the county, with a focus on higher-need communities. If there's a community that needs screening, our team works to get there.

Our diabetes educators also lead workshops on topics ranging from nutrition and label reading to diabetes self-management, partnering with community agencies, municipal programs, and organizations across the region.

When it comes to diabetes prevention and education, our team doesn't wait to be found. They go!

121 cubic feet of spat-on-shell oysters deployed to Bellport Bay last week, a partnership between CCE Suffolk's marine p...
05/28/2026

121 cubic feet of spat-on-shell oysters deployed to Bellport Bay last week, a partnership between CCE Suffolk's marine production team and Friends of Bellport Bay.

Spat-on-shell is one of the most effective methods for restoring oyster populations. Millions of baby oysters are set onto recycled shells in our hatchery, then planted in the bay where they grow and help rebuild natural reefs.

While out on the water, our team also checked in on last year's deployment — and the oysters are showing strong growth and survival! That's the thing about restoration work: every season builds on the last.

Thank you Friends of Bellport Bay- Fobb for your continued dedication to protecting Bellport Bay. When community partners and marine science come together, our bays come back stronger.

Follow Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine Program

Monday morning: vet tech students learning animal care. Midday: toddlers meeting goats for the first time in Little Farm...
05/26/2026

Monday morning: vet tech students learning animal care. Midday: toddlers meeting goats for the first time in Little Farmers. Afternoon: 4-H members at archery practice. Saturday evening: adults stretching alongside goats at Goat Yoga. Sunday: women veterans walking the grounds together.

That's not five different places. That's one week at the Suffolk County Farm & Education Center.

Most people think of us as a farm, and we are. But we're also a classroom, a wellness space, a training facility, and a gathering place for communities across Suffolk County. On any given day, you might find future veterinarians, homeschool families, first responders, and 4-H kids all sharing the same 50 acres.

The farm is for everyone. It always has been.

This May, CCE Suffolk educators visited countless schools across the county, and we're not done yet!From butterfly life ...
05/22/2026

This May, CCE Suffolk educators visited countless schools across the county, and we're not done yet!

From butterfly life cycles in Southampton to balanced meal workshops in Freeport, from meeting farm animals in Smithtown to fitness dice in Central Islip, our teams are bringing hands-on education directly into classrooms across Suffolk County. Every week. Every age group. Every community.

This is what it looks like when education leaves the building and meets kids where they are, in their own schools, with programs designed to spark curiosity about the food they eat, the animals they share the planet with, and the natural world outside their door. The school year is winding down, but we're going strong right through the finish line.

They've been around for 450 million years: older than dinosaurs, older than trees. And every spring, horseshoe crabs ret...
05/19/2026

They've been around for 450 million years: older than dinosaurs, older than trees. And every spring, horseshoe crabs return to Long Island's beaches to spawn.

Monitoring season is off to a great start. The NY Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Program, a partnership between CCE Suffolk, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, tracks population health and spawning activity across our local beaches. The data directly informs how we manage and protect one of the most ecologically important species on our coastline.

Why do they matter? Horseshoe crab eggs are a critical food source for migratory shorebirds traveling thousands of miles along the Atlantic flyway. And their presence on our beaches is one of the clearest signs of a healthy coastal ecosystem.

Want to be part of it? We're looking for volunteers, especially at our Peconic Bay and Long Island Sound monitoring sites. No experience is needed, just a willingness to spend an evening on the beach doing something that matters.

Learn more and sign up: nyhorseshoecrab.org Questions? Email [email protected]

📸 Aerial image: NYS DEC

Address

423 Griffing Avenue, Suite 100
Riverhead, NY
11901

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16317277850

Website

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