Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve

In the early 1800s, Sandy Ground was established mainly as a farming community by free Black families, many of whom were enslaved in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, seeking autonomy and ways to make a living. Due to its sandy and poor soil, the land was cheap and was easy to purchase. Many grew crops like strawberries, blueberries, and peanuts to sustain their families.

In the 1840s, oystermen and their families moved here from Maryland to avoid discriminatory laws, bringing their skills to harvest oysters. By the 1860s, Sandy Ground was a thriving Black community of around 100 families that owned property, operated small farms, and participated in the oyster economy. Through oral histories and archival evidence, we learned that some families assisted with the Underground Railroad, offering refuge to freedom seekers who were escaping the south.

The 1910s brought hardships in the form of the industrialization of much of NYC. Pollution in the Arthur Kill and Raritan Bay from upstream industrialization made oyster harvesting unsafe, devastating the local economy. Many families turned to other sources of income, while others moved to New Jersey or Manhattan.

Nowadays Sandy Ground is considered the oldest continuously inhabited free black settlement in the US!

Source: https://www.cityneighborhoods.nyc/sandy-ground
Images: https://maap.columbia.edu/mbl_place/42.html
https://www.nypap.org/sandy-ground-oral-history-memories-of-life-and-work-in-the-nations-oldest-free-black-settlement/

Making an appearance at the Gericke Farm are the vibrant Indigo Bunting. Found throughout the Northeast during the late spring and summer, these colorful perching birds make their homes in weedy fields and shrubby areas near trees.

Like all other blue birds, Indigo Buntings aren’t truly blue. Their striking color comes instead from microscopic crystal-like structures in the feathers that refract and reflect blue light, much like the airborne particles that cause the sky to look blue.

Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Indigo_Bunting/id

Save the date for Young Naturalists! Join us every Thursday in July and August (starting on July 9) from 10am-12pm. Young Naturalists is for ages 5-12 and will focus on a different nature theme each week with hands-on activities, games, and guided hikes! Themes include herpetology, ornithology, trees, pond investigating, and more!

Registration will be available at the end of June on our Eventbrite at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com.

Join us this week for some great events! Find more information and register for these events at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com.

🐸 FrogWatch Hike. Wednesday June 17, 8pm-9:30pm. All ages.
🧁 Seasonal Crafting for Seniors: Cupcake Liner Wreath. Thursday June 18, 9am-11am. Ages 55+.
🌸 Pollinator Gardening. Saturday June 20, 10am-12pm. All ages.

We hope to see you there!

This Eastern Phoebe built her nest on top of our security camera at the Nature Interpretive Center! We’ve been watching in anticipation, from the start of her building the nest, to sitting on her eggs, to now feeding her 4 babies a plethora of insects.

With her nest being right outside our office window, we’ve been able to observe her behavior up close. Phoebes will often perch on a low-lying branch waiting for a flying insect and then swoop to catch it mid-air. She’ll either eat the insect herself or bring it to the nest to feed her babies!

Join us at the Nature Interpretive Center in sweeping the grass for our friendly pollinators. All materials will be provided. Please dress tick-safe (pants tucked into long socks) and be ready for a short hike.

WHEN: Saturday, June 13th, 10am-12pm.
WHO: All ages welcome.

For more information and to register visit ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com. We hope to see you there!

This Pride month we honor Robbi Mecus as our Conservationist of the Month. Raised in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Mecus understood that she was a girl from a young age. In an interview for the New York City Trans Oral History Project, she talks about how at a young age she would consistently tell her parents that she was a girl. Coming from a strict and conservative family, she had a hard time accepting her own identity and started transitioning late

As a young adult, Mecus got involved with climbing and fell in love with it. She became a forest ranger in New York in 1999, and worked for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for more than 25 years. She was part of rescue efforts in New York City following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. As a ranger, she aided in locating and saving hikers in need. Mecus tragically died on April 25, 2024, after falling about 1,000 feet while climbing Mount Johnson in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. She was 52.

Although not recognized as the first trans park ranger in NY state, she was a trailblazer for trans and q***r representation in a predominately male field. In April 2025, the NYDEC held a flag raising ceremony in Ray Brook in honor of Mecus on Trans Day of Visibility.

Thank you to all who came to one of our events during our Wellness Weekend! We hope you had a wonderfully relaxing time in our park. Stay tuned for upcoming Wellness Weekends in July and August!