Environmental group Seatuck plants trees along Penataquit Creek to restore health of polluted Bay Shore stream

An environmental group planted several large trees along Penataquit Creek in Bay Shore this summer, the latest step in a yearslong community effort to restore the polluted stream.

Seatuck Environmental Association, which has been leading the restoration since 2018, said the creek's ecological health has suffered due to development of the surrounding area.

The group planted 25 trees and shrubs, some as tall as 25 feet, including species such as red maple, winterberry and spice bush, as part of a community-driven cleanup that has brought the stream's ecosystem back on track in recent years.

Around 2 miles long, the creek is a tributary of the Great South Bay and part of the Town of Islip’s Great Cove Watershed, and is among eight streams in Suffolk County designated as impaired under the Federal Clean Water Act.

The project is funded through private donations and a $28,000 state grant issued just before the pandemic and involves at least 23 local partners.

Maureen Dunn, a water quality scientist at Seatuck, said efforts are focused on a little more than an acre along the creek that falls onto property owned by the First Baptist Church of Bay Shore, which was established in 1918.

When cleanup began, invasive vines were killing trees that grew near the creek, Dunn said, which would have taken away the shade needed for native brook trout to survive in the water there. 

"The whole cycle of that ecosystem would be disrupted," she said.

James Cormigan, a deacon at the First Baptist Church, described the scene when cleanup first started to an audience at a recent Bay Shore Historical Society meeting.

“As we began to look at the creek and try to get it up to par, there were all kinds of debris there. We found a piano, we found dozens of tires, we found all kinds of things,” he said.

Dunn said the push for cleanup has come from a coalition of community groups, including Boy Scout troops, local lawmakers, businesses and students from the area, and the Bay Shore Historical Society.

The Town of Islip contributed about $375,000 toward repairs to infrastructure around the creek.

According to town spokeswoman Caroline Smith, Islip has replaced and repaired several pipes around the creek and installed basins, among other things. The town is assessing what else it can do to improve the water quality, she said. 

“This restoration will mean a much safer and cleaner environment, which should contribute to a healthier creek long into the future,” said Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter in an email.

Over the years, volunteers have emptied the creek of trash, replaced invasive plants with native trees and shrubs and released juvenile native brook trout.

With the ongoing cleanup, the creek is now "more resilient and will last longer, because it's healthier," Dunn said.

The scientist said work on the creek isn’t finished, listing several initiatives the community has planned, from installing more benches to adding a walkway and creating a space for local artists. 

“Ideally, it would be nice to restore the whole length of Penataquit Creek,” Dunn added.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.