Henry L. Ferguson Museum

Diné (Navajo) Apparel Design, Weaving, and Womanhood
2023-11-11 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Diné (Navajo) apparel design is constantly evolving. From wearing blankets and mantas through contemporary art, the crafted works demonstrate design resilience and creativity. They also demonstrate hózhó (balance, beauty, and harmony), a Diné concept shown through symmetrical geometric design, light and dark color, and the continuance of practice through matriarchal teaching.
Join us at the Museum on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 4pm for an illustrated talk with Lighthouse Works visiting curator Sháńdíín Brown, the first Henry Luce Curatorial Fellow for Native American Art at the RISD Museum.   Brown will share insights on her work and practice as a curator and discuss her current exhibition Diné Textiles: Nizhónígo Hadadít’eh, on view at the RISD Museum in the Angelo Donghia Costume and Textiles Gallery through September 29, 2024. This talk will be followed by a conversation with Lighthouse Works Program Director Dylan Gauthier and an audience Q&A.
Time: SATURDAY, November 11, 2023 @ 4:00 – 5:00 P.M.
Place: at the Museum, 2nd Floor. IN PERSON ONLY.
Even in the off season, signing up in advance for people attending in person is recommended. Please call 631-788-7239 or email fimuseum@fishersisland.net to reserve a seat.
Following the talk, a community dinner will be held at Union Chapel, at 6pm. Please RSVP through Eventbrite to let us know you plan to attend.
Community Dinner RSVP Sháńdíín Brown is a curator, creative, and citizen of the Navajo Nation from Arizona. She is the first Henry Luce Curatorial Fellow for Native American Art at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum. She co-curated Being and Believing in the Natural World: Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America (2022–2023) as well as Take Care (2022–2023). Brown’s newest exhibition, Diné Textiles: Nizhónígo Hadadít’eh (2023–2024), explores the intersections of Diné apparel design, weaving, and womanhood.   Brown’s research interests include Indigenous fashion, jewelry, art and feminism. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where she earned her BA in Anthropology as well as Native American Studies and minored in Environmental Studies. Previously she has held positions at the Heard Museum, Hood Museum of Art, Penn Museum, IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) and School for Advanced Research (SAR) Indian Arts Research Center (IARC). Her jewelry can be viewed on Instagram @T.Begay.Designs

Winter Wildlife on Fishers Island
2024-01-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Kim Hargrave
Virtual illustrated talk by Kim Hargrave, education director of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic, Conn.
Time: Sunday, January 28, 2024 @ 4:00 – 5:00 P.M.
Place: Virtual via Zoom
Wildlife has incredible strategies to survive the winter. From painted turtles spending the winter under the frozen pond to Harlequin ducks braving the waves along the shore, we’ll learn more about the amazing adaptations animals have to get through winter on Fishers Island.
Photo Credit: Harlequin ducks off Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge by Bob Weaver/USFWS volunteer
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Birds In Winter: Surviving The Most Challenging Season (Rebroadcast)
2024-02-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Sunday, February 4th, 2024 Museum Director Pierce Rafferty will host a virtual rebroadcast of “Birds In Winter: Surviving The Most Challenging Season,” first presented and recorded at the Museum in August 2022. This encore screening will be followed by a virtual Q&A with Roger Pasquier.
Learn about the ecological and behavioral adaptations birds have evolved to survive winter, which affects not only the birds that remain in regions where it becomes cold, but also the migrants that go far to avoid the effects of cold, as well as the resident species with which they share habitat at their destinations. Winter, in fact, affects birds’ lives all through the year. In late summer, you can already see some birds begin storing food to retrieve months later and others forming the social groups in which they will remain until spring.
Winter also has distinctive conservation challenges. Many birds winter in latitudes and habitats occupied more densely by people, reducing the available natural habitat and exposing them to pollutants, invasive species, and hunting pressures they do not encounter the rest of the year. Finally, global warming is altering the nature of winter itself, shortening the season, changing or eliminating some vital winter habitats, shifting food sources, and throwing off the sense of timing that triggers birds to arrive at both their breeding and winter destinations at the optimal moment.
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
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Roger Pasquier has enjoyed visiting Fishers Island to see birds and friends since the 1970s. He is an associate in the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. His career has been in ornithology and conservation at the American Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, World Wildlife Fund-U.S., Environmental Defense Fund, and the National Audubon Society. He is the author of several books on birds and art history, including Birds in Winter: Surviving the Most Challenging Season (Princeton University Press, 2019). He spoke at the Museum in 2016 on his previous book, Painting Central Park.

Carolina Chickadee at feeder. Photo by Bruce M. Beehler

White-breasted Nuthatch. Photo by Bruce M. Beehler

Snowy Owl. Photo by Bruce M. Beehler

Tracking Snowy Owls South of the Tundra
2024-02-25 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Join us for a virtual talk with Rebecca McCabe who will share her journey from an undecided first-generation college student to a research biologist at the first refuge for birds of prey. Rebecca will highlight some of her doctoral research studying wintering snowy owls and give an update on what she and the rest of the team at Project SNOWstorm have been learning over the past decade.
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Rebecca received her B.S. in Environmental Biology at Millersville University (2013), and then earned her M.S. in Biology at East Stroudsburg University (2016) studying the nesting behavior of broad-winged hawks in Pennsylvania. In 2021, Rebecca received her Ph.D. from McGill University (Canada) where she studied snowy owls during the winter period. Rebecca joined the staff full time at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in May 2021, serving as one of the Sanctuary’s biologists. She continues researching broad-winged hawks and snowy owls and is involved in the Sanctuary’s long-term American kestrel project. She also assists with other various aspects of conservation science, including the trainee program, advising undergraduate and graduate students and science-education outreach.

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The History of Farming on Fishers Island (Re-broadcast)
2024-03-10 16:00 - 17:00
As farming has all but disappeared from Fishers Island it is easy to forget that since first English settlement in 1640s – our Island has primarily been a working stock farm and dairy with centuries of native Americans agricultural use before that – this talk brings farming back to the forefront.
An encore virtual screening.
HLFM Director Pierce Rafferty will host a virtual-only re-broadcast of his recorded illustrated talk ‘The History of Farming on Fishers Island,’ which was co-produced and co-directed by Marisela La Grave and funded by a generous grant from the Jeanann Gray Dunlap Foundation, Sunday, March 10th, at 4 PM. Please note that this talk was first presented virtually in August 2020.
Farming was our island’s dominant economic activity for more than two centuries following the first European settlement in the 1640s, displaced at the west end by resort development beginning in the 1870s and at the east end by the Olmsted Plan in the mid-1920s. There were dairy farms, gamekeeping farms, and poultry farms. Before tennis and golf, there were cows, sheep, and chickens!
Join Pierce virtually Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 4 PM, for a tour of this fascinating all-but-forgotten history that includes a visit to the Fishers Island Oyster Farm, the last surviving farm on Fishers Island.
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
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Farmers haying on Middle Farms Flats, circa 1920 Photograph by Harold Baker. Museum Collection. This photograph captures one aspect of past farming activities on what is today the Matty Mathiessen Wildlife Sanctuary, Middle Farms.

Beatrice Cuming: Connecticut Precisionist
2024-04-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Join us for a virtual presentation by Tanya Pohrt, Ph.D., curator, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, Connecticut. Pohrt will discuss the dynamic art and vision of artist Beatrice Cuming (American, 1903-1974), in conjunction with an exhibition now on view at the Lyman Allyn.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Based in New London, Connecticut for much of her career, Beatrice Cuming celebrated industry and progress in her art, painting urban views and local maritime landscapes in the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s. On a special six-month WPA assignment in 1941, she documented Harbor Defenses on Long Island Sound, painting key military sites such as Fort H.G. Wright on Fishers Island. She subsequently painted scenes of industry in commissions for General Dynamics Electric Boat and Standard Oil.
Tanya Pohrt is curator of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut. She has curated a range of exhibitions at the Lyman Allyn, including Barkley L. Hendricks in New London, 2023, The Way Sisters: Miniaturists of the Early Republic (Exh. Cat., 2021), The Prismatic Palette: Frank Vincent DuMond and His Students, 2021, and Louis Comfort Tiffany in New London, a permanent collections gallery. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Delaware, specializing in American art, and was previously a Marcia Brady Tucker Fellow in American Paintings and Sculpture at the Yale University Art Gallery.
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Beatrice Cuming circa 1946

Beatrice Cuming, Impact of White, ca. 1951, oil on canvas. Painting of MV Mystic Isle.

Beatrice Cuming, Chubb, 1944, oil on canvas. Gift of General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Lyman Allyn Art Museum

Beatrice Cuming, The Architecture of Light, 1960s. Oil on canvas. Florence Griswold Museum

Beatrice Cuming, Untitled (Gun, Coastal Defense), 1941. Oil on Canvas Collection of Bagley Reid. Thought to be gun emplacement at Fort H. G. Wright, Fishers Island, NY.

To learn more about the exhibition that runs through May 26th, please visit the Lyman Allyn Museum website:
Lyman Allen

Woodpeckers of the Region
2024-05-05 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Kim Hargrave, director of education for the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic, Conn., will present a “virtual only” illustrated talk on woodpeckers.
Kim Hargrave
Fishers Island is home to six woodpecker species, all occupying their own niche. Delve into their amazing world as we learn more about their incredible biology, the important role they play in the ecosystem and why they might be hammering on your house!
WHEN: Sunday, May 5, 2024
TIME: 4:00 – 5:00 pm
PLACE: Virtual presentation only
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Northern flicker, photo by Alex McKown

Downy woodpecker, photo by Courtney Celley, USFW

Red-bellied woodpecker

In Gardens We Trust: A Fishers Island Native Plant Chat
2024-05-25 11:00 - 13:00
Native plants are essential to repairing and sustaining our fragile ecosystem on Fishers Island. But what makes them unique, and how can we use them effectively? Join us at the Museum on May 25, 2024 for a first-of-its-kind event to find out!
WHEN: Saturday, May 25, 2024
TIME: 11 am – 12 pm (Talk), 12-1 pm (Reception)
PLACE: In person only at the Museum, 2nd Floor
By understanding the impact of our actions on land, we can make a significant difference. Non-native plants often require extra maintenance, like fertilizer and pesticides, which can harm our delicate ecosystem. Fishers Island’s sandy, porous soil does not retain these chemicals once applied; instead, they flow into our waters. Fertilizer runoff is a significant source of nitrogen pollution that damages marine habitats and creates algal blooms. The fertilizer and pesticides that do not run into the water damage soil quality and harm native insects. Planting native is an easy win for our entire ecosystem.
At this event, we will hear from experienced peers and professionals to discover more about Fishers Island’s native landscape, the role of invasive plants in the food chain, and how we can use native plants within our landscaping projects. Terry McNamara, Dr. Adam Mitchell, Diana Fiske, and Dianne Crary will each give a lightning talk about native plants and happily answer your questions.
After our speakers take you on a journey to learn about Fishers Island’s native plants, we will hold a reception that will host various Fishers Island contractors, lots of helpful handouts, and a live divided perennial demonstration.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity! Space is limited, so secure your spot today.
RegistrationThis event is sponsored by
Fishers Island Conservancy and the Henry L. Ferguson Museum

Climate and Changing Abundance of Songbirds on Fishers Island in Spring
2024-06-09 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
An illustrated talk presented by Skyler Kardell and William Schenck, who have been researching and documenting bird life on Fishers Island with logistical assistance by the HLFM.
Fishers Island has a long and distinguished history of contributions to the field of ornithology. With scattered records dating back to the 1910s and 1920s, naturalist Edwin Horning, curator of the Henry L. Ferguson Museum and teacher at the Fishers Island School, exponentially increased the number of recorded observations of bird life on Fishers Island by keeping detailed daily journals of bird sightings from the mid-1960s to the early 2000s. More than 20,000 lists of Horning’s bird sightings were uploaded in the mid-2010s to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s online database eBird.
Working within the historical framework of this huge dataset, Kardell and Schenck examined changing climate and the relative trends in the community structures and overall biodiversity of Fishers Island. Join us as our two young ornithologists explore the birds of Fishers Island through the dual lenses of photography and science!
WHEN: Sunday, June 9, 2024
TIME: 4:00-5:00 pm
LOCATION: In-person at the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual via zoom
PLEASE NOTE: Advance registration for people attending in-person is recommended. Call 631-788-7239 or email fimuseum@fishersisland.net to reserve a seat.
Skyler Kardell is a junior at Connecticut College, where he studies Environmental Science and Architecture. As a native of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, he has a deep interest in island ecology. His previous research has examined both avian and mammalian populations on other coastal islands in New England, including Tuckernuck and Muskeget Islands. During the austral winter, he is a participant in ongoing collaborative research between National Science Foundation (NSF) and the City University of New York (CUNY) in the Southern Ocean around South Georgia. He is also involved with the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program and is a collaborator at the American Oystercatcher Working Group (AMOYWG).
William Schenck is a junior at Wesleyan University, and shares an extensive history with the island ecosystems of the Northeast. He was the birding guide for the Sheffield Island Conservancy of Norwalk, Connecticut for two years, leading weekly birding tours to the Norwalk Islands, the western neighbors of Fishers Island. His experience with gathering biological data in these ecosystems has been augmented by many years of Christmas Bird Counts, Breeding Bird Surveys, and a variety of banding projects since the age of thirteen. His interests in the ecology of New England extends to butterfly life and herpetofauna as well.
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Explore Birds on Fishers Island via eBird.org
Click below to view a sample list of bird observations on Fishers Island.
eBird.org

The Deep Impacts of Composting
2024-06-30 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Join us at the Museum for an in-person only illustrated talk by lifelong composter, Jayne Merner, from Earth Care Farm in Charlestown, RI
Have you ever wondered what the big fuss is about composting, or how compost actually impacts our ecosystem? Jayne Merner will paint a picture of the lasting effects compost has on our world. Come learn how compost can help with erosion and other coastal resiliency challenges.
Sunday, June 30, 2024
Time: 4 p.m.
Location: The Museum, 2nd floor
Co-hosted with Fishers Island Waste Management.

Using Keystone Plants to Bring Pollinators to Your Yard
2024-07-11 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Last summer gardening professionals Suzanne Thompson and Petie Reid spoke at the Museum about controlling knotweed and other invasive plants. This summer they are back by popular demand to help us plan, plant and expand native gardens that support the birds, bees, and other pollinators that we all depend upon.
The Pollinator Pathway movement encourages us to grow a variety of native plants in our yards. Come learn about the keystone plants that are vital to restoring and retaining our natural ecosystems. Thompson and Reed will show you keystone families of native plants that grow well together and how you can create pleasing plantings that both you and your pollinators will enjoy.
WHEN: Thursday, July 11, 2024
TIME: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual via zoom
Suzanne Thompson
Petie Reid
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Black-eyed Susans in a new restoration, Kimberly Emerson/USFWS

Blue Wood Aster – Symphyotrichum cordifolium, Drew Rollman/USFWS

Butterfly milkweed – Asclepias tuberosa, Scott Lamont/USFWS

Coreopsis, USFWS

Chasing Shadows
2024-07-14 16:00 - 17:00
Award winning science writer and author Ret Talbot will read from his book Chasing Shadows – Unraveling the Mysteries of the Great White Shark.
Chasing Shadows, co-written with shark biologist Greg Skomal, frames the return of the white shark to coastal New England waters as a conservation success story. Talbot will address the complex relationship between humans and sharks dating back thousands of years, today’s challenging public safety issues, and what may be on the horizon. He will be joined by scientific illustrator Karen Talbot, who created the illustrations and maps in the book; she will be happy to add an original illustration of a white shark on the title page of any books purchased at the event.
WHEN: Sunday, July 14, 2024
TIME: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
PLACE: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual via zoom
Reception and book signing to follow.
Karen Talbot
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Mustelids
2024-07-21 16:00 - 17:00
Kim Hargrave
This illustrated talk by Kim Hargrave, Education Director of the DPNC, examines the fascinating world of Mustelidae, a diverse family of carnivorous mammals that include mink, otters, fisher cats, weasels and wolverines.
WHEN: Sunday, July 21, 2024
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via zoom
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American Mink (Neovison vison), South Beach Photograph by Todd McCormack

American Mink (Neovison vison) at South Beach with captured fish Photograph by Todd McCormack

Closeup of the face of an American Mink Photograph by Connor Jones

Sea otter, Lisa Hupp, USFWS

Quetzals: Icons of the Cloud Forest
2024-07-28 16:00 - 17:00
Renowned ornithologist and author Alan Poole will present an illustrated talk based on his new book, Quetzals: Icons of the Cloud Forest, that celebrates one of the world’s most alluring group of birds and the forests that nurture them.
Native to the cloud forests of Mexico, and Central and South America, quetzals have played an essential role in the cultures of those lands, where their radiant, brightly colored feathers have been worshipped as sacred objects and coveted as luxury goods for millennia. Drawing on scientific and historical facts, Poole details the natural history and cultural significance of these legendary birds.
Alan F. Poole, an Associate of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is the former editor of Birds of North America and the author of Ospreys: The Revival of a Global Raptor.
WHEN: Sunday, July 28, 2024
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Museum, 2nd Floor
Book signing and reception to follow.

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The House that History Flowed Through
2024-08-04 16:00 - 17:00
Museum Director Pierce Rafferty’s illustrated talk chronicles how the history of Fishers Island from the Colonial era to date can be traced through the evolution of a single island structure: the Mansion House.
WHEN: Sunday, August 4, 2024
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via Zoom
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The Fox Mansion House showing rear addition and adjacent farm buildings Circa 1880s
Museum Collection

Side-angle view of the Mansion House 1887
Museum Collection. Donated by Polly Edmonds

Side angle view of original residential section of Mansion House Hotel and its porches Circa 1895
Photograph by James S. Casey. Museum acquisition

Social event at the Mansion House Circa 1895
Museum Collection. Donated by Polly Edmonds

The Piazza at Music Room, Mansion House, Fishers Island, N.Y. Circa 1913
Published by Brown & Dawson, Stamford, Conn. Museum Collection. Donated by Harry and Susie Ferguson

Mansion House, Fishers Island, N.Y. Circa 1920
Printed color postcard
Published by J. Soloman, New London, Conn.
Museum Collection. Donated by Pierce Rafferty

Owners and handlers posing with their dogs at the Mansion House Hotel, Fishers Island, N.Y. Circa 1927. Museum Collection.

The audience watching a bench show at the Mansion House Hotel, Fishers Island, N.Y. Circa 1928. Museum Collection.

Interior view of the Drawing Room extension, Mansion House Hotel, Fishers Island, NY Circa 1938
Photograph by T.A. Conroy, Jr., Brookline, Mass.
Museum Collection. Donated by Harry and Susie Ferguson

Children’s Costume Dance, Mansion House Ballroom, Fishers Island, NY Circa 1938
Photograph by T.A. Conroy, Jr., Brookline, Mass
Museum Collection. Donated by Harry and Susie Ferguson

Young women on putting green at rear of Mansion House, Fishers Island, NY Circa 1939
Photograph by Peyser & Patzig, Inc., New York
Museum Collection. Donated by Harry and Susie Ferguson

The Old Mansion House, Fishers Island, N.Y. Circa 1939
Hand-colored printed postcard
Published by Eagle Post Card View Co., New York
Museum Collection. Donated by Pierce Rafferty

Jellyfish Near Fishers Island and Beyond
2024-08-11 16:00 - 17:00
Dr. Mary Beth Decker, marine scientist and educator at Yale University, will introduce us to jellyfish biology and the ecological roles that jellyfish play in our coastal and open-ocean ecosystems.
WHEN: Sunday, August 11, 2024
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via zoom
As a research scientist, Mary Beth studies how oceanography and climate change affect marine predators, such as jellyfish and seabirds, and their prey in coastal and oceanic ecosystems.
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Lions Mane Jellyfish, photo by Mary Murphy

Lions Mane Jellyfish, photo by Connor Jones

Lions Mane Jellyfish, photo by Mary Murphy

Plastic in the Water, Plastic on the Land, and Plastic in You!
2024-08-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Dr. Megan J. Wolff, policy director at Beyond Plastics, will speak about what efforts individuals can make to reduce their personal consumption and exposure to plastics with a focus on the threat of microplastics to your health.
Plastic pollution is a bad neighbor. Michele Klimczak of the Fishers Island Conservancy, along with other organizations and volunteers, works tirelessly to clean up beach litter, but there is always more washing ashore, and plenty more being manufactured and discarded every day. Plastic waste is on track to triple by 2060. As plastic breaks up into microplastics it disperses into the environment. Researchers are finding plastic particles almost everywhere they look, including inside the human body.
What are the impacts of these plastics, and what can we do to stop them?
WHEN: Sunday, August 18, 2024
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: At the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtually via Zoom.
Reception to follow.
Co-hosted with Fishers Island Conservancy.
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Season of the Osprey
2024-08-24 16:00 - 17:00 | Fishers Island Theater
CT filmmaker Jacob Steinberg brings his celebrated PBS Nature Special “Season of the Osprey” to the FI Theater for a night of entertainment and conservation education.
Jacob Steinberg. Photo courtesy of John Steinberg
This unique film, narrated by Paul Giamatti, captures the struggles, failures and triumphs of an osprey family over the course of a summer on the Connecticut River.
WHEN: Saturday, August 24, 2024
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: FI Movie Theater
Following the screening there will be a Q&A and discussion with the filmmaker.
No admission charge.
Voluntary contributions will go to the Ken Edwards Wildlife Conservation Fund of the HLFM.

Osprey. Photo courtesy of Jacob Steinberg

Male osprey delivers stick to nest. Photo courtesy of Jacob Steinberg

Osprey couple. Photo courtesy of Jacob Steinberg

Osprey with chicks. Photo courtesy of Jacob Steinberg

Osprey. Photo courtesy of Jacob Steinberg

Menhaden
2024-08-25 16:00 - 17:00
Filmmaker Jacob Steinberg will present an illustrated talk documenting his current work in progress: a film illustrating the critical importance of menhaden to our fisheries and our development as a nation.
Jacob Steinberg. Photo courtesy of John Steinberg
WHEN; Sunday, August 25, 2024
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via Zoom.
Jacob Steinberg is an Emmy Award nominated cinematographer. Born in New York, he studied digital filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. An expedition leader, wilderness medic, and mountaineer, he has travelled worldwide. For over a decade, Jacob has worked as a guide and expedition leader in Peru, documenting subject matters including wildlife conservation, indigenous culture, and natural history.
Leveraging a valuable combination of filmmaking, project management, and natural history expertise, he founded CosmoVision Media Group in 2012. He leads an exceptional team of experienced filmmakers and collaborating scientific experts, all focused on bringing to public awareness stories of importance and lasting impact. His commitment to the natural world is unwavering, creatively harnessing technical sophistication to tell meaningful stories.
Menhaden photo credit: Virginia Institute of Marine Science
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FISM Summer Meeting 2024
2024-08-27 12:00 - 13:30
Join the Fishers Island Seagrass Management (FISM) Coalition for their 2024 Summer Meeting with guest speaker Cayla Sullivan, EPA Life Scientist.
FISM will discuss project updates, including the eelgrass mapping project and eco-mooring pilot study. Following the updates, Cayla Sullivan will speak on the eelgrass projects around Long Island Sound and Fishers Island’s important role in the future of eelgrass in the region.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
TIME: 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via zoom
To join remotely, contact Hannah Vagts at fishersislandseagrass@gmail.com
Discover more about Fishers Island Seagrass at fiseagrass.org

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The Wondrous World of Fireflies
2024-09-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Illustrated talk presented by biologist and professor emerita at Tufts, Dr. Sara Lewis.
Fireflies are surely among our greatest ambassadors for Earth’s natural magic. For centuries their ethereal beauty has sparked wonder and inspired poets, artists, and children of all ages. Yet they hold so many mysteries! Join us at the Museum to hear where they got their bright lights, explore their remarkable lifestyles, learn about human activities that put fireflies at risk, and find out what you can do to help protect these dazzling creatures.
WHEN: Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024
TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: In person at the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual via zoom link below
Dr. Sara Lewis is a biologist and professor emerita at Tufts who has spent the past thirty years studying firefly behavior, ecology, and evolution. She currently coordinates global firefly conservation efforts as co-chair of the IUCN Firefly Specialist Group. In addition to writing numerous scientific articles, Prof. Lewis has given a TED talk and has written popular articles for Scientific American, Undark, CNN, The Guardian, and National Wildlife. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and BBC, along with numerous radio shows and podcasts. She is also the author of Silent Sparks: The Wondrous World of Fireflies, an entertaining and highly accessible journey into their luminous lives.
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Sara Lewis with fireflies at TED Talk

Pyralis photo by Terry-Priest

The History of English Springer Spaniel Field Trials on Fishers Island
2024-10-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Museum Director Pierce Rafferty will give an illustrated talk co-hosted by Ted Lagala, Eastern Regional Field Governor, Parent Club of the Breed, ESSFTA, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first English Springer Spaniel Field Trial that was held on F.I. in 1924.
Discover how Walton Ferguson, Jr. and a small group of friends and relatives staged the first Springer trials ever held in America and founded the AKC parent club for the breed. Catch a glimpse of the camaraderie of gatherings at the Mansion House Hotel and in the field, the trials’ rigorous tests, and the champion dogs that made sporting history here.
WHEN: Sunday, October 13, 2024
TIME: 4pm
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via zoom
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Dual Trial Champion Tedwyns Trex, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Walton Ferguson, Jr., Fishers Island, N.Y. Date unknown. Museum Collection. This famous Springer was born in England in 1925 and won a field trial championship in that country and sired five field trial champions before being imported to the United States by Mr. and Mrs. Walton Ferguson, Jr. In America, he was both a field trial and bench show champion, the first Dual Trial Champion (Dual Tr. Ch.) on this continent.

Winter Waterfowl of Fishers Island and the Surrounding Region
2025-01-19 16:00 - 17:00
Join us for a Virtual Illustrated Talk by Kim Hargrave, interim executive director of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic, Conn.
Kim Hargrave
TIME: Sunday, January 19, 2025 @ 4:00 – 5:00 P.M.
PLACE: Virtual via Zoom
Discover the wondrous world of winter waterfowl as we explore the unique species that grace Fishers Island and the surrounding coastlines during the colder months. Learn more about their remarkable cold-weather adaptations and incredible migration patterns. From the elegant long-tailed duck to the striking red-breasted merganser, learn basic identification tips for a variety of species.
Goldeneye photo by Todd McCormack
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Beyond Your Back Door: Connecting with Nature Where You Live
2025-02-23 16:00 - 17:00
A virtual illustrated talk by trained naturalist and master gardener Jim Sirch, who will use his blog to take a deeper dive into the amazing natural events happening right in our own backyards – and beyond – throughout the seasons.
During the pandemic, people working from home found themselves spending more time in their yards and local green spaces. They began to look beyond the grass that needed mowing and leaves that needed raking, and started to notice the wildlife that lived there. They observed songbirds, raptors, snakes, toads, tiny native bees and more, often marveling at what they saw. In response to questions about what they were observing, Jim Sirch created a nature blog to help others better understand and learn about phenological changes – natural events happening throughout the year. In this talk, Jim will share his broad understanding of geology, plants and wildlife and their interconnectedness within particular ecosystems.
WHEN: Sunday, February 23, 2025
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
Join Zoom WebinarAbout Jim Sirch
Vice President of the Connecticut Horticultural Society, Jim Sirch is a UConn Master Gardener, past president and board member of his local land trust, and on the board of the Mountain Laurel chapter of Wild Ones, a nonprofit dedicated to native plants. Recently retired from his position as Education Coordinator for the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, he founded the Peabody-Beardsley-Maritime chapter of the citizen science program Frogwatch USA, the country’s largest chapter.
Jim is passionate about helping others decrease their lawns and re-wild their yards. He co-founded a native plant seed library at his local public library. Jim holds a B.S in Forestry from West Virginia University, a B.S. from Miami University in Science Education; and an M.S. in Environmental Studies Administration from Antioch University. He is also a recipient of the Sigmund Abeles Award from the Connecticut Science Teachers and Supervisors Association for outstanding science teaching and professional development. Jim lives in a 19th century farmhouse in Connecticut with his wife and daughter.
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Between Land and Sea: The Atlantic Coast and the Transformation of New England
2025-03-09 16:00 - 17:00
A virtual illustrated talk by Christopher L. Pastore, author and Assistant Professor of History at the University at Albany, State University of New York based on his book “Between Land and Sea: The Atlantic Coast and the Transformation of New England”
One of the largest estuaries on the North Atlantic coast, Narragansett Bay served as a gateway for colonial expansion in the seventeenth century and the birthplace of American industrialization in the late eighteenth. Christopher Pastore presents an environmental history of this watery corner of the Atlantic world, beginning with the first European settlement in 1636 and ending with the dissolution of the Blackstone Canal Company in 1849. Between Land and Sea traces how the Bay’s complex ecology shaped the contours of European habitation, trade, and resource use, and how littoral settlers in turn reconfigured the physical and cultural boundaries between humans and nature.
Narragansett Bay emerges in Pastore’s account as much more than a geological formation. Rather, he reimagines the nexus of land and sea as a brackish borderland shaped by the tension between what English settlers saw as improvable land and the perpetual forces of the North Atlantic Ocean. By draining swamps, damming rivers, and digging canals, settlers transformed a marshy coastal margin into a clearly defined edge. The resultant “coastline” proved less resilient, less able to absorb the blows of human initiative and natural variation than the soggy fractal of water and earth it replaced.
Today, as sea levels rise and superstorms batter coasts with increasing ferocity, Between Land and Sea calls on the environmentally-minded to make a space in their notions of progress for impermanence and uncertainty in the natural world.
WHEN: Sunday, March 9, 2025
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
Join Zoom WebinarAbout the Author
Christopher L. Pastore is Associate Professor of History at the University at Albany, State University of New York, where he teaches courses in environmental history, early America, and the Atlantic world. He holds a Ph.D. in American History and M.S. in college teaching from the University of New Hampshire, an M.F.A. in nonfiction Creative Writing from New School University, and a B.A. in Biology from Bowdoin College. He has held research fellowships at the University of Munich, Trinity College Dublin, and most recently at the Yale Center for British Art and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, Colombia.
A Rhode Island native, Pastore grew up sailing, fishing and exploring Narragansett Bay. His journalistic work has appeared in the New York Times, Boat International, Cruising World, Newport Life, Offshore, Restoration Quarterly, Real Simple, and Sailing World, where he worked as Associate Editor. He also served as Editor of American Sailor and Junior Sailor, the official publications of U.S. Sailing, the sport’s national governing body. In 2005, he published a biography of Rhode Island yacht designer Nathanael G. Herreshoff (1848-1938) titled Temple to the Wind: The Story of America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Masterpiece, Reliance (Lyons Press, 2005), early selections from which earned him the 2003 National Arts Club Annual Award for Nonfiction. He is currently writing an environmental history of the early modern Atlantic world with a special focus on slimy things in the sea.
PHOTO CREDIT: Martin Johnson Heade, Rhode Island Shore, 1858, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Charles C. and Elma Ralphs Shoemaker.
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The Rumrunner Wrecks of Fishers Island
2025-04-27 16:00 - 17:00
In this virtual illustrated talk, Museum director Pierce Rafferty utilizes and expands selected portions of his 2019 talk on prohibition entitled “Scotch on the Rocks” with a focus on the five rumrunner wrecks on Fishers Island, especially Steam Yacht Thelma Phoebe on Chocomount Beach, April 1923.
WHEN: Sunday, April 27, 2025 (Moved from April 20)
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
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American Seacoast Defenses and the Long Island Sound
2025-05-18 16:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Join us for a VIRTUAL illustrated talk by Mark Berhow, author and chairman of the publications committee for Coast Defense Study Group
WHEN: Sunday, May 18, 2025
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
From the establishment of the United States in 1790 through 1950 the federal government fortified its major deep water harbors to deter attack from foreign navies. Long Island Sound has been a prominent location for these defense programs because of its many natural harbors and its “back door” access to New York. Rapid developments in warship and artillery technology during this time led to an evolution of seacoast fortifications with increasing effective range as reflected in the Long Island defenses. The saga of these forts and the changes that led to their eventual closure will be covered in this presentation.
Mark Berhow is a retired research chemist who worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pasadena, California and Peoria, Illinois. He has had a long interest in American military history and the defenses of United States. He is actively involved with the Coast Defense Study Group as the chairman of its publications committee and is currently the editor in chief of the Coast Defense Journal and the CDSG Newsletter. He has written both books and articles on American seacoast and air defenses.
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Webinar ID: 896 8205 2336
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Right Place, Right Plant - Native Plants and Practical Uses
2025-05-24 11:00 - 13:00
Native plants are essential to repairing and sustaining our fragile ecosystem on Fishers Island. But what makes them unique, and how can we use them effectively? Join us, at the Museum for a discussion of native plants and practical gardening tips!
WHEN: Saturday, May 24, 2025
TIME: 11 am – 12 pm (Talk), 12-1 pm (Reception)
PLACE: In person at the Museum, 2nd Floor and virtual via zoom
By understanding the impact of our actions on land, we can make a significant difference. Non-native plants often require extra maintenance, like fertilizer and pesticides, which can harm our delicate ecosystem. Fishers Island’s sandy, porous soil does not retain these chemicals once applied; instead, they flow into our waters. Fertilizer runoff is a significant source of nitrogen pollution that damages marine habitats and creates algal blooms. The fertilizer and pesticides that do not run into the water damage soil quality and harm native insects. Planting native is an easy win for our entire ecosystem.
At this event, we will hear from experienced peers and professionals to discover more about Fishers Island’s native landscape, the role of invasive plants in the food chain, and how we can use native plants within our landscaping projects. Dr. Adam Mitchell, Terry McNamara, Dianne Crary, Diana Fiske, and Melie Spofford will each give a lightning talk about native plants and happily answer your questions.
After our speakers take you on a journey to learn about Fishers Island’s native plants, we will hold a reception that will host various Fishers Island contractors, lots of helpful handouts, and a plant sale.
Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity! Space for the in-person talk is limited, so secure your spot today.
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Nibbling on the Wild Landscape of Fishers Island
2025-06-29 16:00 - 17:00
Join us for an illustrated talk with Russ Cohen, author of the book Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, to learn about at least two dozen of the tastiest wild plant species the Island has to offer.
Fishers Island is home to over 70 species of edible wild plants, many of which are more nutritious and/or flavorful than their cultivated counterparts. These include native species, like Fox Grape and Beach Pea; non-native weeds, like Chicory and Burdock; and invasive species, like Autumn Olive and Japanese Knotweed.
This presentation will include plant species everyone knows well, like Daisies and Dandelions, to species people may have never even heard of, like Nannyberry and Meadow Beauty. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with info on edible portion(s), season(s) of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe, ethical and environmentally-responsible foraging.
When: Sunday, June 29, 2025
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
Reception to follow – Russ will accompany his talk with handouts and samples of goodies made with wild foraged ingredients for people to sip and nibble on.
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(Please note also the related “Wild Edible Plant Excursion on Fishers Island” Nature Walk that Russ will lead the following day, June 30, 2025.)
Russ Cohen, naturalist and wild foods enthusiast, grew up in Weston, Mass., where he spent much of his free time in the woods, thereby cultivating a strong spiritual connection to nature. Russ’ first formal exposure to edible wild plants occurred while a sophomore at Weston High School, where he enrolled in an “Edible Botany” mini-course offered by the high school biology department. The course taught him about two dozen edible species that grew around the high school grounds, and the class finished with a “big feed”: a communal meal prepared from these plants, at the end of the course. Russ got turned on to the subject, went to the local library and took out every book he could find on the topic, taught himself over fifty more species, and, in his senior year of high school (1974), he taught the Edible Botany class he had taken as a sophomore. Russ added edible wild mushrooms to his teaching repertoire in 1989 after returning home from a trip to the Soviet Union, where he caught the mushroom hunting bug from the Russians.
Russ received his bachelor’s degree in land use planning from Vassar College in 1978, and received a masters in Natural Resources and a law degree from The Ohio State University in 1982. Until retiring from state service, Russ was employed by the Riverways Program (now part of the Division of Ecological Restoration) of the Mass. Department of Fish and Game since 1988, and served as its Rivers Advocate from 1992 until June of 2015. Other past employers have included the Nature Conservancy, the Land Trust Alliance, The Hillside Trust, a land trust in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Since his retirement in June 2015, while continuing to offer walks and talks on foraging for wild edibles, Russ is now playing the role of Johnny Appleseed for native edible species. He has set up a nursery (near his childhood home in Weston, MA) where he is growing over 1,000 plants, representing more than a third of the more than 190 species native to Northeast ecoregions that are edible by people. Many of these plants were propagated from seed Russ gathered himself. Russ is then collaborating with land trusts, municipalities, state and federal agencies, schools and colleges, tribal groups, organic farms and others, to plant plants from his nursery on appropriate places on their properties. You can learn more about this endeavor in the article Russ Cohen’s Wild Edible Adventures, by Cathy Walthers, which ran in the Summer 2018 issue of Edible Boston Magazine; Meet the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of Edible Native Plants, by Barbara A. Schmitz, which ran in the Spring 2019 issue of the Wild Ones Journal; a March 2020 video podcast interview with Kim Eierman of EcoBeneficial; or, most recently, the profile of Russ and his native edible plant propagation and planting that ran in the January 2024 edition of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s The Leaflet newsletter.

Temple to the Wind: The Story of America's Greatest Naval Architect and His Masterpiece, Reliance
2025-07-13 16:00 - 17:00
Join us for an illustrated talk by author Christopher Pastore, who will share the story of Reliance drawing from Nathanael G. Herreshoff’s sketches, photos, original models and plans, as well as Herreshoff’s personal papers and letters.
WHEN: Sunday, July 13, 2025
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum, second floor and virtual, via zoom
Book signing and reception to follow.
Join Zoom WebinarDesigned and built in 1903, Reliance was a yacht like no other. A marvel of her time, Reliance’s topsail yard towered nearly 190 feet above the water, with sails stretching 202 feet from the bowsprit to the boom’s end. Many said Reliance, carrying more sail than any single-masted boat before, was simply too dangerous to sail, but the stakes were awesome. By the turn of the century racing for the America’s Cup had become more than a gentleman’s game. In 1903 it was an all-or-nothing contest—fraught with political tension—between two great rivals, Britain and America. Anticipating the acrimonious battles over the America’s Cup today, the story of Reliance explores the ways big yachts and even bigger personalities have defined the contest since its inception.
PHOTO CREDIT: Reliance Crossing Finish Line, photo work of Detroit Publishing Co., collection at the Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
About the author
Christopher Pastore is Associate Professor of History at the University at Albany, State University of New York, where he teaches courses in environmental history, early America, and the Atlantic world. He holds a Ph.D. in American History and M.S. in college teaching from the University of New Hampshire, an M.F.A. in nonfiction Creative Writing from New School University, and a B.A. in Biology from Bowdoin College.
A Rhode Island native, Pastore grew up racing sailboats on Narragansett Bay just down the road from the Herreshoff Marine Museum and America’s Cup Hall of Fame. His journalistic work has appeared in the New York Times, Boat International, Cruising World, Newport Life, Offshore, Restoration Quarterly, Real Simple, and Sailing World, where he worked as Associate Editor. He also served as Editor of American Sailor and Junior Sailor, the official publications of U.S. Sailing, the sport’s national governing body. He is the author of Temple to the Wind: The Story of America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Masterpiece, Reliance (Lyons Press, 2005), early selections from which earned the 2003 National Arts Club Annual Award for Nonfiction, and Between Land and Sea: The Atlantic Coast and the Transformation of New England (Harvard University Press, 2014), which earned a spot on the shortlist for the Turku Book Prize, awarded for best book by the European Society for Environmental History.
Reliance passing the Brenton Reef light ship at high speed, 1903. Photograph by Nathaniel Livermore Stebbins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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