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Conservation Spotlight

Cynthia Stephens

"At the time, the ocean was so vast that you could get anything from it, but that is not the case anymore."

For many people who lived near or on the coast of Long Island during the infamous 1938 hurricane, their lives were never the same. Houses and property were crunched under pounding surf as if they were toys. But for Cynthia Stephens, whose parents owned a summer house on Dune Road in Westhampton, the hurricane meant something different. Their home was only one of three that survived the staggering storm - and rather than being destroyed, a solid foundation of warm summer memories were built there instead.

Jones Beach
© Carl Heilman II

"The beach brought our family together," said Stephens, a self-proclaimed work-a-holic who loves the outdoors. "My father, Philip, was a great clammer and we used to dig them up with our toes. At the time, the ocean was so vast that you could get anything from it, but that is not the case anymore."

In fact, Cynthia, recognizing this trend, has dedicated herself to conservation for the past 35 years. She spends time in Rocky Mountains, visits Glacier Park about every other year and loves to hike and explore to enjoy the view. But what remains most near and dear to her heart are the beaches of Long Island.

"It would be nice not to lose anything more, and to prevent things from getting worse," she states. "Piping plovers - there used to be so many of them on the beach and now with the development there aren't many - these are the species that you worry about."

And for Cynthia, whose childhood memories were built on these very beaches, protecting and preserving them is so important. "It is the history behind my experience, the childhood memories that I want to pay tribute to," she explains.

Cynthia generously donated a gift to The Nature Conservancy in memoriam of her parents, Philip and Margaret, and sister, Susan McDaniel, who had spent so much time in the area. "I chose The Nature Conservancy because I thought that the organization could do something more permanent with the gift to restore and preserve what is there."

Cynthia currently lives in Vestal, New York and is far from the coast of Long Island today but has never forgotten the lessons of the past and the memories that the warm summer sands have left with her. Cynthia tries to return for a brief visit to the South Shore each summer. She also enjoys the less-traveled areas like Napeague area of Montauk.

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