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Accabonac Harbor Art Show Raises $4,000 for The Nature Conservancy

East Hampton, NY—September 26, 2006—An exhibit by 12 nature artists over the Labor Day weekend successfully raised more than $4,000 for The Nature Conservancy.

The money will be used to help the Conservancy in its work to protect and preserve Accabonac Harbor in East Hampton.  The show was held at Ashawagh Hall in Springs.

“The artists in the exhibition share a passion for the landscape, and in recognition of the need to protect Accabonac Harbor and the Peconic Estuary. We are happy to donate to The Nature Conservancy to assist them in their work towards protection of the estuary,” said photographer Tom Steele, organizer of the event.

This exhibition reflected a growing relationship and dependence of nature artists and conservation groups, but the subject matter for these artists is quickly disappearing as open space and sensitive ecosystems are encroached upon.

The Nature Conservancy was “delighted to be a partner in this exhibition,” said Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island. “We recognize the contribution to conservation that the artists make and we are thrilled that we have helped protect some of the places from which they have drawn their inspiration.”

The twelve exhibiting artists were: Tom Steele, Gordon Matheson, Susan Nash, Michele Margit, Jane Martin, Alec Hirschfeld, Abby Abrams, Terry Elkins, Dru Frederick, Eileen Dawn Skretch, Chandler Bigelow, and Elaine Grove.  Accabonac Harbor, a short film by award winning filmmaker, Alec Hirschfeld, was screened throughout the exhibition.

In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency named the Peconic Estuary, of which Accabonac Harbor is a part, as the 20th estuary in the nation to receive the designation as an Estuary of National Significance. The Nature Conservancy has been working to restore and protect Accabonac Harbor since 1968, when a gift from one of the founders of the South Fork-Shelter Island Chapter, Frederic Lake, established the 29-acre Merrill Lake Sanctuary. Today, there are an additional 200 acres of protected lands, helping to ensure that Accabonac Harbor remains as one of the East End’s most beautiful and biologically-rich landscapes.