Wait List Compiled As Seal Walk Fills Up

CENTRE ISLAND, NY — Friends of the Bay’s first seal walk event next Saturday is booked, but volunteers are compiling a waiting list and they plan more walks in the future, organizers said.

The seal walk event, which will take 12 hikers along a half-mile walk to a popular spot where seals can be viewed in Centre Island, is set for Saturday, Jan. 9, with a rain date of Sunday, Jan. 10. All participants in the walk must wear a mask and practice COVID-19 physical distancing guidelines.

The tax-deductible participation fee for the walk is $25 for members and donors, and $40 for non-members, but the fee will be refunded if the seals are not present, according to organizers. The proceeds collected from the event will help fund Friends of the Bays’ estuary monitoring programs.

The environmental advocacy group, which is based in Oyster Bay, has a mission to preserve the ecological integrity and productivity of the Oyster Bay/Cold Spring Harbor estuary and the surrounding watershed, the news release stated. Outreach programs, like the seal walk, highlight the ecological and historical importance of the estuary, according to organizers.

For more information on the walk and future events, visit Friends of the Bay.