By Jesse Serwer
This fall, the historic house - which, more recently, sat dilapidated and unused while the surrounding Tanglewood Preserve deteriorated - will become one of Nassau County's most bucolic high-tech learning centers. Thanks to a partnership between The Center for Science Teaching & Learning, a local science education group, and Computer Associates, Tanglewood's "manor home" is in the process of becoming a science and technology resource center for local students as well as the administrative offices of CSTL, which has moved its operations from Port Washington to the preserve.
The opening of the learning center and the launching of CSTL's Sci-Tech camp will be the culmination of a three-year effort to restore the 17-acre, county-owned preserve to its former splendor. Begun by Nassau County as part of an effort to repair public ponds that had fallen on hard times, and helped by $1.2 million in federal grants, the effort has kicked into high gear since June last, when the property was handed over to CSTL and its co-founder, Ray Ann Havasy.
"I said to the county that we needed a headquarters and a hub, and they said, 'How about this place?'" Havasy recalled of her introduction to the property. "They wanted somebody to love it because it was a dumping ground.
"It was literally an overgrown mess - there were sinks and couches and car parts," Havasy said, pointing to what is now a pristine Tanglewood Pond, which has a new fishing pier and will become a warm-water fishery when the project is completed. The Discovery Building, a 1950s-era structure that has recently been rebuilt and will house CSTL's camp and weekend activity programs, was wet, mildewed and "filled with rotting blankets."
With $600,000 in grants from the Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act and the Environmental Protection Fund, the pond was dredged, and its creek was lined and aerated, to extend the functional life of the pond and reduce sediment and pollutants from stormwater runoff.
"[The preserve] went from disrepair to a beautiful place, and there is this great program on top of it, which is unique to the whole county," said Nassau County Legislator Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin), who shares the preserve area with Legislator Roger Corbin (D-Westbury). "To be able to give kids an opportunity to learn all about science with hands-on experience is a wonderful thing to have for this community."
While the occasional Colt 45 bottle still dots the otherwise pristine landscape, the preserve will soon be home to a butterfly and hummingbird garden and a native-species reptile house as well as the fishery. "We have a blue heron who is trying to make his home here, and a red-tailed hawk," said Havasy, who holds doctorates in zoology and education. "We are doing a lot to encourage wildlife to stay here."
Before starting CSTL five years ago with Half Hollow Hills science teacher Eric Patysiak, Havasy worked as a zoologist and taught science education courses at Columbia University. She was also a science teacher in the Port Washington and East Meadow school districts. "Our real purpose is to encourage the public to do more science learning, and to teach people that science is related to their quality of life," said Havasy. "There are a lot of kids who love science, and they don't get enough of it in school."
This summer, students from the University of Pennsylvania will visit the site to help restore a 19th-century ice house on the property. "We had a lot of older people say that it used to be an absolutely magnificent place, with weeping willows. A lot of people got married here - it used to be a camp," Havasy said. "We want to turn it back into something that is there for families to enjoy."
The renovated preserve is set to become the Rockville Centre area's latest attraction, according to Mayor Eugene Murray. "The entire waterway will be magnificent come spring, with all the new plantings they have done," Murray said.
With summer just around the corner, Havasy and CSTL program manager John Petrowski are continuing to work out of a trailer parked just off Maine Avenue. While Tanglewood's restoration will provide the Rockville Centre and Lakeview communities with an attractive park, CSTL is looking to turn the space into a hub for science education for students - and adults - from all over.
Working to bolster science programs throughout Long Island as well as in Pennsylvania, CSTL has already established Sci-Tech camps in Port Washington, Westbury, Central Islip and Bohemia, employing some 140 certified teachers and student counselors each summer. The camp sessions, which run for two weeks at a clip, enroll students ages 6 through 12, at a cost of $170. Havasy also said that no students will be turned away if their families can't afford the tuition.
"We are trying to show kids what science really is, as opposed to the cut-and-dry textbook version," said Petrowski, a former computer technology professor at Touro College and chair of Briarcliffe College, who is from Seacliff.
Richard Kurtz, a biology teacher and the facilitator of the science department at South Side High School, said he believes the science center is "an awesome opportunity for kids in Rockville Centre. Because it is outdoors, kids who are interested in ecology or who are working on research projects can have someplace to go that is directly accessible," said Kurtz.
Among the special events being planned for the preserve are a pet talent show, as well as outdoor festivals. A four-week, Saturday-afternoon rocketry program for kids begins March 12. "Now that it has been restored, we want to make sure it is a buzzing place, with activities going on all the time," Havasy said.
While corporate sponsors like Computer Associates and Champion Windows have helped bring the project closer to fruition, more money - roughly $150,000 - is needed to make the center fully functional. To raise funds, a "buy a brick" program was recently launched, in which, for $150, donors can purchase bricks inscribed with their names and messages on the center's pathway.
"A lot was done in a short time," said Havasy, "but we need the community's support to finish things off."
For more information on the Center for Science Teaching and Learning, its Sci-Tech camp and Tanglewood Preserve, call (516) 764-0045.
Comments about this story? JSerwer@liherald.com or (516) 569- 4000 ext. 221.
