The Hoffman Center is offering a private glimpse of native plants and wildlife, and a peek of a restored Gold Coast-era mansion through a guided tour on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 1 to 2 p.m. The invitation is extended to those who want to visit a slice of Nassau County history with a nature expert.
The Hoffman Center is a 155-acre area of meadow, oak-brush, forest and ponds, and the nature walk takes visitors through the mature and developing forest on a five-mile trail. The walk is an hour-long escape into nature where you will learn the history of the land, as well as about the native plants and wildlife that inhabit it.
“You get a very different feel while in the preserve because nobody can just come and walk into the gated area. It is very special, and it is solely here for the purpose of nature alone,” said nature expert and host, Virginia Dankel of Great Neck.
In 1996, the land was saved from being developed into a 57-home subdivision by the Hoffmans. Since then, owners Ursula and William Niarakis have devoted their time to restoring the site’s deteriorated 48-room mansion, and maintaining the home of 150 native plants and Long Island wildlife.
After acquiring the site, the center immediately established a partnership with the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center for a staff naturalists. These naturalists conduct a wildlife inventory, take mammal and vegetation surveys yearly, and they manage the habitat.
The land was originally the estate of the George S. Brewster family. The centerpiece is a 1914 Georgian-style mansion which is designed to be integrated into the woodland scheme. In the 1970’s, the property was converted to a golf course, and the mature forest was torn down. After 1982, the grounds were abandoned and allowed to return to their natural state.
The Hoffman Center is proud of its reintroduction of the native animals and plant species once lost to the area, including bluebirds, fledged from bluebird boxes, and pink lady slipper orchids, a very rare and protected species of flower. The Niarakis family also transformed a 17-foot sand-mined crater into a pond that is now home to geese, turtles and a resident great blue heron.
The Hoffman Center is located at 6000 Northern Blvd., East Norwich. Meet the tour guide at the gates at 12:50 p.m. Admission is $5.
