Advisor:
Marv Loewen
Mr. Marv Loewen assumed the advisorship of SEQ in September
of 1994. Having known both Cooley and Dunton very well, and being
fully aware of the types of students SEQ tended to attract, the transition
was rather seamless. Working with then-President and senior Juliet
Berman, Loewen helped revitalize club membership. During his tenure,
membership numbers increased once again, as a whole new wave of environment-
conscious students saw the value of this distinguished club.
During Loewen’s years as advisor, SEQ continued doing local
cleanups of nearby roadways and on the Post-Morrow-owned land at the
end of Bay Road in Brookhaven. Also, SEQ got itself involved with water
quality testing of Beaver Dam Creek and Bellport Bay. As noted by members
above, another highlight for SEQ during this time included weekend
stays on the Mashomack Nature Preserve on Shelter Island, during which
members cleared marshlands of phragmites and cleaned up debris that had
washed up on shoreline sections of the preserve. These visits were established
with the help of Mashomack Nature Preserve employee and local
Brookhaven Hamlet resident, Mr. Michael Scheibel.
Additionally, Loewen cited the importance of SEQ hosting the
South Shore Estuary Symposium at BHS. For two consecutive years
(1997-1998), SEQ members contacted other Long Island high school
environmental clubs and arranged for a full day of guest speakers and the
obvious sharing of ideas and information.
Summarizing these rewarding years, Loewen recalled, “I have
fond memories of the time I spent with students on SEQ activities. As
teachers and advisors, we always hope to have lasting effects on students
and through SEQ it was gratifying to see some students I worked with use
their SEQ experiences to focus their educations and, in some cases, to
secure environment-related employment.” He specifically mentioned
Sean Pilger and Bridgid O’Connor as examples of former SEQ members
who continue working in environment-related fields.
