John Phillips was hired as curator of the Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary this month.
Phillips spent the past 14 years working for the Westchester County Parks Department, first at Croton Point Park, then at Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers.
Phillips’ roles have taken him throughout the county’s parks and natural landmarks, including Rye. While working as a naturalist at Croton Point, Phillips wrote an in-depth description highlighting the geology of the Marshlands Conservancy and a 2022 post about Edith Read Sanctuary.
“Rye public schools’ athletic teams take their name from the garnets that are found in local bedrock here,” Phillips wrote. “Edith Read’s schists were formed in the Ordovician period, 485 MYA (million years ago) to 444 MYA, and are composed of metamorphosed seafloor sediments.”
The Edith Read Sanctuary is a 179-acre haven adjacent to Rye Playland that hosts ever-changing monthly events, including interactive workshops and guided nature walks. Next up on the sanctuary’s calendar are an “All About Owls” event on May 2, and “Spring Birds on a Collective Feather” on May 9.
Scott Williamson, the former curator at Edith Read, is now the curator at Lenoir.
