Edith Read, Rye Environmentalist

We thought we’d squeak this one in on the last day on women’s history month (#WomensHistoryMonth). One of our greatest here in Rye is Edith Read, who passed only in 2006 at age 102.

(PHOTO: Plaque at the Reed Sanctuary. Credit: Minard38 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.)

You would be right in recognizing, or guessing, her handiwork was part of Rye’s namesake Edith Read Sanctuary (a true sanctuary, especially in these times). But her work is represented in the Rye Nature Center, warnings on over-development and its impact on wetlands and related protections for the Blind Brook, opposition to the Rye – Oyster Bay Bridge proposed by Robert Moses in the 1960s (and if you think something like this can’t happen, go check in with 2007).

She served on many conservation related boards and on the Rye City Council.

We recommend diving into her bio over at Wikipedia which details a life well lived.