Our non-profit, the Jay Heritage Center (JHC) is dedicated to transforming the 23-acre Jay Estate into a vibrant educational campus, hosting innovative and inclusive programs about American History, Historic Preservation, Social Justice, and Environmental Stewardship.
May 4th, 9am to 12 noon
I Love My Park Day
Show your love of the earth every month – not just April! Save the date for I Love My Park Day on May 4th from 9-12 and volunteer to beautify our park and gardens at the Jay Estate. There’ll be free t-shirts, a geocache hunt, free ice cream from Jimmy’s Soft Serve and more special treats in honor of the NY State Parks Centennial! Ideal for young families and teens interested in community service. Participating groups include the Rye Garden Club and Little Garden Club of Rye who will be planting two paw paw trees, Rye Presbyterian Youth, Stanford Alumni, Yale Alumni, Con Edison and many more! Stay for a free talk by phenomenal forager Tama Matsuoka Wong who will take us “Into the Weeds” with her newest book about gardening. Finally at 2pm, we’ll dedicate benches in our gardens to park champions and enjoy refreshments by the reflecting pool. SIGN UP HERE to volunteer
May 4th, 12 - 2pm
Into the Weeds with Tama Matsuoka Wong
Join us as Tama Matsuoka Wong returns to JHC to share her newest book, Into the Weeds: How to Garden Like a Forager. Tama empowers budding and experienced gardeners alike to embrace a gentler, less rigid and more sustainable approach to tending the land. As a master forager and gardener, she invites you break free from meticulously ordered beds and rethink the way you engage with and value the plants around you. Into the Weeds teaches you to encourage those plants, even if you didn’t plant them yourself, turn invasive vines into simple structures like borders and beds, and transform the bounty of your surroundings into teas, tinctures, and cocktails. The program will include a demonstration of how to make an A frame trellis out of wild wood and natural materials along with a tasting of some of Tama’s favorite foraged recipes. Read more here. The event is free but registration is required.
The Jay Estate's Connection with American Yacht Club
Sailing on Guinevere...1920s Style
Objects like this antique cocktail shaker help us time travel to a bygone era and envision the circumstances that conjured it into existence – the trip, the camaraderie. Inscribed to Captain Edgar Palmer from his crew, it memorializes a cruise to Bermuda on board the legendary Guinevere. April 1923 was the height of the Prohibition and also the start of the sailing season.
So who was Palmer, what was Guinevere and what’s the connection to the Jay Estate? Palmer studied engineering at Princeton and was a competitive sailor who made the coastal community of Rye his home. In 1911, he and his wife Zilph, also an accomplished sailor, acquired the Jay Estate, just a boat launch away from “the magical point” of American Yacht Club (AYC) where Edgar would eventually serve as Commodore.
Read more about our connections with American Yacht Club here.
The Jay Estate in Rye was home to one of our nation's greatest peacemakers, John Jay...
...and today, it is YOUR park
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