Mom Club with Jennifer Murray
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Murray
In March, I attended Mattituck-Laurel Civic Association's 2025 Citizen of the Year award ceremony to celebrate the nomination of my friend and local mom, Jennifer Murray, for her environmental contributions, including her steadfast work monitoring the North Fork’s endangered shorebirds, restoring dunes across the North Fork, and educating local youth through her Turtleback Farm Education and Conservation Center. At the ceremony, one of the speakers shared that in her house, her family refers to Jen as “the most interesting woman in the world.” It was in that moment that I realized that MY family wasn’t the only ones who felt this way about Jen, and that, in fact, we were all members of the Jen Murray Fan Club — if you know Jen, you know it’s impossible not to be members of this club. Aside from freely, happily, and kindly sharing her depth of knowledge with anyone who will let her “geek out” over a local bird, the wrack line, or animal tracks, Jen is also kind, considerate, easy-going, and fun. As a North Forker since 2013 and mother to two sons, James and CJ, it’s not surprising that local nature plays a huge role in Jen’s mothering style.
Read on as Jen shares mothering on the North Fork in our monthly Mom Club — a Q&A with local North Fork moms.
Mom Club is made possible by The Stretch Garden — your place on the North Fork for recovery and rejuvenation, reimagined.
Q: Describe your parenting style in three words:
Jen: Supportive, patient, and understanding.
Q: What is your favorite thing about motherhood?
Jen: My children’s achievements, as they become mine as well. Whether that is learning tolerance, hitting a ball with a bat, or surviving the first year of college with good grades.
Q: What’s your least favorite thing about motherhood?
Jen: ER visits! Or worrying that my child is being bullied at school.
Q: Would you change anything about motherhood? Tell us.
Jen: What is there to change? It is such a great honor to be a mother! I will endure all the hardships because the rewards are the greatest gifts in the world. The smiles and laughter, the little hand in mine growing so big, the snuggles until they don't want to anymore, the pranks and hand-drawn cards — the list is longer.
Q: In your opinion, what makes raising children on the North Fork unique?
Jen: The strong sense of community, the miles of beaches and unique natural environments to explore, and the dark skies for stargazing.
Q: What role does nature play in raising your children?
Jen: Nature is such a big part of my life; it inadvertently becomes part of theirs, even if unwillingly, haha.
Q: What's your favorite recent thing that you've done with your children on the North Fork?
Jen: Visiting a nearby beach because there is so much to explore, especially the tide pools formed from the receding ‘icebergs’ of winter. Lots of great driftwood — from beaver-chewed walking sticks (courtesy CT beavers) and rocks to skip in the water.
Q: What's your children's favorite thing you've recently done together on the North Fork?
Jen: CJ says mini golf at Sandy Ponds in Riverhead.
Q: What is one thing every child should experience on the North Fork?
Jen: Observing a live horseshoe crab up close.
Q: Mothering lasts long after we're gone. It becomes the values that live within our children for their whole lives, too. What are some things that you hope your children carry with them forever?
Jen: To be a good person — kind, honest, considerate, empathetic, giving — make good decisions, help others in need, and have a good sense of humor.