Edith Mathews Gwynne Read (February 27, 1904 - April 26, 2006) was an American environmentalist who helped preserve open space and protect watercourses and wetlands in Westchester County, New York, especially Rye.

In 1942, Edith Read organized the Rye Unit of the Citizens'Committee for the Army and Navy to supply service men and women with care packages including knitted clothing items.

[5] Inspired by her husband's interest in ornithology[6] and her father's penchant for public service, Edith Read became increasingly engaged in conservation.

In the fall of 1955, she helped circulate a petition recommending a plan for the acquisition and rehabilitation of ruins and its property known as the Parsons Tract for re-use as a 33-acre preserve and educational park.

In the 1960s, together with fellow members of the Rye garden clubs, Read also raised awareness about the detrimental impact of overzealous building in wetlands and water pollution in Westchester County.

She warned that the Blind Brook was "in danger of even more pollution than at present because of the building of new multiple dwellings, many more housing developments, and the relocation of industrial plants in our area" an environmental concern that continues to this day.

[8] She spent more than 12 years helping to gather signatures for petition and writing letters to officials and local papers to halt potential development of two strategic parcels of land on the Rye Harrison border that were critical for flood protection.

Fully familiar with the devastating impact of flooding in her own neighborhood where "drains 'spouted like geysers'" and "innumerable small streams" contributed to the problem,[12] Read spearheaded a plan to prohibit new construction in the flood prone Blind Brook watershed[13] areas of the City of Rye and adjacent towns of Harrison and Rye town.

[20] Her most notable tribute however, following years of passionate advocacy, is embodied in the Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary, which was dedicated as a "forever wild" natural park on October 5, 1985.