Bats Night Walk @ Marine Park
Join MPA and Gotham Bat Conservancy as we discover the secret lives of bats. Watch them swoop, listen to their hidden calls, and learn why these nighttime neighbors are some of the park’s most important protectors. Meet at the Gerritsen Beach Public Library for a discussion on bats followed by a guided night walk through the park.
Nature Talks at Bryant Park Reading Room: NYC Wildlife Rehabilitation with The Wild Bird Fund
New York City is wilder than you might think. Thousands of species of birds, mammals, insects, plants, fungi, and more are surviving, and thriving, in every part of our city. This new lecture series, featuring ecologists, naturalists, and other nature enthusiasts, will give you a new perspective on the surprisingly abundant living things all around you.
The Wild Bird Fund is a nonprofit dedicated to rehabilitating sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife in NYC.
Location Details:
Under the yellow umbrellas, between 42nd Street and the Lawn.
Repair Cafe Brooklyn
Repair Cafes are free community events where volunteer experts help visitors fix broken household items.
Threads of Impact NYC
Threads of Impact NYC is a high-impact New York fashion-for-systems-change benefit hosted by The Lab. Strategically timed between New York Fashion Week and Climate Week, the event bridges sustainability in fashion climate leadership, cultural storytelling and women’s empowerment.
BGA Fall Textile Reuse & Recycling Drive
The Broadway Green Alliance’s Fall Textile Reuse and Recycling Drive will take place across from the red steps in Duffy Square (the corner of 46th and 7th) on September 23, 2026 from 11:00am – 2:00pm. This drive is open to all shows, theatres, industry members, and fans as a free resource to responsibly recycle their unwanted show and personal textiles.
Community members unable to attend this event can drop-off their items at the refashionNYC textile bin. This bin is located in the lounge of the Actors’ Equity Association at 165 West 46th Street on the fourth floor and is available on days when there are on-site Equity auditions.
We accept:
✅ Used Clothing
✅ Clean Clothing
✅ Shoes
✅ Curtains
✅ Hats
✅ Linens
✅ Towels
✅ Handbags
✅ Belts
We do not accept:
❌ Rugs
❌ Carpets
❌ Comforters
❌ Pillows
❌ Household Items
❌ Large Luggage
❌ Fabric Yardage
❌ Fabric Scraps
Broadway Birds!
Artists connecting with nature and experiencing NYC in a whole new way, hosted by artists and expert birder.
Culminating Climate Week NYC 2026, find creative inspiration, renewal, and wonder by looking up and engaging with the life all around us!
BGA Fall E-Waste Reuse & Recycling Drive
The Broadway Green Alliance’s Fall E-Waste Reuse and Recycling Drive will take place across from the red steps in Duffy Square (46th and 7th) on October 21, 2026 from 11:00am – 2:00pm. This drive is open to all shows, theatres, industry members, and fans, providing a free resource for responsibly recycling old electronics.
For shows, theatres, and industry members, the first hamper of e-waste is free with a suggested cost of $.50/pound after that for larger quantities. Members of the public and fans were also welcome to contribute up to 100 pounds.
We accept:
✅ Computers & Peripherals
✅ Electronic Cords
✅ Fax Machines
✅ CPU’s
✅ Phones
✅ Laptops
✅ Printers
✅ Combo TV & Computers
✅ Power Tools
✅ PDA’s & Pagers
✅ Cameras
✅ Other Data Containing Devices
We do not accept:
❌ Light Bulbs
❌ Batteries
❌ Household Appliances
❌ Air Conditioning Units
❌ Coffee Machines
❌ Medical Devices, such as X-rays
Nature Storytime at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Join for Nature Storytime at the Environmental Education Center! Held at 3:00 PM on the third Thursday of every month (during Open Hours).
Librarians from Brooklyn Public Library Adams Street location lead for an exciting and engaging storytime session, along with singing and rhymes. Each month they select a book to pair with the Education Center’s monthly nature theme. Stick around after to check out all the animals and activities in the room during Open Hours!
Repair Café El Barrio: Introduction to sewing machines
Learn to thread and confidently use a sewing machine in this hands-on beginner class. Two sessions. Pay what you wish!
Food Demos on the Urban Farm
The Urban Farm hosts free food demonstrations to teach the community-at-large how to cook with the seasonal produce they can see growing on the farm. They have 200+ varieties of produce, including many varieties that are culturally relevant to our local communities. In food demonstrations, visitors sample produce, take home recipe cards, and ask the Community Food Educator for kitchen tricks, tips, and advice.
Crochet for the Garden: Crafting Connection & Practical Tools
Discover how crochet can support your garden and your community! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn basic crochet patterns to create useful items, including patterns you can sew in your garden! We’ll walk through accessible designs for making plant hangers for vertical growing in small spaces, holders for organizing shared supplies, and mug rugs. You can choose the pattern based on your crochet comfort level! Rooted in many cultural traditions, crochet brings people together to exchange stories and knowledge. Especially during the off-season or on rainy days, it’s a mindful, indoor companion to gardening. All skill levels welcome. Yarn, hooks, and materials will be provided.
See their website for the link to register!
NYC Parks GreenThumb hosts this event. We are proud to be the nation’s most extensive urban community gardening program, sustaining over 550 gardens throughout New York City. With GreenThumb’s support, community gardens are centers of environmental justice, ensuring that our city is fairer, safer, and greener for all. GreenThumb’s events are free and open to the public.
Earthing in My City
Success Garden presents a series of three literary events for parents and young children. Explore, learn, and connect with nature in East New York Brooklyn!
Registration is required: RSVP on Eventbrite at bit.ly/ENYG3 as seating is limited.
Green Team (Brooklyn Bridge Park)
Green Team volunteers support essential horticultural care in Brooklyn Bridge Park, completing tasks such as weeding, planting and mulching. This is a great opportunity to learn about gardening, enjoy nature, and make a tangible difference in the Park with a group of other volunteers.
Volunteers of all ages are welcome (under 16’s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian) and no volunteer orientation is required. No gardening experience is necessary; we provide all the instructions and tools needed for a rewarding experience!
Weeding Wednesdays at Bushwick Inlet Park
Join us every week on Wednesday from 6pm to sunset as we weed, mulch, tend plants and blossoms, sometimes plant and water (if necessary). We have tools and gloves (but bring yours if you have them/prefer). Bring a water bottle (hydration is key! for us and the gardens). Everyone welcome but please note in your sign up if you are bringing others.
Come hang – meet other garden aficionados, get grounded – literally, identify plants, discuss best gardening practices!
Stewardship Morning at the Foodway
Lend a hand and help steward the Bronx River Foodway. Help with tasks like weeding, laying mulch, and planting some edible and native at the Foodway. This is a reoccurring event, join us Tuesday mornings through October 2026.
Historic New York: Ridgewood Reservoir
Join NYC's Urban Park Rangers for a walk at the Ridgewood Reservoir highlighting the history, ecology and engineering of this cultural treasure. The Ridgewood Reservoir in Highland Park is a 50+ acre natural oasis that straddles the border of Brooklyn and Queens.
Volunteering at Conference House Park - The Blue Wave
Join NYC Parks and the Conference House Park Conservancy for our ongoing beach and park clean-up initiative! They meet every week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday between now and the end of the year.
Pick up a trash grabber and a bucket and help to beautify our park by picking up litter and debris!
Stop by the park Visitor's Center at 298 Satterlee Street, corner of Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, to meet our staff and borrow a bucket and grabber!
Drop-ins welcome. No RSVP required. Blue Wave clean-ups are self-led by the volunteer stewards themselves.
Volunteering at Conference House Park - The Blue Wave
Join NYC Parks and the Conference House Park Conservancy for our ongoing beach and park clean-up initiative!
Pick up a trash grabber and a bucket and help to beautify our park by picking up litter and debris!
Stop by the park Visitor's Center at 298 Satterlee Street, corner of Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, to meet our staff and borrow a bucket and grabber!
Drop-ins welcome. No RSVP required. Blue Wave clean-ups are self-led by the volunteer stewards themselves.
Team RIVER Volunteers
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Volunteering at Conference House Park - The Blue Wave
Join NYC Parks and the Conference House Park Conservancy for our ongoing beach and park clean-up initiative!
Pick up a trash grabber and a bucket and help to beautify our park by picking up litter and debris!
Stop by the park Visitor's Center at 298 Satterlee Street, corner of Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, to meet our staff and borrow a bucket and grabber!
Drop-ins welcome. No RSVP required. Blue Wave clean-ups are self-led by the volunteer stewards themselves.
It's My Park at WNYC Transmitter Park
This It's My Park season, volunteer with Friends of WNYC Transmitter Park to beautify WNYC Transmitter Park. We look forward to cleaning up the park with you!
Cyanotypes and Sun Tea
Enjoy making art using the summer sun! Hang out with a sun-brewed cup of tea!
Join us in making cyanotype prints at the Lower Eastside Girls Club rooftop garden. Participants will learn the cyanotype process from start to finish. You will also have access to use the Ecology Center’s pressed flowers collection and plants from the Girls Club rooftop garden.
Cyanotype is a handmade photographic process that uses UV light to make deep indigo-blue images.
City of Water Day: Coastal Connections at Pier 42
The focus of this year’s activities, aligned with the theme of Living with Water, is to recognize our shared responsibility to steward the environmental systems that sustain us. Pier 42, like all urban green spaces, requires ongoing care and maintenance to remain both an enjoyable public park and a fully functioning climate resiliency system. We believe that the more people understand these ecosystems—and the plants and wildlife that inhabit them—the more motivated they will be to protect them. For this year’s City of Water Day, our team will lead a walking tour of Pier 42, highlighting its green infrastructure and coastal resilience features, while also introducing participants to the native plants that can be observed throughout the park. The walk will be followed by stewarding the bioswale.
Volunteering at Conference House Park - The Blue Wave
Join NYC Parks and the Conference House Park Conservancy for our ongoing beach and park clean-up initiative!
Pick up a trash grabber and a bucket and help to beautify our park by picking up litter and debris!
Stop by the park Visitor's Center at 298 Satterlee Street, corner of Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY, to meet our staff and borrow a bucket and grabber!
Drop-ins welcome. No RSVP required. Blue Wave clean-ups are self-led by the volunteer stewards themselves.
CB3 Food Needs Assessment: Community Share Out
Over the past year and a half, the Ecology Center has worked alongside TYTHEdesign, Summer Youth Employment Program participants, and community partners to investigate food access across Community Board 3, including the Lower East Side, East Village, and Chinatown. We surveyed residents, hosted focus groups, and conducted on-the-ground resource mapping. After months of data analysis and reflections, we’re excited to share what we found. It is our hope that this report serves as a resource, not just for the Ecology Center, but for all who are working towards more equitable food systems.
Join us on July 23rd for a presentation of the report findings and to meet some of inspiring individuals already working to improve food access in our neighborhood. We will walk through what inspired this project, how we gathered information, and where opportunities lie. It will also be an opportunity to meet neighbors and community partners and reflect on how each of us – as individuals and organizations – can work towards food justice in our neighborhoods.
This event is open to all but registration is required. Light bites will be provided.
Team RIVER Volunteers
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Stewardship Morning at the Foodway
Lend a hand and help steward the Bronx River Foodway. Help with tasks like weeding, laying mulch, and planting some edible and native at the Foodway. This is a reoccurring event, join us Tuesday mornings through October 2026.
Monday Morning Pitch In to Pick Up
Volunteer with us! We will be cleaning up litter to prevent it from entering the Bronx River.
Your efforts not only protect wildlife & the rest of the Bronx River ecosystem, but they also help us identify the sources of trash so we can stop the pollution where it starts!
We will provide gloves and tools for collecting the trash!
Nocturnal Seining and Shore Exploration
Our experienced Urban Park Rangers teach the ecology of our waterways on every seining program. Get ready to get your hands wet; seining programs use nets to catch fish. All equipment is provided; this program is recommended for ages 8 years and older. Join the Urban Park Rangers and explore what creatures live below the waves at night in the intertidal zone of the East River.
Urban Farm Volunteers
Volunteer with our team to manage our one-acre Urban Farm!
Whether you are new to our farm or have been a tried-and-true weekly volunteer, come and join us! Our farmers have a lot of farm chores and composting to do weekly and you can help us take care of this important urban educational agricultural resource.
On Sundays we not only do farm chores, but we are joined by the NYC Compost Project with Big Reuse who help us manage our 5-bin compost system to create much needed organic matter for our planting beds!
Restoration Fridays at Highland Park
Join NYC Parks and The Forest Park Trust for Restoration Fridays this summer to engage in hands-on forest restoration work, including invasive species removal, trail restoration, and possible planting in our park.
Advance registration required with the link here. Please wear sturdy, closed toe shoes and clothes you don't mind getting dirty.