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! Storytime is typically about a half hour long.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
Team RIVER Volunteers
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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.
Community Recycling Event-Union Square
The Ecology Center hosts free collection events in partnership with community groups and elected officials across NYC to accept unwanted electronics, textiles, and paint (at selected events) from NYC residents, small businesses, and nonprofits. We guarantee data security, and donations are tax-deductible.
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.
Trees & Self-Care Workshop
The 90-minute workshop will be hands-on experience with natural products. The objective is to enable participants to explore the connection between nature and skincare — and by referring to our natural environment in the Lower East Side.
Led by Kadidja Kabore Lamport, a local small business owner, participants will learn and discuss the benefits of all-natural, tree-derived ingredients like shea butter, baobab oil, and kukui oil, as well as beeswax. I will also present the local trees that have been sources of oils — like linden, the eastern red cedar, the black walnut, sweet birch and white pine; some are right here in our neighborhood, particularly linden.
Participants will then learn the traditional techniques of melting, blending, and infusing the raw materials in the workshop (shea butter, beeswax and baobab oil) with essential oils to create high-quality, clean beauty products. We will discuss why “simple and effective” is the best approach for both our bodies and the environment.
It's My Park at Hunter's Point South Park
This It's My Park season, volunteer with Hunters Point Parks Conservancy to beautify Hunter's Point South Park. We look forward to cleaning up the park with you!
Team RIVER Volunteers
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Greenhouse Gang (Kingsland Wildflowers)
Join Newtown Creek Alliance as we work in up-potting, weeding, and nursery maintenance in our Newtown Native Greenhouse and Nursery!
Greenhouse Gang is back! Join us May 5th as we kick off Spring with our first hands-on event!
NCA welcomes volunteers and horticulture enthusiasts to help us expand our native nursery, propagated from locally collected wild seed. Plants grown in our greenhouse are used to supplement our restoration projects around the Creek, maintain the rooftop meadows at Kingsland Wildflowers, and integrated into our Newtown Native Nursery. This is an ideal opportunity for those looking to support an attractive habitat for our local ecology.
Our horticulturist Brenda Suchilt will be on site to help guide activities such as up-potting and plant maintenance, as well as answer any questions you may have.
Street Tree Canopy Care Volunteer Day
Help us take care of the trees by aerating soil, weeding, removing litter, and applying NYC-made compost and mulch. We will learn about the Urban Forest of NYC, including different types of trees found in the neighborhood, how to care for the soil, and what types of plants you may see growing in tree beds. All materials provided.
Solar Astronomy
Join the Urban Park Rangers to learn about the biggest star in the solar system. Learn how to use a solar telescope and get creative by making nature prints to take home using sun sensitive UV paper.
Nature Talks at Bryant Park Reading Room: Exploring NYC Wildlife
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.
Guest speaker Ryan Mandelbaum is the author of Wild NYC, science writer, nature educator, and wildlife photographer
It's My Park at Hunter's Point South Park
This It's My Park season, volunteer with Hunters Point Parks Conservancy to beautify Hunter's Point South Park. We look forward to cleaning up the park with you!
Team RIVER Volunteers
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Team RIVER Volunteers regularly work with the Natural Areas team twice a month to take care of and restore our natural spaces on the island. With our Horticulture team, volunteers care for the many gardens, green streets and meadows, every second Wednesday of each month. Team RIVER also works with our Sports Field and Operations teams, keeping our park clean and maintained. If you are only able to volunteer on a limited basis, you are still very much welcome!
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.
Harlem Art Park Reconstruction Community Input Meeting - Virtual
NYC Parks is starting the design process for the reconstruction of Harlem Art Park located at on East 120 Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.
Join us to share your ideas this project and please spread the word so that we can have as many voices as possible!
Compost and Create Zero Waste
Remove non-organics from compostable waste, learn about composting recycling, and zero waste. Help sustain the mission of Zero Waste Island!
Earth Matter NY - Earth Matter NY seeks to reduce food waste and garbage by encouraging community participation and leadership in composting programs.
E-Waste & Textile Collection Drive: Ozone Park
Come and visit the collection drive at Ozone Park! They accept the working and non-working electronic equipment, including:
Audio-visual equipment
Cell phones, pagers, PDAs
Computers (laptops & desktops, servers, mainframes)
Video-games
along with cleaned and dried textiles, including:
Accessories (shoes, hats, bags, gloves)
Clean rags
Household textiles (towels, curtains, bedding)
Ripped and damaged material
Read more at https://www.lesecologycenter.org/calendar/ozone-park-little-bangladesh-way/!
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!
It's My Park at Fulton Park
This It's My Park season, volunteer with Friends of Fulton Park to beautify Fulton Park. We look forward to cleaning up the park with you!
It's My Park at Hunter's Point South Park
This It's My Park season, volunteer with Hunters Point Parks Conservancy to beautify Hunter's Point South Park. We look forward to cleaning up the park with you!
Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground Reconstruction Community Input Meeting - Virtual
NYC Parks is starting the design process for the reconstruction of Dr. Ronald E. McNair Playground located on East 122 Street and East 123 Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.
Join us to share your ideas this project and please spread the word so that we can have as many voices as possible!
Arts Culture and Fun Presents: Nature Painting Workshop
Arts Culture and Fun Presents:Nature Painting Workshops
Join NYC for a series of nature painting and drawing workshops. Participants will learn the fundamentals of watercolor painting and drawing through demonstrations.
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.
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!
Get Out and Garden | Concrete Safaris
Help create a healthy, green environment for kids. Get raised beds ready for planting. Plant seeds and transplants, spread woodchips, shovel top soil, and get rid of weeds.
Concrete Safaris - Concrete Safaris empowers children and youth in East Harlem to be healthy leaders through green exercise programs that enrich the mind, body, community & environment. Since 2008, 7-11-year-old children enrolled in Concrete Safaris year-round programs and living in East Harlem have learned how the physical environment where they live, learn, and play, impacts their health.
Restoration Fridays at Forest Park
Join NYC Parks and The Forest Park Trust for Forest Restoration Fridays this summer to engage in hands-on forest restoration work, including invasive species removal, trail restoration, and possible planting in our park.