Nature
Wild NYC is at the other end of your doorstep! Explore New York's urban forests, streams, and wildlife with these fun outdoor activities.
Nature Events
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Team RIVER Volunteers
at Randall's Island Park, Manhattan 

9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Free!
Team RIVER Volunteers
at 10 Central Road (in Randall's Island Park), Manhattan
9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Free!
Team RIVER Volunteers
at Randall's Island Park, Manhattan 

9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful!
Free!
Coastal Ecology: Oysters Monitoring and Stewardship
at Stapleton Waterfront Park
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Oysters and other bivalves act as natural filters for our shores. Learn more about these phenomenal creatures and other marine life at this Billion Oyster Project site along The Narrows
Free!
Event
Trees Count at Maria Hernandez Park
at Knickerbocker Street Entrance (in Maria Hernandez Park), Brooklyn
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Volunteer with NYC Parks for Trees Count 2025!
Free!
Therapy with Art & Gardening
at Artsy Bloom Community Garden, Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Come to Artsy Bloom Community Garden for an art therapy session with painting and gardening as a therapeutic activity. All are welcome!
Free!
Mocktails and Crafts In The Garden
at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (in Dyckman House Museum), Manhattan
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Stop by Dyckman Farmhouse Museum to make your own delicious homemade drink using herbs from our eight-bed educational garden and create prints inspired by what's growing on our half-acre property!
Event
Queens County Farm Hayrides!
at Queens County Farm Museum (in Queens Farm Park), Queens 

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Visit the Farm Store to purchase your ticket for a tractor-drawn hayride throughout the farm.
Idlewild Environmental Center: Enviro Games!
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
A fun, interactive session featuring team challenges and board games that inspire awareness and action. We welcome all participants ages 7+!
Free!
Kids
Summer on the Hudson: Global Water Dances
at Locomotive Lawn (in Riverside Park South), Manhattan
6:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Rescheduled! Join Global Water Dances New York for performances focused on appreciation, concern and care of clean water for all.
Free!
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Trail Work Thursdays
at VCPA Garden & Compost Site (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Be a part of the community effort to maintain the trails in Van Cortlandt Park.
Free!
Prospect Park Stroller Walk
at Audubon Center at the Boathouse (in Prospect Park), Brooklyn 

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Calling all parents and caregivers with children! Join a Prospect Park Alliance Naturalist at the Prospect Park Audubon Center for a leisurely stroll along Prospect Park’s waterways. Embrace the sound of streams and songs of birds.
Free!
Natural Plant Medicines from the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans Tribe on the Homelands
at Van Cortlandt House Museum (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Learn to identify natural medicines growing in the landscape around us and explore the plants cultivated in our garden.
Free!
Event
Queens County Farm Hayrides!
at Queens County Farm Museum (in Queens Farm Park), Queens 

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Visit the Farm Store to purchase your ticket for a tractor-drawn hayride throughout the farm.
Idlewild Environment Center: Critter Encounter
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Join us each week for a hands-on Critter Encounter where you'll meet a different animal from our center and learn fascinating facts about their habits and habitats.
Kids
Friday, July 18, 2025
Forest Fridays in Van Cortlandt Park
at VCPA Garden & Compost Site (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Help restore Van Cortlandt Park’s vital northwest forest by removing invasive plants like multiflora rose, bittersweet, and porcelain berry. Your efforts will create space for native plants to thrive and support long-term forest health.
Free!
Inwood Hill Park Forest Restoration
at Henshaw Street and Dyckman Street (in Inwood Hill Park), Manhattan
9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Volunteers will contribute to ongoing restoration work and learn the importance of species diversity to ecosystem health.
Free!
Sovereign Beings Summer Enrichment Program
at Seton Falls Park, Bronx
9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Sovereign Beings is a dynamic summer program dedicated to empowering children, teens, and young adults through a diverse array of educational, artistic, and wellness activities.
Free!
7/18 Restoration Fridays at Forest Park
at Strack Pond (in Forest Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Join NYC Parks and The Forest Park Trust for Forest Restoration Fridays this summer to engage in hands-on forest restoration work!
Free!
Idlewild Trail Walk!
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Join us each week for a free nature walk along the Idlewild Trail! Perfect for curious explorers at every age.
Free!
Kids
Trees Count at Rufus King Park
at 89th Avenue & 150th Street (in Rufus King Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Volunteer with NYC Parks for Trees Count 2025!
Free!
Volunteer With EQA: Turn an unsightly lot into a Botanical Garden
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
The Eastern Queens Alliance is looking for volunteers to help us turn an unsightly lot into a Botanical Garden.
Free!
Queens County Farm Hayrides!
at Queens County Farm Museum (in Queens Farm Park), Queens 

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Visit the Farm Store to purchase your ticket for a tractor-drawn hayride throughout the farm.
Toddler Tunes & Tales at the Idlewild Environmental Center
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
We welcome participants ages 2-4 to learn all about critters through stories, sound and movement!
Kids
Family Camping: Staten Island
at Blue Heron Nature Center (in Blue Heron Park), Staten Island 

6:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.
The Urban Park Rangers celebrate the tradition of camping and we look forward to welcoming your family. Families are chosen by lottery. Lottery registration opens on Wednesday July 9.
Free!
Karaoke Night
at Ashford Learning Garden, Brooklyn
6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Ashford Learning Garden invites you to Karaoke Night. Limited space, registration in advance required.
Free!
Wild at Night: Evening Nature Encounters
at Wave Hill, Bronx 

8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
After the sun sets, Wave Hill belongs to the creatures of the night. Bats, fireflies, and more emerge from their daytime slumber to animate the grounds far from human eyes and ears.
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Birding: Summer Birds
at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
9:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
Learn a new skill and take up a new hobby as we help you identify some of the most common colorful birds found in our parks during the summer.
Free!
Event
East New York Farmers Market
at ENY Youth Farm, Brooklyn
9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
The East New York Farmers Market is a community-run market including local gardeners, vendors, and regional farmers, happening every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Free!
Bronx Food & Farm Tour: Bronx River Oases
at Bronx River Community Garden (in ), Bronx
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
On this walking tour, we'll explore the history of some of the Bronx’s oldest community green spaces and their relationships with the Bronx River.
Free!
Volunteer With EQA: Turn an unsightly lot into a Botanical Garden
at Entrance - Springfield Lane and 149th Avenue (in Idlewild Park), Queens
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
The Eastern Queens Alliance is looking for volunteers to help us turn an unsightly lot into a Botanical Garden.
Free!
Community Work Day
at Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum (in Fidler-Wyckoff House Park), Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Stop by the Wyckoff Urban Farm on the third Saturday of the month to learn about what we're growing, get to know our farmers, and get your hands dirty with farm projects!
Free!
Farmhouse Family Day: Creative Critters
at Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum (in Fidler-Wyckoff House Park), Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Create different bug themed crafts and meet some of our worms from our worm bin that help with our composting, go on a scavenger hunt to find rollie pollies and more!
Free!
Kids
Bike Ride to Waterfront Festival
at 114th Street & First Avenue (in Thomas Jefferson Park), Manhattan
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Ride to Waterfront Festival with El Barrio Bikes! Meet up at Thomas Jefferson Park in Harlem and enjoy a scenic ride along the riverfront and through the park, ending at the festival!
Free!
Waterfront Festival Volunteers
at East River Picnic Area (in Randall's Island Park), Manhattan
11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Volunteers will assist in setting up the festival, working with vendors and craft tables, and breaking down the event.
Free!
Summer on the Hudson: Billion Oyster Project Presentation
at On the Pier (in West Harlem Piers), Manhattan 

12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Come see and learn about the Billion Oyster Project on the Baylander’s Jungle Deck.
Free!
Trees Count at Inwood Hill Park
at Seaman Avenue and Isham Street Entrance (in Inwood Hill Park), Manhattan
12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Volunteer with NYC Parks for Trees Count 2025!
Free!
Waterfront Festival
at East River Picnic Area (in Randall's Island Park), Manhattan
12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
At the peak of summer, we’re bringing you a family-friendly, interactive day of fun centering water as a natural and refreshing resource.
Free!
Get Crafty At Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (in Dyckman House Museum), Manhattan
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Channel your inner artist this month with TWO Saturday drop-in workshops inspired by Dyckman Farmhouse Museum’s blooming eight-bed garden!
Event
Microorganisms Exploration
at Roy Wilkins Park - Entrance (in Roy Wilkins Recreation Center), Queens
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
View the natural world with your own eyes and through microscopes, as we zoom in on micro-organisms that are a vital part of our pond ecosystem.
Free!
Event
Queens County Farm Hayrides!
at Queens County Farm Museum (in Queens Farm Park), Queens 

1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Visit the Farm Store to purchase your ticket for a tractor-drawn hayride throughout the farm.
What is the NYState Department of Environmental Conservation?
at Salt Marsh Nature Center (in Marine Park), Brooklyn 

1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
How does the NYState Department of Environmental Conservation protect the land, water and air resources of New York and Marine Park?
Free!
Event
Drawing In the Garden
at Newkirk Community Garden, Brooklyn 

2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Come and draw your favorite spot, flower or plant, or insect. Materials will be provided.
Free!
Family Camping: Brooklyn
at Salt Marsh Nature Center (in Marine Park), Brooklyn 

6:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m.
The Urban Park Rangers celebrate the tradition of camping and we look forward to welcoming your family. Families are chosen by lottery. Lottery registration opens on Wednesday July 9.
Free!
Sunday, July 20, 2025
Sunday Stewardship
at Margaret Corbin Circle (in Fort Tryon Park), Manhattan
10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
The Fort Tryon Park Trust hosts volunteer opportunities for you, your friends, and family to dig in the dirt! Join us to help protect Fort Tryon Park’s ecology and beauty!
Free!
Urban Farm Volunteers
at Urban Farm (in Randall's Island Park), Manhattan 

10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Volunteer with our team to manage our one-acre Urban Farm!
Free!
Urban Farm Volunteers
at Urban Farm (in Randall's Island Park), Manhattan 

10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Volunteer with our team to manage our one-acre Urban Farm!
Free!
Stewards of Ewen Park - Community Workday + Garden Tour
at Entrance - West 231st Street and Riverdale Avenue (in Ewen Park), Bronx
10:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Join us on Sunday, July 20, for some cleanup work and a special garden tour!
Free!
Event
Seeding for The Future Workshop
at First Street Garden, Manhattan
12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
We'll go through the foundations for germination, how to support the seedling once they have grown their true leaves, and talk about the importance of saving seeds (genetic importance).
Free!
Event
Garden Ice Cream Fund Raiser
at Prophecy Garden, Brooklyn
1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Help support Prophecy Garden and keep cool at their ice cream fundraiser! The garden group will be selling ice cream to raise funds for the garden.
Free!
Event