Earth Day is April 22.
Launched in 1970, this global commemoration involves pro-nature volunteerism, advocacy, creativity, and other activities. All great stuff, but there’s something funny about Queens this year…there are plenty of events, but none takes places on April 22.
Here’s a chronological list of local activities.
Already Underway
Earth Week at Flushing Meadows Corona Park from April 16 to April 28. The FMCP Stewardship Team’s volunteering bonanza is back with these opportunities: Revitalize the Flowerbeds, April 17; Beneath the Blossoms, April 18; Tide-y Up the Shoreline, April 19; Trail Time, April 20; Flowersitters Needed, April 21; Repel the Invasion, April 22; Helping Hands, April 23; Rose Renewal, April 24; Make Our Garden Grow, April 25; Let’s Spring Clean FMCP, April 26; Green Thumbs in the Garden, April 27; and Earth Week Finale, April 28.
Friday, April 19
Floyd Bennett Field Public Arts Festival from April 19 to April 21. Site-specific digital art (with 22 artists), music by Wild Yaks, Sesame Flyers, and Batalá, an interactive video performance piece, a silent disco, open house-style access to historic buildings, nature activities, and more. (50 Aviation Rd., Brooklyn side of Rockaway Inlet)
Saturday, April 20
Green Day at Socrates Sculpture Park at noon. Participate in upcycled craft projects with Materials for the Arts and make cyanotypes with Artist Fellow Landon Newton. Leave with a healing piece of nature from herbs to beeswax candles. Food vendors include Pinche Vegana and Makina Cafe. (32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City)
Apple Blossom Children’s Carnival at Queens County Farm Museum on April 20 + April 21. A Merry Go Round and other rides, midway games, animals, food, and hayrides. From 11 am to 6 pm on both days, and repeats the following weekend. (73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Glen Oaks)
Gardening Day at The Castle at 10 am. Volunteer to improve the Bayside Historical Society’s headquarters and grounds (i.e. gardening, pollinator garden, pumpkin patch). Tools and supplies provided. (208 Totten Ave., Bayside)
Sunday, April 21
Clepsydra III at New York Hall of Science at 1 pm + 3 pm. LIC-based Valerie Green/Dance Entropy performs two dynamic, site-specific, physical investigations into water, time, and environment accompanied by music with Ronnie Burrage. The dance explores coastal ecosystems and the delicate balance and shifting nature of rivers and water lines. (47-01 111th St., Corona)
The Selfish Giant at Culture Lab LIC at 3 pm. PinProductions, a Sunnyside-based video-and-theater company that specializes in puppetry and animation, performs an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s classic tale about a giant who builds a wall around his garden to keep out the town’s children. Mission accomplished, but then his garden plunges into an endless winter. (5-25 46th Ave., Long Island City)
Earth Day Celebration at The Shops at Skyview on April 21 and April 22. Beekeeping, live music, a planting and veggie stamp craft workshop, a honey candle workshop, sampling of local honey products, and various raffles and giveaways for eco-friendly prizes. Gifts, product sampling, and craft materials while supplies last. Schedule: April 21, 2 pm to 4 pm; and April 22, 4 pm to 6 pm. (Level 4, 40-24 College Point Blvd., Flushing)
Earth Celebration Week at New York Hall of Science from April 21 to April 28. Daily workshops, activism, games, performances, and other nature-related activities. (47-01 111th St., Corona)
Green Garden/Green Plant at Voelker Orth Museum at 1 pm. An Earth Day celebration with a scavenger hunt, eco-collages, window-sill plantings, book swap, crafts, and other activities. (149-19 38th Ave., Flushing)
Celebrating Earth Day at Queens Museum at noon. Three hours of activities that celebrate the planet’s beauty and promote eco-consciousness through drop-in workshops and storytelling sessions led by Queens-based poet Tara Jayakar. (NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park)
April 27
Climate Arts Festival at Queens Botanical Garden at 11 am. Celebrate the planet with family-friendly activities, food, games, and music. (43-50 Main St., Flushing)
Bonus
Field Guide at Socrates Sculpture Park from April 20 to Oct. 26. Workshops that combine art making with natural materials, gardening, and experiments in sustainability, that celebrate the senses. This year begins a new partnership with Aurora Commons. (32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City)
Earth Day
For many environmentalists, the first Earth Day in 1970 marks the beginning of the modern day Green Movement. The political impetus dates to a 1969 oil spill off California’s coast that inspired Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to work with other elected officials and community leaders to organize protests, media campaigns, campus teach-ins, and other public events to bring attention to environmental issues. They chose April 22 because many students are on Spring Break then and have time to participate. Over the decades, it blossomed into a global event.
Top image: Earth Day Celebration at The Shops at Skyview;
bottom image: Clepsydra III at New York Hall of Science