#NewsFlash | Water, Birds, Nature, Fun! The Jamaica Bay Festival Is On July 10

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is NYC’s best bird-watching spot with estuaries, salt marshes, sand dunes, and woodlands. Aficionados have seen at least 330 species – almost half the total species in the Northeast – there over the last 25 years. But let’s not stop at our feathered friends. The area includes havens for outdoor activities, such as swimming, hiking, camping, and boating. And of course, Jacob Riis Park’s beach, waves, and concession stands are a few miles down the road.

All this wonderfulness will come together during the Jamaica Bay Festival on Saturday, July 10. Scheduled to run from 8 am to 3 pm, this fourth annual outdoor extravaganza includes nature explorations, water tours, and even oyster research at various spots within the Gateway National Recreation Area in Brooklyn and Queens.

A few activities follow.

Rockaway Hotel Rooftop Yoga with resident instructor Ally Berlin at 8 am. All levels. Mat, towel, and water included. The Rockaway Hotel, 108-10 Rockaway Beach Dr.

Jamaica Bay Kayak Parade at 9 am. Human-powered boats will travel to Sunset Cove and paddle the most recently restored marsh islands. Click here for boat-launch locations.

Guided Adventure Kayak Tour at Canarsie Pier at 1 pm. Paddle for about two miles to Shirley Chisholm State Park with a National Park Ranger. Explore the waters along the shoreline and discover the site’s natural history with State Park Educators.

West Pond Living Shoreline Project Tour at 1 pm. Check out the living shoreline under construction at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The restored shoreline will create more than eight acres of habitat to protect West Pond from extreme weather.

Ecology Park Open House in Brooklyn at 2 pm. The American Littoral Society and Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy lead a tour of the microcosmic landscape known as Ecology Park in Brooklyn’s Paerdegat Basin Natural Area Preserve.

Click here for a full list of activities.

Editor’s note: Jamaica Bay Festival is made possible through partnership with government agencies, nonprofits such as JBRPC and ALS, and local businesses. It also receives support from Waterfront Alliance, New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program, and Hudson River Foundation.

Images: Jamaica Bay Festival and JBRPC