#PickoftheWeek | Queens Celebrates Earth Day In Many Ways On Many Days
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Some places celebrate Earth Day. Others prefer Earth Week. Well, Queens has so much going on that “Earth Month” is appropriate.
The international celebration is on April 22, but various borough neighborhoods will be abuzz with volunteer opportunities, cultural events, and even special beverages long before — and after — that date. Here’s a chronological schedule with specialized info on Flushing Meadows Corona Park and an all-day event at Alley Pond Environmental Center at the end.
April 17
The Jamaica Beach Rockaway Parks Conservancy and Surfrider Foundation’s NYC Chapter lead a marsh-and-shoreline cleanup of a wildlife habitat. Meet at Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary at Beach 65th Street and Bayfield Avenue in Arverne at 10 am.
Volunteers clean tracks around the Forest Park ravine while making friends and learning about the QueensWay project. Meet across from the Glendale Stop & Shop at 89-89 Union Turnpike at 10 am.
April 18
Queens Botanical Garden hosts a Flower Patch of unique floral and garden installations on four Sundays from April 18 to May 9 (Mother’s Day). Visitors can take home a pot of flowers and a floral-themed grab-and-go craft activity kit.
APEC educator Jungle Jake leads a walk through forested creeks in Alley Pond Park. (They are full of water at this time of year.) Meet at APEC’s temporary headquarters at 224-65 76th Ave. in Oakland Gardens at 1:30 pm.
April 19
Katie Bryson from the sustainable-cleaning company Clementidy shares ways to make a home safer and more sustainable via EPA-certified sanitizing methods and non-toxic cleaning products. The in-person workshop is at APEC’s temporary headquarters at 6:15 pm. An optional walk follows.
April 20
Participate in a 75-minute forest bathing experience in the Japanese Shinrin-Yoku style led by certified forest therapy guide Linda Lombardo in Alley Pond Park. Meet at APEC’s temporary headquarters at 10:30 am.
April 21
The Jamaica Beach Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Natural Areas Conservancy, and NYC Parks spearhead a volunteer restoration effort in Jamaica Bay Park that includes planting native shrubs and trees and removing debris from the shoreline and forest. Meet in the vicinity of Faber Terrace and Granada Place in Bayswater at 10 am.
Take an Urban Ecosystem Sunset Walk with Jocelyn Perez-Blanco, the NYC Queens Chapter Coordinator for Herbalists Without Borders. She will discuss the roles of parks in cities, relationships between plants and species, and invasive plants. Meet at APEC’s temporary headquarters at 6 pm.
April 22
Volunteers are welcome to participate in such tasks as sifting compost, landscaping, mulching apple trees, and weeding perennial beds at Queens County Farm Museum. Plus, the Glen Oaks venue will host celebrations in two shifts — 1:30 pm and 3 pm — with tractor-drawn hayrides, a self-guided nature scavenger hunt, giveaways, apiary talks with urban beekeeper Toby Bloch, and a compost giveback. There’s free parking, and the entrance is at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway.
Children can do the Lemonade Story Ramble. With a glass of Earth Day lemonade, youngsters walk along an Alley Pond Park trail listening to “One Earth” by Eileen Spinelli. They learn biofacts relating to the book and get an autographed hard copy, courtesy of Spinelli. Meet at APEC’s temporary headquarters at 3:15 pm.
Lewis Latimer House Museum presents a virtual STEAM Workshop at 3:30 pm. Artist Antonia Perez teaches how to make assemblage sculptures from materials that are usually discarded or put in recycling bins.
Volunteer in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
The Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park is organizing daily volunteer events. Participation is free, but registration is required. Due to COVID safety protocols, volunteers will receive their times upon registration.
April 18: The Birds, The Reeds, and You! + Brighten Up the Dolan Trail
April 19: Mulch and Clean the Green
April 20: April Showers at the Rain Garden
April 21: Walk with Purpose at the Bay
April 22: The Birds, The Reeds, and You!
April 22: Revive the Garden of Meditation
April 23: Beauty Among the Thorns
April 24: Spring Serenity Planting
APEC on April 22
Come early, leave late. Here’s the schedule: Earth Day Storytime at 10 am; Building Your Green Esteem at 11 am; Lunchtime with APEC Animals at noon; DIY T-Shirt Bag & Using Natural Dyes at 1 pm; Guided Nature Walk at 2 pm; Recycled Bowl & Owl Crafting at 3 pm; Turtle & Rabbit Race Animal Enrichment at 4 pm; 50-50 Raffle Drawing at 4:45 pm; and Earth Day Bedtime Story at 5 pm.
Images: Alliance for FMCP