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Cel­e­brate Earth Day 2023 on Gov­er­nors Island

Mar 28, 2023 9:10 am

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island today announced the Island’s sec­ond annu­al Earth Day cel­e­bra­tion, offer­ing a day of free pro­gram­ming cel­e­brat­ing our shared con­nec­tion with nature. New York­ers are invit­ed to spend the day on Gov­er­nors Island and enjoy free edu­ca­tion­al activ­i­ties and work­shops for all ages, guid­ed tours through the Island’s open space, and live per­for­mances inspired by ecol­o­gy and the envi­ron­ment. The fes­tiv­i­ties will take place on Earth Day, April 22, 2023, from 10am to 3pm. 

“Gov­er­nors Island is an eco­log­i­cal resource for New York City, and we’re com­mit­ted to show­cas­ing how New York­ers can engage with solu­tions to bet­ter care for our plan­et to com­bat a chang­ing cli­mate,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent & CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“This year we invite New York­ers and vis­i­tors from all over the world to join us for a free day of pro­gram­ming that not only high­lights the nat­ur­al beau­ty of our Island but also teach­es us how we can all assist in the crit­i­cal fight for a bet­ter Earth.”

Earth Day on Gov­er­nors Island will fea­ture vol­un­teer stew­ard­ship projects, free envi­ron­men­tal edu­ca­tion activ­i­ties for all ages, guid­ed tours of the Island’s cli­mate-resilient land­scapes and unique Urban Farm, a bird walk focused on ear­ly migra­to­ry birds pass­ing through Gov­er­nors Island, a hands-on work­shop on mak­ing your own seed balls with the Trust’s hor­ti­cul­ture team, insect ecol­o­gy activ­i­ties, free bike lessons with Bike New York, an immer­sive per­for­mance by artist Seung Taek-Lee, and more activ­i­ties to be announced. For more infor­ma­tion and a full sched­ule of the day’s events, vis­it www​.gov​is​land​.org/​e​a​r​t​h-day.

“There’s no bet­ter place in New York City to immerse your­self in nature and cel­e­brate Earth Day than Gov­er­nors Island! From Ham­mock Grove to Nolan Park, the Island’s green spaces will be in their full splen­dor on Earth Day,” said Pat­ti Davis, Inter­im Exec­u­tive Direc­tor of the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“Bring your friends and fam­i­ly to spend the day explor­ing and learn­ing about the cut­ting-edge envi­ron­men­tal and con­ser­va­tion activ­i­ties tak­ing place here all year round.” 

EVENT SCHED­ULE Events will take place at Colonels Row unless oth­er­wise noted.

• 10am-12:30pm: Island-wide vol­un­teer projects (check in at Colonels Row)
• 1pm: Com­mu­ni­ty Cel­e­bra­tion with give­aways, per­for­mances, food trucks, and more
• 1pm: Urban Farm Tour with Earth Mat­ter NY
• 1 – 3pm: Learn to Ride kids bike class with Bike New York at the Oval
• 1:30pm: Seed­ing Your Way to a Native Habi­tat seed ball work­shop at the Urban Farm
• 2pm: The Earth Per­for­mance: Reen­act­ment by Seung Taek-Lee/­Canal Projects on the Parade Ground
• 2pm: Ear­ly Migra­tion Bird Walk with NYC Audubon
• 2pm: Intro­duc­tion to the Cir­cu­lar Econ­o­my with Cir­cu­lar Econ­o­my Manufacturing
• 2pm: Insect Ecol­o­gy Walk 
• 2:30pm: Guid­ed land­scape tour of The Hills

Earth Day on Gov­er­nors Island is co-pre­sent­ed by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island, with pro­gram­ming sup­port from NYC Audubon, Bil­lion Oys­ter Project, Cir­cu­lar Econ­o­my Man­u­fac­tur­ing, Wind Sup­port, Earth Mat­ter NY, the Nation­al Park Ser­vice, Bee Con­ser­van­cy, Bike New York, and Canal Projects.

Gov­er­nors Island’s award-win­ning park is open to the pub­lic every day, along with recre­ation activ­i­ties like bike rentals, a Com­mu­ni­ty Climb­ing Boul­der, Ham­mock Grove, The Hills, Pic­nic Point, and more. Gov­er­nors Island Arts pub­lic art com­mis­sions, includ­ing work from Duke Riley, Rachel Whiteread, Mark Dion, and Mark Hand­forth are also cur­rent­ly on view through­out the Island. Charles Gaines’s The Amer­i­can Man­i­fest Chap­ter Two: Mov­ing Chains will reopen on Gov­er­nors Island lat­er this spring. 

QC NY is open dai­ly on Gov­er­nors Island, with two heat­ed out­door pools along­side saunas, steam rooms, relax­ation treat­ments, mas­sages, and a new bar and bistro. This win­ter also marks the return of Win­ter Dog Days, where dogs are allowed on Gov­er­nors Island on Sat­ur­days and Sun­days through­out the end of April. Dogs must be leashed while on Gov­er­nors Island except for in the Week­end Win­ter Dog Park, locat­ed adja­cent to Liggett Ter­race. The Trust and the Friends will also hold New York City’s largest egg hunt on Sat­ur­day, April 8, free and open to all.