North Brooklyn Environmental Community Calendar

Get your hands in the dirt with horticultural experts from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (NBK Parks), a local nonprofit with a mission to create an equitable, accessible, and vibrant parks and open space system in North Brooklyn. At Under the K, a unique 7 acre park under the BQE, you’ll help tend to the native plant nursery—an ecological lab for cultivating biodiversity amongst heavy industry. Last year, the nursery produced more than 10,000 native plants—most of them distributed to parks, community gardens, and neighbors throughout Greenpoint and Williamsburg—thanks to the help of volunteers like you!

Please wear closed-toe shoes, weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and bring bottled water.

Kids Garden Club: Summer

Meets Tuesday, July 22nd & Tuesday, August 19th; 3:30pm - 4:30pm. 

EcoLab1  Ages 5-10

Join our Kids Garden Club this summer growing season facilitated by our neighbors at the McCarren Park Demonstration Garden.

Summer workshop will meet 07/22 to plant, then 08/19 to harvest!

*REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Please make sure your child fits the age group for the workshop. As we will spend time in our rooftop Demonstration Garden, parents/caregivers are encouraged to stay at the workshop. 

The McCarren Park Demonstration Garden is an initiative of North Brooklyn Mutual Aid which grows fresh food for donation to the neighborhood’s free fridges. Since 2022, the garden has provided 1500 pounds of produce for their neighbors. The McCarren Demo Garden also acts as a community hub for eco education and food justice. 

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Join us for a peaceful morning of community yoga in the garden, led by Taylor Weiss. 

All levels welcome! 🌞

– Please bring your own mat

– Rain date: Saturday, July 27 at 10 AM

Feel free to arrive a few minutes early to get settled.

NYC summers are already hot and getting hotter; it is critical that we design cities that are livable for everyone. Join North Brooklyn Parks Alliance and Pratt Institute’s MS in Sustainable Environmental Systems Program to discover how city features—from the material used to pave a street to the paint color chosen for a wall—impact the microclimates we experience on just one neighborhood block. On this guided walk in and around McGolrick Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, we will measure and sense urban heat perceptions and reflect on how to design a habitable city for human and non-human residents. We will also explore how McGolrick Park’s tree canopy can support community wellbeing now and in the future. Participants will gain hands-on experience with thermal comfort assessment techniques.
 

Come join us for the 9th Annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival; a free family-friendly event allowing participants to:

🪻Explore our rooftop wildflower meadows

🎶Experience art installations, performances and live music

🐟Learn about native wildlife and ecology, including Newtown Creek

💚Engage with participating community and environmental organizations

🌼Buy native plant species

🍕Enjoy food and drinks with friends and family

Kingsland Wildflowers is a 25,000 sqft native pollinator garden nestled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s industrial business zone. The project partners include: Alive Structures, Broadway Stages, Newtown Creek Alliance, and NOoSPHERE Arts. Learn more about the project here.

Our roofs are educational spaces that are not suited for pets. Pets are welcome to hang out on the ground level🐾

Get your hands in the dirt with horticultural experts from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (NBK Parks), a local nonprofit with a mission to create an equitable, accessible, and vibrant parks and open space system in North Brooklyn. At McGolrick Park, an Olmsted-era neighborhood park with a stunning tree canopy, you’ll help remove invasive species, transplant native plants, amend soil, and care for the park’s trees. 

Please wear closed-toe shoes, weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and bring bottled water.

Join us on select Sunday mornings as we roll our sleeves and care for WNYC Transmitter Park’s gardens and trees! We’ll be weeding, watering, mulching, and planting to keep our green space thriving.

🌿 What to Bring: Gardening gloves (if you have them), a hat, sunscreen, and water. Don’t worry if you don’t have gloves—we’ve got extras!
🌿 What to Expect: A morning of hands-on work, meeting neighbors and volunteers from across the city, and making a real impact in the park.
🌿 Where to Meet: Just inside the Greenpoint Ave entrance.

Teens 13+, meet us upstairs at the Demonstration Garden on our rooftop to master the essential survival skill of knot tying, perfect for camping, hiking, and everyday use!

This program will be led by Jens Rasmussen a seasoned outdoorsman, international traveler, and experienced educator. Raised in rural Wisconsin, he learned wilderness skills from a young age, which he later honed through Maine Guide Training. His expertise in survival and wilderness instruction has been featured by the New York Times and CBS News.

He was one of 13 people in National Geographic's six part TV series MYGRATIONS, to successfully complete the month-long survival journey on foot across the Serengeti.

Here in Greenpoint he was a lead organizer to save Bushwick Inlet Park from commercial developers and is a founding board member and instructor at the North Brooklyn Community Boathouse.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund.

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Teens (13+), join the Young Adult Librarian in our rooftop Demonstration Garden for a hands-on workshop exploring the history and science of food preservation, and its cultural impact.

Learn about traditional preservation methods and discover how these techniques connect to the world of archives—where proper handling, storage, and deterioration are key concerns.

Then, get ready to roll up your sleeves! We’ll be pickling fresh produce—like mangoes, cucumbers, and carrots—for you to take home. Please be mindful of any food allergies and come prepared for an afternoon of learning, creating, and tasting.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund.

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Get your hands in the dirt with horticultural experts from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (NBK Parks), a local nonprofit with a mission to create an equitable, accessible, and vibrant parks and open space system in North Brooklyn. At Bushwick Inlet Park (50 Kent Ave), a waterfront park defined by its Manhattan views and abundance of flowering pollinator plants, you’ll help remove invasive species, transplant native plants, amend soil, and care for the nearby street trees. 

Please wear closed-toe shoes, weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and bring bottled water.

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Join houseplant expert Rachel Smith and your neighbors for a plant swap.  Bring your propagated cuttings or extra plants and trade with fellow plant enthusiasts. A fun, community-driven way to grow your collection.

Rachael is the owner and lead interior plant designer at Earthborn Design, a Brooklyn-based company that curates and cares for indoor plant environments in homes and businesses. With a passion for biophilic design and a deep knowledge of plant care, Rachael brings greenery to life in urban spaces—making it easier for people to enjoy the beauty and benefits of plants without the stress.

Get your hands in the dirt with horticultural experts from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (NBK Parks), a local nonprofit with a mission to create an equitable, accessible, and vibrant parks and open space system in North Brooklyn. At Under the K, a unique 7 acre park under the BQE, you’ll help tend to the native plant nursery—an ecological lab for cultivating biodiversity amongst heavy industry. Last year, the nursery produced more than 10,000 native plants—most of them distributed to parks, community gardens, and neighbors throughout Greenpoint and Williamsburg—thanks to the help of volunteers like you!

Please wear closed-toe shoes, weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and bring bottled water.

Kids Garden Club: Summer

Meets Tuesday, July 22nd & Tuesday, August 19th; 3:30pm - 4:30pm. 

EcoLab1  Ages 5-10

Join our Kids Garden Club this summer growing season facilitated by our neighbors at the McCarren Park Demonstration Garden.

Summer workshop will meet 07/22 to plant, then 08/19 to harvest!

*REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Please make sure your child fits the age group for the workshop. As we will spend time in our rooftop Demonstration Garden, parents/caregivers are encouraged to stay at the workshop. 

The McCarren Park Demonstration Garden is an initiative of North Brooklyn Mutual Aid which grows fresh food for donation to the neighborhood’s free fridges. Since 2022, the garden has provided 1500 pounds of produce for their neighbors. The McCarren Demo Garden also acts as a community hub for eco education and food justice. 

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Get your hands in the dirt with horticultural experts from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance (NBK Parks), a local nonprofit with a mission to create an equitable, accessible, and vibrant parks and open space system in North Brooklyn. At McGolrick Park, an Olmsted-era neighborhood park with a stunning tree canopy, you’ll help remove invasive species, transplant native plants, amend soil, and care for the park’s trees. 

Please wear closed-toe shoes, weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen, and bring bottled water.

Join us at the Greenpoint Library for kids' time in our rooftop garden! We will do a very short garden-themed storytime, and then spend time together in the garden. The garden offers many sensory experiences for young kiddos, and we will set up some fun activities as well. 

For ages 0-5. No registration required. This program may be cancelled in the event of rain or extremely high temperatures. Please be advised that the garden gets lots of very bright sun; we recommend bringing hats and/or other forms of sun protection. 

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Teens (13+), join us in a foraging series led by Journei Bimwala. From sidewalk cracks to rooftop edges, plants are everywhere. We’ll explore backyard botanicals, street trees, and make a calming dandelion tea together to celebrate the end of the series. Teens, please be prepared and know your allergies well!

This program will be held on our Demonstration Garden, with a rain plan of being held in the Teen Zone (Eco Lab 3). 

Journei Bimwala is a Bronx-based Clinical Herbalist, Foraging Practitioner, and educator whose work bridges African ancestral healing, urban ecology, and community wellness. She leads immersive programs that reconnect people—especially youth and families—to the natural world through plant identification, herbal medicine-making, and storytelling rooted in Congolese tradition. As founder of Each One Carry One and co-founder of the nonprofit One Heartbeat, Journei advances food sovereignty, environmental justice, and access to green space in underserved communities. Her work has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, and more, honoring plants as both teachers and healers.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund.

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Check out what's growing in our rooftop Demonstration Garden during our Friday open garden hours! All ages are welcome.

Teens 13+, join our Young Adult Librarian for a creative nature walk through McGolrick Park in celebration of City of Forest Day! Together, we’ll explore the park, learn to identify common NYC trees, and create our own zines along the way. Meet at Nassau Avenue/Russell Street Entrance.

We'll provide:

• A pencil

• A 1-fold zine

• Tree stamps for each species we identify

As we walk and discover, you’ll stamp your zine and jot down observations about each tree. By the end, you’ll have a handmade mini-zine full of tree knowledge and park memories!

Perfect for teens who love nature, art, or both!

This event is a collaboration between Brooklyn Public Library's Greenpoint branch and Trees New York. 

Rain date is October 4th, 2025 at 12PM.