Freshkills Park Blog

Ravipa Ramyarupa, also known as Pa, is a student at Barnard College. She is currently a Visual Design Intern at Freshkills Park, working on projects that illustrate what the park will be like in the near future.

This May and June, over 100 students and teachers from Staten Island travelled to Freshkills Park to volunteer in the introductory phase of a new water monitoring program. They were studying the quality of Main Creek, a tidal waterway that runs through the park.

On view at The Jewish Museum, NY, is the first US retrospective of the seminal landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Entitled “Roberto Burle Marx: Brazilian Modernist,” the exhibit is curated by Jens Hoffmann and Claudia Nahson and is on view through September 18th.The

Patrick is an AmeriCorps member serving through the NYC Service Civic Corps program. During his time at Freshkills Park, he has been a driving force behind the new citizen science water monitoring program, inviting volunteers to study water quality and better understand the health of the wildlife at the park.

Freshkills Park offered its second Discovery Day event of the year on June 26th from 11am to 4pm. During this free event, 700 acres and eight miles of trails in the normally closed site were open, providing opportunities to bike, kayak, participate in walking tours and activities, and learn about the landfill-to-park project.

Creative and innovative programming is the public’s primary means of access to Freshkills Park as its development and build out continues. Support for these programs comes from several sources, including an annual budget from the NYC Parks Department, but the Freshkills Park Alliance (the not for profit partner of Freshkills Park) currently provides most of the Park’s annual budget for program-related expenses.

The New Springville Greenway on Richmond Avenue is a 3.2-mile bike and pedestrian path that runs along the eastern edge of Freshkills Park. Completed in 2015, it’s the latest section of Freshkills to open as the 2,200-acre park is built in phases.

Yating Ru is one of two students from Cornell University who conducted an Observational Survey of the New Springville Greenway this summer. Along with Saumitra Sinha, she developed and implemented a Greenway usage survey to better understand how Freshkills Park’s 3.2 mile New Springville Greenway is providing more opportunities for transportation and recreation and how the community is embracing those options.

As the National Park Service celebrates its centennial, the organization has identified a major problem: a shocking lack of diversity.

Parks are finding it hard to attract young visitors and visitors of color. According to a recent National Park Service survey, Hispanic visitors make up 9% of total visitors, Black visitors 7%, Asian visitors 3% and Native American/American Indian visitors 1%.

Saumitra Sinha worked with fellow Cornell University student Yating Ru to conduct an Observational Survey of the New Springville Greenway this summer. They developed and implemented a Greenway usage survey to better understand how Freshkills Park’s 3.2 mile New Springville Greenway is providing more opportunities for transportation and recreation and how the community is embracing those options.

To reach the goal of sending zero waste to landfills by the year 2030, New York City has identified  more than 100 pilot schools to serve as “Zero Waste Schools” in Brooklyn, Manhattan,  and Staten Island.

Zero Waste Schools Initiative (ZWSI) is a joint partnership of the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and the New York City Department of Education (DOE), alongside Grow NYC’s Recycling Champions Program (RCP).

Jessa grew up in a big old farmhouse next to a big old red barn in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. After a childhood with late night summer bonfires, days spent floating on a river, and long drives on New England dirt roads, she knew that the environment would be central to her undergraduate studies.

Artist Eva Neves will lead two walking tours at Discovery Day on June 26th. Called Sketch and Stroll, the walks invite people to practice being more mindful and aware as they move, drawing their thoughts, feelings, and stories in relation to their surroundings.

Freshkills Park will soon launch a digital app that will tweet photos of birds like tree swallows and house wrens from inside their bird boxes at the Park. This project will broadcast the ongoing ecological restoration of the Park, create new potentials in the field of scientific research, and highlight a research project investigating the health of the Park’s cavity nesting birds.

Every June, New York’s native turtles migrate in search of sandy areas to lay their eggs. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), thousands of turtles are killed each year when they are struck by vehicles as they move to their nesting areas.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday June 26th from 11am to 4pm. During this free event, 700 acres and eight miles of trails in the normally closed site will be open, providing opportunities to explore and learn about the landfill-to-park project.

On a recent, sunny Saturday, six enthusiastic Citi volunteers cleaned up the Main Creek kayak launch at Freshkills Park. This volunteer project was part of Global Community Day, the organization’s annual day of service where tens of thousands of Citi employees, along with their families and friends, come together as a global volunteer team.

Arturo Romua has taught thousands of students in New York City about the Freshkills Park project through presentations, workshops, and walking tours. He came to Freshkills Park through New York City’s Parks Fellowship & Conservation Corps, a 40-week public service commitment in which individuals were assigned to divisions throughout the agency to help protect and enhance New York City’s parks and natural resources.

On June 21st, Freshkills Park will take part in Inside the Bird Chorus, a project conceived by philosopher and artist David Rothenberg as a dialogue between musicians and New York City’s bird populations.

Visitors are invited to attend the performance.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday, June 26th from 11am to 4pm. During this free public event, 700 acres of the normally closed site will be open for a one-day opportunity to discover the unique experience and views the park has to offer.