Programs

Kayak along Freshkills Park’s waterways! This two mile round-trip paddle is a chance to explore the creeks and shorelines of Freshkills Park and experience the wildlife while the site is closed to the public. We know this program fills quickly and wish we could offer it more frequently, but we have a small staff and are generally limited to trips on the weekend during high tide.

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance for a wetland clean up at our Kayak Launch site. Following the clean up volunteers will have the opportunity to Kayak along Freshkills Park’s waterways! This two mile round-trip paddle is a chance to explore the creeks and shorelines of Freshkills Park and experience the wildlife while the site is closed to the public.

Lace up your shoes for a nature walk at Freshkills Park! Freshkills Park staff will take you behind the scenes to visit areas that are currently closed to the public. On this one-mile walk, you’ll learn about the different plants and animals found in the woods, wetlands, and grasslands at Freshkills Park.

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance and poets Jenny Pisani and Thomas Fucaloro for a traveling 10-session poetry workshop series. This workshop series is for poets of all levels of experience (16+) and will guide participants through the generative and creative process of writing a poem.

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance and NYC Parks Department for an all-ages upcycling winter decoration workshop at our Studio + Gallery on December 18th. Please note that there are two 1.5-hour timed sessions for this event: 11:30AM-1PM and 1:30PM-3PM.

Decorations that end up in a landfill, never to biodegrade, aren’t jolly or merry.

Join the New York Adventure Club and the Freshkills Park Alliance for a behind-the-scenes look at Freshkills Park!

Led by a Freshkills Park Alliance staff member, our digital showcase of this massive landscape will include:

• An overview of Freshkills, from its days as the world’s largest landfill to the planned three-phase transformation into a public park
• Rare archival footage of Fresh Kills landfill
• A behind-the-scenes look at Freshkill’s state-of-the-art landfill engineering system
• A discussion around the park’s plant and animal ecology that sustains on the grounds
• Modern photos showcasing the sweeping views of the NYC skyline from the ‘hilltops” that were once garbage mounds
• Q&A with Freshkills Park Alliance

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance for a wetland clean up at Freshkills Park. Help us to give back to our local ecosystem.

This program is open to ages 10+ and no previous experience is required. This program is eligible for service hours.

Join us for the last Community Science Wednesday of 2022!

Take action to protect the grasslands at Freshkills Park! There is a newcomer in the area: spotted lanternflies, an invasive species that can wreak havoc on trees and other plants. Spotted lanternflies feed on tree sap, leaving trees vulnerable to infection and fungal growth.

Freshkills Park presents Choreographer Kathy Westwater’s Wanderings, a work emerging from her inquiry begun nearly fifteen years ago into the site of Fresh Kills Landfill. Wanderings features a guided wandering experience for audience members across a capped landfill mound, culminating with a performance by dancers and musicians on the summit of the mound, overlooking the reclaimed site and distant urban skyline.

Explore the mediums of charcoal and ink while creating a visual awareness of the landscape’s light and history. Join us at Freshkills Park for an artist-led observational drawing workshop in Fastnet, a shipping container converted into an art studio.

Fastnet was purchased by artist James Powers in 2015.

Join a small group of photographers and document Freshkills Park’s transformation from landfill to 2,200-acre park. This guided tour is an opportunity to see and photograph the unique engineered landscape while the site is closed to the public. We welcome photographers of all skill levels, but you must bring your own equipment, whether a digital camera, film camera, or your phone!

Invasive weeds are invading Freshkills Park. Join the Freshkills Park Alliance and NYC Parks Department for a volunteer day at Schmul Park and discover ways to get creative in our green spaces and support the bees! Ages 6+

We will work together to remove invasive species and litter, learn how to establish complex pollinator ecosystems, and highlight all the ways pollinators support our parks and our planetVolunteer Landscaping @ Schmul Park!

Join the Freshkills Park Alliance and NYC Parks for a volunteer day at our Studio + Gallery off the New Springville Greenway and discover ways to support our open and natural areas! Ages 16+

We will work together to remove invasive species and debris, spread new soil, light pruning and more!

Take action to protect the grasslands at Freshkills Park! There is a newcomer in the area: spotted lanternflies, an invasive species that can wreak havoc on trees and other plants. Spotted lanternflies feed on tree sap, leaving trees vulnerable to infection and fungal growth.

Celebrate the beginning of autumn with a sunset stroll. As the sun dips below the horizon, Freshkills Park comes alive with all the magic of pink skies and sun-tinged grasses. Bring your friends, sweeties, and family members for a sunset nature walk at Freshkills Park!

Kayak along Freshkills Park’s waterways! This two mile round-trip paddle is a chance to explore the creeks and shorelines of Freshkills Park and experience the wildlife while the site is closed to the public. We know this program fills quickly and wish we could offer it more frequently.

Recover from Thanksgiving dinner and lace up your shoes for a Black Friday hike at Freshkills Park! Urban Park Rangers and Freshkills Park staff will take you behind the scenes to visit areas that are currently closed to the public. On this one-mile walk, you’ll learn about the different plants and animals found in the woods, wetlands, and grasslands at Freshkills Park.

As the sun dips below the horizon, Freshkills Park comes alive with all the magic of pink skies and sun-tinged grasses. Bring your friends, sweeties, and family members for a sunset nature walk at Freshkills Park!

Freshkills Park staff will take you behind the scenes to visit areas that are currently closed to the public.

As the sun dips below the horizon, Freshkills Park comes alive with all the magic of pink skies and sun-tinged grasses. Bring your friends, sweeties, and family members for a sunset nature walk at Freshkills Park on the night of the Sturgeon Moon!

Join a small group of photographers and document Freshkills Park’s transformation from landfill to 2,200-acre park. This guided tour is an opportunity to see and photograph the unique engineered landscape while the site is closed to the public. We welcome photographers all skill levels, but you must bring your own equipment, whether a digital camera, film camera, or your phone!