Outdoor learning activities in Queens

Idlewild, HarborLAB, Queens Botanical Garden and APEC have plenty of offerings

by Naeisha Rose Associate Editor

Schools may nearly be out for the summer, but fun, environmentally oriented activities and enrichment opportunities for youths and adults are being offered throughout Queens in some new and improved facilities and unique sites.

Set near Jamaica Bay and adjacent to JFK Airport, within one of the largest saltwater marshes in the borough, is the Idlewild Park Preserve Environmental Science Center, a 5,400-square-foot pavilion.

The Eastern Queens Alliance, a federation of civic associations in Southeast Queens, runs the green learning and community center, which has indoor and outdoor classrooms, exhibitions and views of the wetlands.

“We just opened last year,” EQA Chairwoman Barbara Brown said of the $8 million facility that had a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 28, 2022. “We run environmental education programs for children and adults.”

“We try to get youths to think about environmental topics they are passionate about and make some kind of a change,” the EQA chairwoman said. “We help them focus on how they are going to go about accomplishing those changes.”

The initiative is an international program by Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist and anthropologist famous for her work studying wild chimpanzees, and her institute.

“We have a loose affiliation with them,” Brown said. “Last summer, our youngsters said they were concerned about environmental racism and justice ... they did research and made a presentation and had a discussion about the topics with people from the community, as well as elected officials.”

The youths were also concerned about the overuse of plastics and did park cleanups.

Future Exploration

Brown told the Queens Chronicle that its upcoming six-week summer session, which has the theme of “Water, Water, Everywhere ... Wonders of Earth’s Waters,” runs from Mondays to Fridays, July 10 to Aug. 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is for children ages 6 to 12.

Youths will learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, marine animals, weather, climate change and how much of the planet is covered in water. They will also get to use the 15-acre Idlewild Park Saltwater Marsh, which the center is situated within, as a laboratory extension.

“During the summer, we will also have our Roots & Shoots leadership program,” Brown said. “It’s called Roots & Shoots Youth Brigade.”

The program runs on Saturdays from July 1 to Aug. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and is for youths and young adults ages 10 to 19.

“We try to get them from ‘I’m passionate about this topic’ to ‘How am I going to do something about this?’” she added. “What are the steps of planning a project from beginning to end? What are your target goals? What is your target population? Who do you reach out to? They plan out the steps, and learn how to execute it and accomplish it both individually and together.”

There are no set dates, but later this summer, weather permitting, the preserve intends to collaborate with Harbor Learning Adventure Boating, a Long Island City-based environmental and educational organization, according to Brown.

“We are seeing what is available on their schedule to take people out canoeing and kayaking,” she said. “The canoeing and kayaking will go on at the Idlewild Park Preserve.”

To sign up for programs or learn more about the science center, call (347) 824-2301 or visit easternqueensalliance.org.

HarborLAB, run by Erik Baard, its founder and executive director, is a water-themed environmental science learning service, which hosts its programs at various sites throughout New York City’s waters and New Jersey’s.

“We are regrouping after the pandemic,” Baard told the Queens Chronicle. “We don’t have an interior space.”

This summer most of HarborLAB’s events will be at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

Earlier this month, a Gantry Pride Paddle event was supposed to be held at the park but was delayed until June 24, from 12 to 3 p.m., because of air-quality issues from the Canadian wildfires, according to Baard.

Other paddling events are scheduled for July 29 and Aug. 19 at Little Bay Park in Fort Totten, from 12 to 4 p.m.

“Because we are a mobile platform, we have something called the WAEV,” Baard said. “It is a water-accessed electric vehicle. We have two electric vehicles that are stuffed with next-generation inflatable kayaks. We go all around the city, especially in Queens.”

Tentative events include an Energy Inde- pendence Paddle from New York Harbor to Porte Liberte, NJ, which will include a discussion on the history of energy at the harbor, tidal mills and offshore turbines. Another possible event is the Gantry Independence Day Open Paddle on July 4, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“The events are weather- and water qualitydependent,” Baard said.

While there is no contract, HarborLAB is speaking with developers to have a boathouse at Anable Basin, near the Pepsi Sign in Long Island City, so that they can have an ADAaccessible launch there.

“It’s a finger of truncated water,” said the HarborLAB founder. “We are also planning on speaking with the Parks Department to get a wheelchair runway at Little Bay Park. Our whole mission is environmental education, access and our diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility work.”

HarborLAB has openings for volunteers and paid internships for those who want to help with its event programs.

To learn more about its educational tours or a position, visit harborlab.org.

Back on land, ground will be broken at the end of this year for the Queens Botanical Garden’s new educational center at 43-50 Main St. in Flushing, according to Jatnna Ramirez, QBG’s director of programs.

“In the next two to three years we will have a new education building that will be able to house a lot more programming for youths and adults,” said Ramirez. “The new building will have a garden surrounding it and a teaching kitchen for both adults and kids to do food exploration and nature explorations. We are very excited about that.”

While Ramirez is happy to be getting a newer building to teach guests and train staff, especially during inclement weather, most of QBG’s programming is outdoors.

“We have year-round programming, nature exploration for kids as little as 2 years old,” said the director. “It is cool to see kids engaging with plants and flowers. We have a farm here where we grow food. We have a workshop called Plants We Eat and they get to learn where food comes from.”

QBG also has a bee garden and a program called Buzz Worthy.

“It’s all about our bee friends and helping people connect with nature and understand the function of bees and other pollinators in our life,” Ramirez said.

Parents can participate in kids programming and there are also outreach workshops at libraries and community centers, where the QBG takes the garden to.

The garden is also offering a paid farm internship for college-aged students to learn about urban agriculture.

To learn more about QBG’s offerings or the internship program, visit queensbotanical.org.

The Alley Pond Environmental Center, which has long been based on Northern Boulevard, just east of the Cross Island Parkway, is also getting a new educational facility, according to Irene Scheid, APEC’s executive director.

“The new building is where the old building’s back parking lot was,” Scheid said. “Once people enter the building, they can go right into the park without crossing an active parking lot.”

The 9,940-square-foot facility is expected to achieve a LEED Silver environmental rating, and it has passive ventilation in occupied spaces, radiant heat flooring, occupancy sensors and reduced energy consumption, along with geothermal heating and cooling, according to the Parks Department.

“It will have additional classroom space,” Scheid added. “We will be there by the fall.”

In the meantime, people are attending programs at a temporary location at 224-65 76 Ave. in Oakland Gardens.

There will be an Evening Pajama Party and Story Time for young kids on Friday, June 23, from 7 to 8 p.m., and a Vet Tech program on July 15, from 10 a.m. The summer offerings are filling up quickly, so visit alleypond.org to register. Q