Environmental Education

Queens Landing supports a deeper understanding of Hunter’s Point South Park and Gantry Plaza State Park and the challenges and opportunities facing the waterfront, highlighting their ecology, resilient design features, history, and impact on the neighborhood. The boathouse will help transform the waterfront parks into open-air classrooms. School groups, afterschool programs, adults, and families from throughout NYC can visit to learn about the recovery and resilience of NYC’s waterways, sustainability and climate change, and local ecology. Learners can take a hands-on approach to understanding the water through Queens Landing’s aquariums, water quality equipment, and lab space.

In-House Programming

Our environmental education team leads various environmental programming throughout the year. We conduct nature walks, speaker talks, environmental art classes, and more.

You can also check out the amazing work our partner organizations are doing at the Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center.

For more details about our environmental education programs, you can click here.

School Field Trips

Newtown Creek Alliance provides STEM based, interactive, environmental programs on a variety of topics grounded in the history and ecology of Newtown Creek and its surrounding watershed. Field trips take place Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for school groups, clubs, summer camps, and other types of educational groups. They welcome kindergarten to adult groups and modify our programs to suit their individual age range and interest. A standard tour can accommodate up to 30 participants for a 90 min to 2 hour visit, with the ability to host larger groups for longer periods of time with enough notice.

NCA runs two programs from Queens Landing:

Marine Ecology Investigation

This 90 min program will take place at the Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center and is for groups who would like a more in-depth program about local marine ecology, water quality and our local estuary habitat restoration efforts.

The activities will vary depending on age but may include marine life identification, water related activities such as measuring water’s physical characteristics; dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and salinity as well as learning how our findings impact our city, quality of life, and human and marine life health. Groups will be able to use tools such as microscopes, hand lenses, and water testing tools.

After the indoor portion students will be led through the newest portion of Hunters Point South Park to see the efforts of wetland restoration while walking the shoreline of the Newtown Creek and East River.

Climate Change Adaptations Tour

Climate Change Adaptation program takes place in Hunters Point South Park in Long Island City. The tour begins and ends at the brand new Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center. From there, we will set off on a walk through Hunters Point South Park discussing how history, climate change, and the water cycle has influenced the design of the park. Topics of landscape design, horticultural choices, water quality, and future development will be introduced through examples in the park creating a memorable and unique learning experience.

This program is around 120 min long and best for ages 4th grade and up as it includes a good amount of walking.

We welcome groups to our brand new space, Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Education Center where we start our tour of Hunters Point South Park located where the fast-moving East River and the calm waters of Newtown Creek meet. This park has the first public access point to the Creek in Queens and is designed to provide coastal habitat for wildlife and incorporate resilient design strategies that address stormwater management, rising sea levels, and pressures related to increasing density.

Programs are booked through their online portal and enrollment is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have questions please reach out to education@newtowncreekalliance.org.

Nature Walks

HPPC hosts spring and fall nature walks, which focus on the restored wetland ecosystem in the park, native plants, and local and migratory species. Check our calendar for upcoming dates.

Nature Journaling

A local artist and illustrator teaches environmental-focused drawing classes that encourage intentionally curiosity and engagement with the natural world. These classes include both art theory and information about the natural world, and are aimed at adults and teens. Check our calendar for upcoming dates.

Educational Aquariums

The boathouse includes a variety of salt water educational aquariums inhabited by local wildlife for educational purposes. Visitors and students can observe marine plants and animals native to Newtown Creek, including multiple species of fish and crustacean. The tanks were moved from the windows to reduce the amount of algae affecting the fish, but can be viewed during our public programming and open hours.