How to celebrate Earth Day in NYC: Events, outings and open streets

Earth Day is coming up on Saturday, April 22, and New York City is set to celebrate our home planet in a wide variety of ways. Throughout the five boroughs and in points beyond, institutions and organizations will be focusing on nature and ecology, boosting conservation and encouraging us all to head out, move around and get involved.

Here’s a small sampling of the many illuminating and entertaining ways to celebrate Earth Day in and around New York. Scroll down for details about “Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day,” a program through which the Department of Transportation is hosting open streets and public programming throughout the five boroughs. And if you're particularly interested in getting your hands dirty as a volunteer, NYC Parks offers a big list of events throughout the city here.

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place on Saturday, April 22.

Celebrate nature at the center of the concrete jungle

Earth Day programing at Rockefeller Center is aimed squarely at kids and families. Tot-rock combo The Rock & Roll Playhouse provides the soundtrack for a late-morning session of book readings, face painting, a coloring station tied in with the Center's current art exhibitions and a recycled-materials crafting activity inspired by the center's mascot, Roxy the Owl. The program runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and you can learn more here.

Get buzzy in one of the most beautiful spots in Queens

The Queens Botanical Garden, located at 43-50 Main St. in Flushing, is a surefire destination for communing with nature in a beautiful, tranquil setting. But during the annual Climate Arts Festival, the garden can get as buzzy as the denizens of its resident beehives. You'll find arts and crafts activities, nature walks, conservation and composting exhibits and a Sustainable Vendor Fair. Tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students, and $2 for kids 4-13; children 3 and younger get in free. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., find out more here.

Surround yourself with nature and creativity on Governors Island

Returning for its second year, the "Earth Day on Governors Island" celebration presents a jam-packed day of activities, free of charge. Whether you're looking for birding walks, bicycling lessons, demonstrations of seed balls and insect ecology or an immersive performance-art show, you'll find it here. Activities run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and registration is recommended if you plan to get involved with volunteer activities; learn more here.

View and make climate-inspired art at the Whitney

The Whitney Museum of American Art is open free of charge on Saturday, marking not only Earth Day, but also a convergence of three shows concerned with our relationship with the planet. One of them — "no existe un mundo poshuracán," a showcase of works made by Puerto Rican artists in the wake of Hurricane Maria — closes this Sunday. The others are new: "Jaune Quick-To-See Smith: Memory Map" is the Whitney's first-ever solo show by an Indigenous artist, and "Josh Kline: Project for a New American Century" is the first U.S. museum survey for an artist whose works envision a dystopian future. Plus, New York artist Gabriela Salazar will lead a children's program from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended; learn more here.

Hear orchestral music in harmony with nature

The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra was originally supposed to perform its program "Music of Our Sphere" to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. That didn't happen, but better late than never for this free orchestral concert in the grand, sonorous Winter Garden atrium at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan. The program includes "Become River," a sublime work by the ecologically attuned composer John Luther Adams, and the world premiere of “In Every Grain of Sand,” a cantata by KCO founder and music director Gary S. Fagin, named for a passage by activist Rachel Carson. The concert ends with Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Voices of Spring," and the audience will be invited to get up and waltz. Learn more here.

See artful interpretations of Staten Island's climate concerns

Opening to the public on Earth Day, an interdisciplinary exhibition titled "Vulnerable Landscapes" illuminates climate-related concerns specific to Staten Island's mixture of ecology and waterfront industry. The show includes new art works inspired by natural themes, documentation of scientific efforts aimed at enhancing resiliency and historical material from the museum's archives. A public opening reception, from 2 to 4 p.m., includes hands-on arts and crafts activities for visitors of all ages. Learn more here.

Plant a tree at Woodlawn Cemetery

Admittedly, the notion of digging in the dirt in a graveyard might not appeal to everyone. But Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx is also a bona fide accredited arboretum, and its Earth Day celebration includes an opportunity to help plant new trees and flowers. Scavenger hunts, music, and arts and crafts activities are also on the agenda for the gathering, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Learn more about what's in store and how to get around here.

Volunteer to help clean up a Bay Ridge park

If you feel like putting a little muscle behind your activist urge on Earth Day, sign up for a shift to work on cleanup and beautification at John Paul Jones Park (a.k.a. Cannonball Park), at 101st Street and Fourth Avenue, organized by Bay Ridge Cares and Bay Ridge Environmental Group. Pick up litter or get involved in painting, mulching and planting. Your kids can participate in a "Crazy Science!" show at 1 p.m., and plant herbs to bring home. Learn more and sign up here.

Fix the kids up with some youth-approved reading

If you can't head outside with the kids in tow on Earth Day, you can still hook them up with some crucial reading. The New York Public Library has shared a list of eight books aimed at teaching young readers about ecology, conservation and stewardship, handpicked for the occasion by its Teen Reading Ambassadors. Yes, "The Lorax" is there as you'd expect, but so are a young readers' biography of Rachel Carson and an encyclopedia devoted to pigs. Check them all out here.

Shake your groove thing for Mother Earth in Bushwick

You've spent all day Saturday engaged in noble pursuits (right?), and now you want to cut loose — but you're still caught up in loving the planet? Head to Bushwick, where the funky dance club and cabaret space House of Yes is hosting "Earth Love Fest 2023," a free indoor/outdoor block party. Tip a spiked coconut water or two as you watch climate experts and conservationists get down with DJs and designers in the name of awareness and activism. The party starts at noon on Sunday, April 23, and runs through sunset; learn more here.

Street closures and public celebrations

“Open Streets: Car-Free Earth Day,” launched by the NYC Department of Transportation in 2016, initially transformed select Manhattan streets into public plazas and car-free zones. Since then, the event has grown to include 30 locations throughout the five boroughs.

This year's "Car-Free Earth Day" celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here are some prominent spots where you can expect to find gatherings, art-making programs and performances organized by local groups.

Manhattan

• Dyckman Street, Broadway to La Marina
• St. Nicholas Avenue, 181st Street to 190th Street
• Broadway, East 17th Street to West 42nd Street

Brooklyn

• Troutman Street, St. Nicholas Avenue to Irving Avenue

Queens

• Woodside Avenue, 76th Street to 79th Street

The Bronx

• Willis Avenue & Roberto Clemente Plaza, 147th Street to 148th Street

Staten Island

• Minthorne Street, Bay Street to Victory Boulevard

View a map and complete list of "Car-Free Earth Day" locations here.