Go Green in NYC with Kids Gardening Classes and Events
The best way to get Green in NYC is probably to actually plant something green. There are great gardening classes available for New York City kids and this weekend there's also a NYC Grows festival to help you learn about urban gardening, how you can add more green to your life and a whole lot of fun stuff for kids. Find out about that and terrific gardening classes for kids below.
NYC GROWS FESTIVAL Sunday, April 27th 10AM-5PM Union Square
Learn all about urban gardening and how to grow your own garden from dozens of experts on Sunday, April 27th from 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the third annual NYC GROWS Garden Festival on the South Plaza of Union Square Park. The event features hands-on activities, food and beverage sampling, gardening demonstrations, prize drawings and more. See the whole schedule online. Stop by the Kids Area for kid-friendly shows in the Performance Tent throughout the day, like the Kids Puppet Mobile, Horse of Course Station, Family Cooking Activities, or the Target Play Zone.
NYC GARDENING CLASSES New York Botanical Garden offers gardening classes for kids aged 3 and up. Children can plant seeds, watch them grow and sample their own produce. They will also read stories, do crafts and cook fresh vegetables. a wonderful opportunity for city kids to tend their own garden and learn about growing plants. Classes are $115 for non-members for 6 sessions. Scholarships are available. The NY Botanical Garden also offers drop-in classes. See the website for more details and to download a brochure for children's gardening classes.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers gardening classes for children from the Trees and Saplings class for 3 and four year olds to the City Farmers class for 2nd-7th grades where kids get to farm their own plot and bring what they grow home to their family. BBG Spring classes start this weekend and next and registration for summer classes has begun as well. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden also has drop-in classes in the Discovery Garden for city kids.
Battery Park City's Spring Young Sprouts Gardening Classes for preschoolers have already begun, but they are worth looking into for the Summer or Fall if it's too late now.
MILLION TREES NYC April is MillionTreesNYC Month. NYC is running a campaign to get a million new trees planted on city streets, parks and backyards. This month volunteers got together and planted 20,000 trees in one day, but the work is ongoing. You can request a free tree for your street, volunteer to become a tree steward or donate to help plant more trees. I can't think of a more amazing thing than to plant a tree in NYC with your children so that they can forever return to "their" NYC tree. Find out more at MillionTreesNYC.org.
The upper garden for kids at
The upper garden for kids at the NY Botanical Garden is great in summer. They have raised fruit and vegetable gardens (loads of strawberries) and a big area for worm digging (my 4 yr. olds favorite). The lower garden (Everett Children's Adventure garden) is the BEST!! A kid's maze, rocks and tree stumps to climb on, a giant bird's nest to weave with rope and the education center with free, fun, hands-on activities run by high school docents. And, our all-time favorite, the Holiday Train show in the conservatory. Our family membership was a deal.
Thank you for putting these
Thank you for putting these neat opportunities together. As a grandmother I can vouch for the attraction, almost hunger, city children have for the wonders of nature springing from the earth and dwelling beneath the soil. I remember on our first trip to the country in June as soon as we arrived,our 3-year old kissed the ground and spent the rest of the day exploring nature while he played outside our cottage door.
Mommy Poppins is fantastic! Every day!!
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