Team RIVER Volunteers
2024-10-30 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-11-06 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-11-13 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-11-20 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-12-04 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-12-18 09:30 - 12:30 UTC | Icahn Stadium
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful! Team RIVER Volunteers regularly work with the Natural Areas team twice a month to take care of and restore our natural spaces on the island. With our Horticulture team, volunteers care for the many gardens, green streets and meadows here at the park, every second Wednesday of each month. We also work with volunteers to help with park maintenance and public events. If you are only able to volunteer on a limited basis, you are still very much welcome!
Volunteers must be at least 11 years old. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a waiver signed by their legal guardian before starting any work. Children under 16 must also have an adult with them while volunteering (please contact volunteers@randallsisland.org for a copy of the waiver).
Registration is required here.
Location: East Entrance of Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Fall Cleanup
2024-11-02 09:30 - 12:00 | Bronx Shore Public Bathroom
Join the Randall’s Island Park Alliance and our Natural Areas team for one last push to cleanup the park while the weather is still agreeable! Volunteers will not only help with picking up litter and debris but also remove invasive species, clean walking trail paths and other duties to put us on a good path for the winter months. This event is open to the general public.
Registration is required here.
Location: Bronx Shore Public Bathroom near Field 3
If you are having difficulty finding us, or you need to cancel the same day, please feel free to reach Lyall at 617-686-0342.
All participants must sign a Waiver of Liability. Teens aged 16 and 17 years old may volunteer without adult supervision but they must bring the attached waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Minors under 16 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian or adult and bring the attached waiver signed by a parent or guardian. This waiver should be given to those at the registration table.
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

CANCELLED Fungus Walk with The New York Mycological Society
2024-11-02 10:00 - 14:00 | Icahn Stadium
This event has been cancelled due to lack of rain.

Join us as we partner with The New York Mycological Society to hunt for fungi in all its many forms. Learn how to find and identify fungi as well as their essential role in the ecosystem. Bring paper bags for collecting specimens, a hand lens, a knife, a tackle box (optional), water and a lunch.
We highly recommend using the iNaturalist app (IOS, Android) to document the fungi you find. Find out how to use it here.
If you’ve never been on a mushroom walk with us before, here is what to expect. We look forward to seeing you there!
Location: Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Team RIVER Saturday
2024-11-09 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-11-16 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-11-23 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-12-07 09:30 - 12:30, 2024-12-14 09:30 - 12:30 | Icahn Stadium

Wild Oyster Survey with the Billion Oyster Project
2024-11-16 13:30 - 15:30 | North side of the Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh
Join Billion Oyster Project and Randall’s Island Park Alliance at Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh on Randall’s Island for a wild oyster survey along the Harlem River shoreline. Wild oyster surveys are an opportunity to explore your local waterfront and build collective knowledge about where oysters live in NYC.
Learn to count and measure wild oysters along the coast while collecting data to help understand current wild oyster survey populations in New York Harbor. Participants, ages 16+, will learn about how oysters grow, and get up close and personal with the local oyster population while collecting and recording data.
Registration is required to attend this event.
Location: north side of the Little Hell Gate Salt Marsh
Before the event, please watch this video about Wild Oyster Surveys and how to do one, skim through this Protocol Handout explaining what you will do in the field, and send in your digital waiver.
ALL Participants are required to complete this digital waiver in order to participate in this Wild Oyster Survey event. Signed waivers can be submitted electronically via the link provided.
Please wear weather appropriate clothing (water-proof gear in rain, hat when it’s sunny, etc.) and sturdy shoes that you don’t mind getting wet or muddy. Closed toed shoes are required, we suggest rubber boots.
Sunscreen, bug spray, light snacks, and water bottles will be provided, but we encourage you to bring a personal water bottle and sunscreen, especially on sunnier days. Our team will provide all other field supplies including clipboards, data sheets, etc.
Accessibility information
This outdoor event will require walking, bending down, and squatting, on uneven, slippery, rocky, muddy, and sandy ground. Stools will be available nearby as needed, though participants should expect to be standing and/or squatting for up to 2 hours. There are no bathrooms near by the survey site, though there are bathrooms in the park. Parking is available on site. Please reach out with specific questions about accessibility.
Inclement Weather
All outdoor events are subject to cancellation/rescheduling in the case of inclement weather (e.g. extreme heat, heavy rain, lightning etc). If there is light rain, the event will still take place. In the case that this training needs to be canceled or rescheduled, you will receive an email additional with more information.
Wild Oyster Surveys are made possible through a grant from the Dr. Scholl Foundation. This program is part of Billion Oyster Project’s
Please reach out to wildoyster@billionoysterproject.org with any questions, or to be placed on the waitlist in the event RSVPs are full.
What’s included
Participants ages 16+ will learn to count and measure wild oysters along the Randall’s Island shoreline.

CANCELLED Team RIVER Volunteers
2024-12-11 09:30 - 12:30 | Icahn Stadium
Team RIVER is cancelled due to weather.
Volunteer with Team RIVER (Randall’s Island Volunteer Ecological Restorers) and help keep Randall’s Island Park beautiful! Team RIVER Volunteers regularly work with the Natural Areas team twice a month to take care of and restore our natural spaces on the island. With our Horticulture team, volunteers care for the many gardens, green streets and meadows here at the park, every second Wednesday of each month. We also work with volunteers to help with park maintenance and public events. If you are only able to volunteer on a limited basis, you are still very much welcome!
Volunteers must be at least 11 years old. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a waiver signed by their legal guardian before starting any work. Children under 16 must also have an adult with them while volunteering (please contact volunteers@randallsisland.org for a copy of the waiver).
Registration is required here.
Location: East Entrance of Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Christmas Bird Count
2024-12-15 09:00 - 14:00 | Icahn Stadium
The 125th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count—the nation’s longest-running Community-Science bird project—will soon be underway nationwide, and in all five boroughs of New York City – including here at Randall’s Island Park!
Anyone can participate, even beginner birders! The data collected over the past century by volunteer observers, ranging from experienced ornithologists to casual nature enthusiasts, allow researchers to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America.
This family-friendly activity is a great way to explore our City’s natural areas while contributing to valuable scientific research, and we encourage all to participate!
Registration is required here.
Location: Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Winter Composting hosted by Big Reuse
2025-01-11 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-18 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-25 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-01 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-08 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-15 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-22 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-03-01 10:00 - 13:00 and 1 more date | Urban Farm
Join the NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse as we manage the 3-bin compost system at Randall’s Island Urban Farm!
We will be processing food scraps, yard waste, turning piles, and sifting finished compost.
Your volunteer work with us helps divert food scraps and organic waste away from landfills, which decreases greenhouse gas emissions and creates a soil amendment that goes back into parks, gardens, and public green spaces. Help us work towards a more ecologically sustainable community!
Registration is required here.
Location: Urban Farm
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

MLK Day of Service - Morning
2025-01-18 09:30 - 11:30 | Icahn Stadium
Volunteers will assist our Urban Farm team to create these seed packets by placing seeds into packages and clearly labelling each. Seed-saving has a long and rich history, and we’re proud to take a small part in this tradition and pass on our seeds to others in the community to grow. Hot chocolate and light snacks will be provided.
Each growing season, the Urban Farm gives away hundreds of seed packets at its welcome table during the farm’s weekend Open Hours. Seed packets are extremely popular with our visitors — so much so that it is hard to keep the table stocked.
We maintain a wide range of seeds for giveaway! At any given time, you might find rice, lotus, carrot, or lettuce seeds in our library. Some of the seeds we share with the public are extra seeds that we purchased and no longer use. Others are seeds that we save ourselves from the plants growing on the Urban Farm.
Registration is required here. Please arrive early to sign in.
Location: East Entrance of Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

MLK Day of Service - Afternoon
2025-01-18 12:30 - 14:30 | Icahn Stadium

Celebrating Black History Month
2025-02-20 15:00 - 17:00 | East Harlem Neighborhood Health Action Center, 158 E 115th Street, New York, NY, 10029, United States
Join RIPA in this celebration of Black History Month as we uplift the stories and work of our local Black community. We’ll gather at the East Harlem Neighborhood Health Action Center for some nature and community-based activities and an Afro-Brazilian Samba class. Enjoy music, games, and snacks! This program is free and accessible to all ages—geared toward families with opportunities for engagement for all.
Location: East Harlem Neighborhood Health Action Center
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Volunteer Enrichment: Controlling Emerging Invasives through Education and Eradication (RESCHEDULED to MARCH 1)
2025-03-01 09:30 - 12:30 | Icahn Stadium
Our Natural Areas Manager, Doug Kenney, will present an informative workshop on four invasive species RIPA is targeting for removal as part of a DEC-awarded grant, followed by a hands-on activity removing one of the species (Italian Arum) in the Water’s Edge Garden/Forest Pathway area.
We will gather in Icahn Stadium for the presentation, enjoy some snacks, and hot cocoa. Following the presentation attendees will go in the field and directly identify and remove some of these and these potential future invasive plants.
Due to weather conditions, this event will now be held on Saturday, March 1!
Registration is required here.
Location: Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.

Volunteer Enrichment: Bridges of Randall's Island Bike Tour
2025-03-08 09:30 - 12:30 | Icahn Stadium
Join us to examine the bridges that surround Randall’s Island Park! This tour will start with a presentation of the history behind and specifics of the bridges on Randall’s Island. We will look at:

Important people behind these bridges
Bridge design
Bridges on the island

After, we will take a ride around the island, examining the bridges and their distinctive features.
Registration is required here.
Citi bikes will be available for those who need them. To reserve a Citi Bike please send an email to Volunteers@RandallsIslandPark.org.
Location: Icahn Stadium
For inquiries about accessibility, to request an accommodation, or for event information, please email publicprograms@randallsisland.org.
