Randall’s Island Park Alliance Breaks Ground on $6 Million Nature Center

Free and open to all, the Nature Center will provide a permanent home for the Alliance’s diverse educational and community programs. Visitors will be invited to explore the Park’s vibrant waterfront, connect with the Urban Farm, and dive into hands-on citizen science, all under one roof.

The Nature Center will serve as a base camp for diverse student groups, RIPA’s college and career training programs, and volunteers who visit the Island. Newly-created, dedicated classroom space will serve the Alliance’s youth education programs that engage more than 15,000 local students each year, 91 percent of whom are from underserved, neighboring communities, including East Harlem and the South Bronx. The Nature Center will also be available for RIPA’s summer campers to use as a base for programming and serve as an important indoor space during inclement weather.

“This project will transform how our visitors interact with the Park by creating a hands-on learning space for all ages and a hub for exploration of the island’s natural environment,” said Deborah Maher, President of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance. “For the four million people who visit the Park annually – from those that call it their backyard to our visitors from around the world – Randall’s Island Park has something for everyone to enjoy. We thank our many generous partners and local elected officials in helping see this project through to fruition.”

Public and private donors who provided essential funding to support the Nature Center include State Senator Jose M. Serrano, Champlain Hudson Power Express, Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, friends of Courtney Hall, the Office of the Manhattan Borough President, and the Gray Foundation, as well as a grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation through Title 9 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1993.

“For generations, Randall’s Island has served as an important community connector to nature, recreation, and the outdoors. The new Nature Center on Randall’s Island will continue to enhance that experience, providing much needed space for educational programming that helps connect our neighbors to the natural world around them,” said State Senator Jose M. Serrano. “I am happy to be supportive of this new center which will help further engage students and visitors with public programs, school field trips, summer camps, and more. My sincere thanks to the Randall’s Island Park Alliance, New York City Parks, and my colleagues in government for all they have done to help make this project a reality.”

“Our public parks are critical spaces where New Yorkers can connect with our city’s abundant and diverse natural environment. In addition to helping visitors of all ages explore ecology, sustainability, and resiliency on Randall’s Island, this investment in a brand-new Nature Center will enhance the park experience for its millions of visitors each year with new space for programming and new restrooms,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. “We’re so grateful to our partners at the Randall’s Island Park Alliance for their year-round stewardship of this beloved Park and for championing this exciting project. We look forward to joining them next year to celebrate this new hub for learning and nature.”

The 2,500-square-foot Nature Center has been designed by a team led by MPFP PLLC, the firm also responsible, over many years, for RIPA’s master planning for the Park. As a renovation of an existing masonry building, the Nature Center will follow Smart Growth principles by enclosing the original structure with innovative glulam timber cloaking and will demonstrate sustainability measures through a green roof, rain garden, and other best practices. Its location alongside the island’s restored tidal salt marsh and freshwater wetlands will facilitate RIPA’s educational programs, including exploration of natural non-point source pollution filtration, as runoff from adjacent fields and roadways circulates through wetlands’ cleansing plantings before being released into riverways.

Visitors to the Nature Center will find information about the Park and daily events, be able to enjoy an outdoor activities area with accessible public restrooms, as well as the gathering space for school groups, community-based organizations, and volunteer groups. Inside, offices and fully-equipped classroom space will provide a home for programming staff and space for lessons, research, and meetings, including teacher training, green industry training, and service-learning sessions for local schools.

Indoor and outdoor classroom areas will offer visitors space for guided learning and interactive displays regarding the Island’s geomorphology, habitats, wildlife, and other topics of interest surrounding the urban environment. Planned educational resources include live exhibits, aquariums, a salt marsh ecosystem, physical earth displays (soil, tides, weather), climate change themes, seasonal displays related to changes in plant and animal life, a lab for environmental monitoring and learning, and stormwater management programs. A planned composting station and food lab will facilitate activities and training in local, healthy, and conservation-focused food production.

The Center will also lend visibility and support to the full range of the Alliance’s comprehensive and diverse free nature-based public programming. Each year, hundreds of drop-in events offer the Park’s neighbors direct interaction with the Island’s natural environment. These popular programs include guided tours of the wetlands, waterfront, gardens, and the urban farm, as well as events such as Bird Bonanza, City of Water Day, Pollinator Palooza, as well as our Earth Day, Waterfront, and Harvest festivals. Outdoor classrooms will be utilized to host and engage local students, teachers, volunteers, and participants during these engaging events.

The Nature Center will also serve as a new home for the Park’s programming staff. More than 14 staff members, who are responsible for providing more than 300 free public programs and maintaining the 330-acre park and its wide array of spaces, seamlessly blending nature, sports, and community recreation, will work from the new space upon its completion.