Programs & Events
Daily Programs
Brooklyn Bodega Bookshelf
The Naval Cemetery Landscape is excited to partner with Brooklyn Book Bodega on their mission to ensure that all children have access to and ownership of books. We invite you to come out to the NCL with your children this summer to pick up a free nature book from our bookshelf (1 per child). Follow this link to find reading tips from Brooklyn Book Bodega for children of all ages!
Monarch Butterfly Coloring Page
The Naval Cemetery Landscape is officially recognized as a Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch, due to the amount of nectar rich annuals and milkweed varieties planted in the meadow. Monarch butterflies are in decline, due mostly to the lack of habitat and foraging resources along their migration routes. Pick up a Monarch Butterfly Coloring Page at the NCL to learn more about the Monarch Butterfly’s life cycle, its migration, and the importance of fostering native habitats as a way of helping this beloved insect!
Self Guided Tour of the Naval Cemetery Landscape
Pick up a self guided tour brochure at our entrance to learn more about our native meadow, the history of the NCL, and our site’s features. Follow up with our staff with your questions and observations!
Native Wildflower Seed Packets
Bring a part of the NCL home by growing flowers such as purple coneflower, plains coreopsis, black-eyed Susan, and milkweed in your own garden or container. Stop by the NCL and pick up a native, pollinator-friendly wildflower seed packet that you can take home and plant. The seed mix includes native annual and perennial wildflower seeds that are easy to grow and thrive in the Northeast.
#FlowerFridays
Follow along on Instagram as we showcase a different flower growing at the NCL every Friday.
Bench Stories
Find the Nature Sacred Bench and journal behind our Sacred Grove and take a moment to sit, breathe, be present, and enjoy space in nature. Feel free to record your thoughts, observations, and reflections in the journal, or to explore others’ musings as you relax in the shade of our native trees.
Art at the NCL: Currently On View
'Layers' by Aaron Asis
Title: “Layers”
Artist: Aaron Asis
Dates: September 14 – October 24th 2021
Pieces: Large scale paper mural on the NCL entry facade displaying the pre-development landscape of the site. Inside, hundreds of black chalk stripes painted on the boardwalk represent pre-development patterns in the landscape.
Artist Statement: The installation is designed to showcase the past and remind us of the layered history beneath our feet. It consists of two parts: a large scale paper mural on the NCL entry wall displays the pre-development landscape surrounding the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the Naval Cemetery Landscape site. Inside, hundreds of stripes along the boardwalk represent pre-development patterns in the landscape to demonstrate our human impact on the land. Footprints left along the chalked stripes will serve as marks to contemplate and honor the lives historically laid to rest on these grounds. These temporary installations are designed to acknowledge our human impact on the land and to inspire public attention, inquiry, and contemplation into the layered history of this site, the city, and our lives.
Art at the NCL: Former Works
'Solitude: In A Landscape' by Najee Wilson
Title: “Solitude: In A Landscape”
Artist: Najee Wilson
Dates: August 26 – September 2nd, 2021
Pieces: Film, “Solitude: In A Landscape” projected onto the boardwalk, screened with a live score by musician Ben Brown, images printed on silk and nylon ripstock and hung on shepherd’s hooks throughout the meadow
Artist Statement: “Solitude: In A Landscape” is a celebration of bucolic beauty within an urban oasis, yearning for comfort and the nostalgic pleasures of enjoying nature made in reaction to the chaos of 2020.