Programs & Events
Upcoming Programs & Events
Saturday, April 30 – 10:30 AM
Saturday, May 21 – 10:30 AM
Saturday, June 11 – 10:30 AM
Join staff from the Williamsburgh Branch in our beautiful urban meadow to hear great books about birds read aloud. We’ll also share some of our favorite songs and rhymes, and have fun activities for the whole family.
Everyone who comes will receive a gift bag with a blank notebook, a box of colored pencils, and a birdwatching guide by North Brooklyn birder Heather Wolf. We’ll also have tips on how you can start keeping a birding journal.
Please note that supplies are limited.
Register at the links to hold your spot and to receive reminders about the events. Walk-ups are also welcome!
Friday April 29th – Sunday May 1st
Connect with nature and explore the biodiversity of the Naval Cemetery Landscape by making observations through the iNaturalist app. Our staff can help you tune in to what’s buzzing and growing. Stop by and catalog our site’s and our city’s great diversity of plants and animals!
Friday May 6th- Sunday May 8th
Visitors can 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 on-site to dig deeper into our horticultural practices and to share nature observations. Early May is a great time to spot migratory birds, newly emerging perennial plants, and various pollinators buzzing with activity.
Sunday, May 15 – 11:00 AM: Family Friendly Bird Walk with Naturalists Georgia Silveria Seamans and Loyan Beausoleil
Sunday, June 5 – 11:00 AM: Spring Meadow Ecology
Saturday, June 18 – 11:00 AM: Native Bees at the NCL with Bee Biologist Sarah Kornbluth
Saturday, July 10 – 11:00 AM: A Healing Approach to Nature
Sunday, August 7 – 11:00 AM: Native Pollinators and their Habitats
Sunday, September 11 – 11:00 AM: Fall Meadow Ecology
Saturday, October 1st – 11:00 AM: Seed Saving
Saturday, October 30th – 11:00 am: Naval Cemetery Bird Walk
Join our staff and other nature experts as we explore the flora and fauna of the Naval Cemetery Landscape.
Register at the links to hold your spot and to receive reminders about the events. Walk-ups are also welcome.
Thursday, June 9th – 7:00 PM
Thursday, July 14th – 7:00 PM
Thursday, August 11th – 7:00 PM
Thursday, September 8th – 6:30 PM
Join Alex Beckmann for a series of sonic meditations in our native meadow. Each acoustic experience will facilitate relaxation, meditation, and healing. Immerse yourself in a landscape of sound and natural sights!
Register at the links to hold your spot and to receive reminders about the events. Walk-ups are also welcome.
Walk-ups are also welcome!
Self-Guided Programs
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!
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.
Seasonal 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!
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.
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!
#FlowerFridays
Follow along on Instagram as we showcase a different flower growing at the NCL every Friday.
Art at the NCL: Former Works
'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.
'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.
2022 Lead Sponsor
Additional Program Support from
