5th Annual Jamaica Bay Monarch and Pollinator Festival (9/24)
Admission
- Free
Description
Meet at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center to celebrate our Native Pollinators! Come learn from naturalists and experts about our local pollinators, including monarch butterflies, moths, bees, and birds. Activities and crafts for the whole family.
The festival is presented by the American Littoral Society, with NYC Audubon, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, and Gateway National Park Service. Kids are most welcome and encouraged to attend. This is a free event but donations to support this festival are kindly appreciated.
Schedule for the Day:
10 am - ALL: Welcome
10:00 - 11 am - NPS Ranger Guided Hike: Majestic Monarchs - Join a park ranger and learn about the monarch butterfly life cycle, migration patterns, and importance as pollinators.
10:15 - 11:15 am - Littoral Society Indoor Program: Pollinator Slide Show, indoor at the Visitor Center presentation room. Speaker: Don Riepe. An excellent visual introduction to all the different pollinators that frequent Jamaica Bay through the year.
11:15 - 12:15 am - Littoral Society Guided Hike: Pollinator walk with Don Riepe. Gather in front of the visitor center.
10 am - Noon - VOLUNTEER! with NPS for a September Garden Party: Calling all gardeners, plant people, and folks who need to touch grass. Help take care of our Pollinator Garden by watering plants, pulling weeds and clearing debris. Time spent will count towards volunteer participation.
1 pm - 2 pm - Littoral Society Monarch Migration count with Don Riepe: Travel to Fort Tilden (carpools encouraged)
Meet in front of the Chapel at Fort Tilden, at the corner of Davis Road and Murray Road in Fort Tilden just across the street from the Fire Station (Engine 329 - 402 Beach 169th St, Queens, NY 11694)
Use the parking lot next to the chapel for cars
Buses that stop here are the Q22 (last west-bound stop) the Q35 (Brooklyn-Bound)
Rockaway Ferry Shuttle Bus also makes a stop here (check Ferry shuttle bus and MTA Bus pages for arrival times)
For Children:
Throughout the day - Arts & Crafts with Rangers: Pollinator Finger Puppets Craft Table (craft table will be inside Visitor Center lobby)
11:15 am - 12:45 pm - Screening of the short film Pollination Cooperation (indoor - Visitor Center presentation room)
Throughout the day - A fun and educational stop-motion puppetry short film created and produced by our very own Jamaica Bay Visitor Center Park Rangers!
**For the Health and Safety of all attendees, we encourage you to wear masks when you are participating in any indoor presentations.
How to get to the Pollinator Festival:
Use these GPS coordinates in your maps app: 40.616855,-73.824521
The Refuge has parking for those coming by car (please be aware: Space may be limited - we encourage you carpool or opt to take public transit).
For those coming by public transportation: The Q-53-SBS Bus or the Q-52-SBS Bus stops right in front of the Refuge Visitor Center on Crossbay Blvd.
You can also take the Rockaway/JFK-Bound A-train and get off at Broad Channel station then walk about 15 minutes North up and away from town on Crossbay Blvd.
Photo: Southern-migrating Monarch butterflies stop by Jamaica Bay to feed on asters and Black-eyed Susans. Credit: François Portmann
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