Earth Week 2026

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Springtime in Queens featured a burst of environmental activity at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The FMCP Stewardship team and volunteers kicked off April with Earth Week projects focused on supporting the natural areas within nearly 900 acres of green and blue spaces and closed out the month with an incredible display of community service. 

Volunteers participated in litter collection, shoreline restoration, species management, tree care, wildlife observation, planting, pruning, weeding, mulching, and citizen science. These efforts enhanced the park’s natural beauty while fostering connection among participants.

Many volunteers shared plans to continue serving as environmental stewards by educating each other on civic leadership and even organizing their own community cleanups.

Here are FMCP Stewardship event highlights:

  • On the last day of March, 200 students from Hillcrest Highschool spent their senior day with us taking care of Meadow Lake, The Ederle Bioswale, and Triassic Playground filling 167 bags of litter.

  • As part of our Earth Week series, volunteers helped with trail maintenance on both the Pat Dolan Trail and at Friendship Grove, followed by a group “silent hike” to mindfully take in nature as part of our Earth Week series. We also had the opportunity to help maintain Lawrence Playground while teaching young parkgoers how to care for the flowers near the sprinklers. Happy Campers from the Queens Zoo also joined in by collecting leaves around the entrance, where even more environmental learning continues inside the zoo. 

  • Members of the LaGuardia Gateway Team, The Loukoumi Foundation, and Urban Park Rangers returned again this year and did an excellent job removing litter from the World’s Fair Marina after first learning about the surrounding water ecology. The Hong Kong Dragon Boaters also dedicated a day of service near Meadow Lake, removing 41 bags of litter — not including larger debris — and clearing 1,300 square feet of phragmites. Altogether, more than 130 volunteers contributed over 400 hours of service during another successful Earth Week. 

  • Once again, volunteers beautified Cherry Tree Grove in preparation for the Japanese American Association’s Annual Sakura Festival. Despite the rain, they stayed the entire time to mulch more than 50 trees. 

  • We also hosted “Bring Your Kids to Work Day” with our partners at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where participants enjoyed pollinator crafts and games focused on environmental education while learning about the day-to-day work of a NYC Parks gardener.

  • We also launched a new four-day stewardship program with Civic Leadership Academy, a local high school in Corona, as part of their Civics Week curriculum. Students took on a significant restoration project and learned about the park’s ecology while strengthening their horticultural skills. A total of 413 students and teachers contributed 826 hours of volunteer service. Together, they raked and collected 235 bags of leaves, pulled 42 bags of weeds across 9,500 square feet of garden beds, and edged 900 feet of sidewalk.

We would like to thank everyone who came out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park and brought fantastic energy to serving their planet!