Ecology Day: Our Shared Landscape

Celebrate our natural surroundings with a day of fun, family-friendly, and environmentally conscious activities!

12–5pm – Ecological Science at NASA
To understand the biosphere, you need to take a step back and study it from the outside—and that means from space. This selection of short videos covers how scientists use satellites to gather data on the behavior of glaciers, changes in sea level, and the health of ecosystems.

12:30–4:30pm – Upcycled! 
Discover clever ways to reuse everyday recyclables, such as cardboard, fabric, popsicle sticks, and straws, to make useful items for your home, office, or even a gift.

12:30–4:30pm – Don’t Throw it All Away!
Ready to move beyond single-use plastic and other “disposable” materials? Refusing a drinking straw feels like it’s not enough? Stop by the Alternatives Table to learn about durable, sustainable, and compostable items and materials that can help you take the next step.

1–4pm – Recycling Demystified
A representative from the Westchester County Department of Environmental Facilities’ Recycling Office will be on hand to explain how we can “Recycle Right,” and provide information on the County’s Refuse District programs.

1pm & 3pm – Composting 101 
Join Elisa Zazzera in this introductory, hands-on workshop that will give you the know-how to start composting at home. Zazzera is a Westchester County Master Composter and Recycler, member of the US Composting Council, and Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct board member who has been actively involved in local and county-wide solid waste initiatives for close to 15 years. Zazzera has helped dozens of families start and improve their backyard compost systems as well as help to institute the Food Scrap Recycling Program in Hastings-on-Hudson.

1pm & 3pm – Nannyhagen Creek
Celebrate our natural surroundings in song with this lively five-piece band, featuring guitar, bass, banjo, cello, and harmonica, plus vocals, with folk favorites like Locally Grown and The Garden Song.

1:30–3:30pm – The Elemental Estuary
Join Jason Muller, Educator, and Outreach Coordinator at the Sarah Lawrence College Center for the Urban River at Beczak , to learn about Hudson River geography, estuaries, watersheds, tides, wetlands, and pollution. Participate in a water taste test, measure the amount of salt in a water sample, and put together a Hudson River Estuary puzzle. Complete the experience by painting a riverscape with water taken from the Hudson.

2:30pm – Family Fun in the Galleries: Woven Wonders
Tour exhibitions by Hudson Valley-inspired artists James McElhinney and Janelle Lynch, search for hidden shapes and patterns in their nature-based works, and create a take-home, upcycled piece of woven art.