Marsha P Johnson State Park

We are very excited to be co-hosting another socially distanced beach cleanup and teach-in with the @cleanupcollective_ on Sunday, October 25th from 10am-12pm! Come learn about fall migration and help us protect migratory bird and fish species by keeping our important piece of shoreline habitat clean and safe for all visitors. More information about the event and how to register can be found at the link in our bio. #nystateparks #volunteernyc #cleanupcollective #mpjparkstewards #migration

Our stewardship team, environmental educators, park staff, and MPJ Park Steward volunteers have been hard at work this year to keep our park healthy and free of invasive species. Today on this #meadowmonday, we began the last major weeding of our pollinator meadow to remove some invasive and weedy plants! Once we finish this project, we will leave the meadow alone until early spring in order to protect nesting wildlife- particularly overwintering insect eggs, larvae, and pupae. #nystateparks #mpjpollinatormeadow

Aside from this gorgeous weather, we're starting to see signs of Fall here at the park! Keep an eye out for the weekly @iloveny Fall Foliage Report to check the status of the changing leaves throughout the entire state! #fallfoliage #nystateparks #iloveny

Looking for a fun weekend activity this Fall? Try Fishing at the Gantries! Over the next two Saturdays, we will be holding socially-distanced fishing clinics at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City! Come learn about who and what lives beneath the surface of the East River. Help us collect valuable data for the @east.river.fish.project.nyc through a free catch and release fishing program! During this 45 minute program, you will learn the basics of rod and reel fishing and water quality testing, as well as how the two can go hand-in-hand to support fish conservation in the East River. Advance registration is required. Check our link in bio for more information on the event and how to register. #nystateparks #fishing #eastriver #gantryplazastatepark

This map, from native-land.ca, shows the boundaries of Native lands across NYC and the entire state! You can see that our parks are on the ancestral lands of the Lenape Peoples. We’d like to pay respects to the past, present, and future of the Indigenous communities who have lived on this land long before New York City was known as it is today. It is important to recognize the history that has brought us all to this point, so we challenge you to take some time to learn about the communities who lived here before, are still here now, and will be here in the future. Some helpful resources can be found by clicking the links provided on the Native Lands website (listed above and linked in our bio). Swipe to see the Native Lands map for New York State! #HonorNativeLand

Do you have a question about Marsha P. Johnson State Park? Leave it in the comments or come by the park to our Ask an Educator table during the week! Then head down towards the river to enjoy the sand and skyline! #nystateparks #marshapjohnsonstatepark #eastriverstatepark

Around this time of year, monarch butterflies begin the long journey south for the winter. They are the only known species of butterfly that makes this two-way migration, traveling up to 3000 miles to find warmth in the winter! Although scientists are still researching what it is that monarchs use for direction, it is possible that these butterflies use the magnetic pull of the Earth or the position of the Sun to find their way to Mexico. Keep an eye out for these black and orange creatures in our pollinator meadow at Marsha P. Johnson State Park as they pass through on their way down south! #wildlifewednesday #nystateparks #monarchbutterfly #monarchmigration

During the 1990s, local skaters across New York City were continuously looking for new spots with interesting surfaces and obstacles to skate around. The site of what is Marsha P. Johnson State Park now, became a unique venue for skateboarding, also known as, Shantytown. This new skating community built a concrete installation called The Volcano on the Slab, which was so popular that it gained national fame on the skateboarding scene and was featured in well-established magazines! #nystateparks #marshapjohnsonstatepark #eastriverstatepark #skateboarding

It's been awhile since we posted a #meadowmonday update! Swipe to see the progression of our meadow from April through September! #nystateparks #marshapjohnsonstatepark #mpjpollinatormeadow #phenologyfun

Repost from @claypitponds - To celebrate Disability Awareness Month, our October Conservationist of the Month is youth climate activist Daphne Frias. 22-year-old Frias is a proud voice for Latina and disabled communities. Frias was born and raised in West Harlem, NYC, where she directly observed how minority communities like her own are used as places for fossil fuel infrastructure that threatens the environment and public health. In 2019 Frais helped organize the climate str...ikes with Greta Thunburg and was a delegate at the UN Youth Climate Summit. She believes young activists like herself can create sustainable change. Other social justice topics Frias plays an active role in is gun violence prevention, working as NYS Director of March for our Lives; as well as youth voter initiatives, founding the non-profit Box the Ballot. Frias believes it is really important for people with physical disabilities to get involved in climate justice and other activism and is a champion for the disabled community. Frias has Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair to ambulate. She wants people to understand the threat of climate change on those differently-abled. The growing number of natural disasters due to climate change disproportionately affect the disabled community as governments do not have systems in place to support and protect them during these events. The world is inherently ableist, and conversations on eco-justice needs to include intersectional voices. Many of the positive changes made to habits and lifestyle, changes that could contribute to minimizing climate change and rehabilitating the environment, are difficult or impossible for disabled people to do. explains Paralympic medalist Elizabeth Wright. It’s time to address eco-ableism in finding ways everyone can live in an equitable sustainable system. See more

Whose the balm? Bee's the balm! The purple bee balm! Don't be fooled by its name; this flower is loved by butterflies and hummingbirds as well. These flowers are like tiny fireworks but for pollinators! #NYStateParks #MarshaPJohnsonStatePark #EastRiverStatePark #Bees #Pollination #SavetheBees #nycwildlife #flowersofnyc #Birdlink

Happy first day of fall! NY State Parks are beautiful in every season, but there’s just something extra special about autumn. : @ehsan_parneek (IG) Allegany State Park, Oct. 2019