This family festival style event at Rockaway Beach (Beach 44 St) was sponsored by the NYC Parks Department.
Nesting shorebirds feast among the seaweed and plants that wash up on the beach at high tide. The birds aren’t particularly interested in the plants, they prefer the small invertebrates within.
We gathered samples from the shore which included mole crabs, amphipods, Coquina clams (Donax variabilis), a variety of seaweeds, and some garnet sands, which made for a wonderful micro-jungle to explore under a microscope.

We were treated to a NYMS-only tour of the Insect lab at the American Museum of Natural History, along with a look at the new Insectarium in the new Gilder Center, and in the Endangered and Extinct photo exhibition with magnificent photos of specimens from the Museum’s scientific collection.

The event included music, dance performances, food and beverages, other engaging activities for folks of all ages, and community partner information booths and activities. This festival included green roofs open for exploring as well as the area along Newtown Creek.  We focused on plants and pollinators and collected flowers and weeds.