Fall Forest Weekends

10:30 a.m. – Natural History of the Thain Family Forest
Join us for a guided walk through this 50-acre, old-growth Forest to learn how it has changed, adapted, and survived over the years.

11 a.m. – Bird Tours
Explore the diversity of migrating birds that find food and habitat in the Thain Family Forest. Learn more about ongoing efforts to make NYC a safer place for our “fine feathered friends.”

3 p.m. – Ecological Restoration & Plant ID Tour
Join a member of our Horticulture staff on a guided tour highlighting NYBG’s ecological restoration efforts and identification of native and invasive species.

About the Bronx River Alliance Guides

Rodrick Bell is a historian and traditionalist whose life work is centered on the preservation of the history and cultural traditions of indigenous eastern woodlands First Nations. He is a descendant of both the Carolina Algonquin and Virginia Powhatan first contact tribes. With BXRA, Rodrick is a Recreation Coordinator, where he enriches river paddle journeys with his ancestral knowledge of Algonquin traditions along the east coast.

Amelia Zaino is a Bronx-born and raised environmental educator with a passion for cartography and the power of place. She has taught and created lessons at the City University of New York, Wave Hill, NYCH2O, and the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, and participated in NASA’s DEVELOP National Program. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Hutchinson River Restoration Project and City Island Oyster Reef.

Christian Murphy is the Ecology Coordinator for the Bronx River Alliance, working to manage the collection and processing of water quality data and organize volunteers who participate in stewardship along the Bronx River. He also helped design and lead the first successful microplastic pilot study on the Bronx River.

NYBG volunteers have been tracking the tree cycles of leaf, flower, and fruit development for more than seven years. Learn how you can be part of this ongoing project.

12 & 2 p.m. – Demonstrations by Herbarium Staff
Learn how to collect, press, and preserve leaves. Visitors will be invited to collect leaves that have fallen onto the Forest paths that they can use to press and take home.