Governors Island Nature

About

Gov­er­nors Island Nature fos­ters vis­i­tor engage­ment with Gov­er­nors Island’s 120 acres of nat­ur­al and built open spaces and pro­motes hor­ti­cul­ture prac­tices employed by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island that sup­port bio­di­ver­si­ty. Through learn­ing, pub­lic pro­grams, and stew­ard­ship projects, Gov­er­nors Island Nature aims to edu­cate vis­i­tors about hor­ti­cul­ture, bio­di­ver­si­ty and the impacts of cli­mate change on our nat­ur­al sur­round­ings, while pro­mot­ing Gov­er­nors Island as a sanc­tu­ary for all beings.

The work of Gov­er­nors Island Nature and the Trust’s hor­ti­cul­ture team is led by the firm belief that any­one can devel­op mean­ing­ful con­nec­tions to the nat­ur­al world in an urban set­ting, under­stand our shared eco­log­i­cal respon­si­bil­i­ty, and help com­bat bio­di­ver­si­ty loss. Our team employs a wide range of inno­v­a­tive, exper­i­men­tal meth­ods to cul­ti­vate native habi­tats with a goal of mit­i­gat­ing the harm­ful effects of habi­tat destruc­tion and cli­mate change. With a mix of his­toric and new­er, man­made land­scapes — many of which were cre­at­ed to mit­i­gate the impacts of cli­mate change — Gov­er­nors Island pro­vides New York­ers with a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to wit­ness and par­tic­i­pate in nature-based cli­mate solu­tions and native habi­tat restoration.

Our Natural Areas

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Tree Map

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Plant Watch

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Get Involved

• Vol­un­teer with us
• Com­mu­ni­ty sci­ence: Join the Trust’s hor­ti­cul­ture team for month­ly Nature Walks dur­ing the spring, sum­mer, and fall months to dis­cov­er Island bio­di­ver­si­ty! Click here for an event cal­en­dar. Make sure to cre­ate a free account with iNat­u­ral­ist and log your plant and wildlife obser­va­tions dur­ing your vis­it — this cre­ates use­ful data that helps track and increase bio­di­ver­si­ty around the world.

Resources & Updates From our Team

• Self-guid­ed nature scav­enger hunt, spring 2024
• The Trees of Gov­er­nors Island: Effec­tive­ly Man­ag­ing an Urban Forest
• The Trees of Gov­er­nors Island: Sur­vey­ing Our Diverse Canopy

Resources & Updates From our Partners

The Trust works with a grow­ing com­mu­ni­ty of year-round and sea­son­al ten­ants and oth­er part­ner orga­ni­za­tions. See below for resources and updates from sev­er­al on-Island partners.

• NYC Bird Alliance’s Bird­ing Guide to Gov­er­nors Island
• GrowNYC Teach­ing Gar­den resources
• 10 Ways to Save the Bees, a guide from the Bee Conservancy
• Com­post­ing on Gov­er­nors Island, a guide from Earth Mat­ter NY

2024 is the Year of Milkweed on Governors Island!

Governors Island is inviting all New Yorkers to join us for a year of educational programs and events that highlight the power of native plants in encouraging biodiversity and healthier ecosystems. Our goal is to plant 5,000 milkweed plants all around the Island in 2024, with your help. Click here for more information.