In addition to being beautiful to look at, city parks and community gardens are ideal spots for family-oriented and community-based activities that range from educational workshops to seasonal festivals – connecting families with nature and New York City’s great outdoors.
A growing body of evidence suggests a decline in the health of today’s youth is linked to children’s separation from nature. Chronic health conditions – such as obesity, diabetes and depression – have reached alarming rates, affecting a growing number of children. New York Restoration Project (NYRP) understands that kids – and their parents – need to have to have a place to run, play and explore, and through programming and partnerships with like-minded organizations, NYRP seeks to improve the health and quality of life for young New Yorkers by reconnecting them to nature and promoting outdoor recreation as a daily necessity.
Whether teaching New Yorkers of all ages how to plant a tree for the first time or exposing urban youth to their first-ever overnight camping experience, New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) family-friendly programs not only reconnect communities throughout the city to nature, but also put the fun back into environmental learning. NYRP organizes activities and events to help New York City residents get the most benefit from our city’s revitalized, public open spaces – engaging local community members in the day-to-day maintenance and life of their neighborhood greens, whatever form they may take. And while NYRP’s activities are designed to provide a greater understanding of the environment, they also serve to strengthen important life and social skills, including teamwork, leadership and respect for others.
As parents, not only do we look for opportunities to spend quality time with our children, we also want to set good examples for how they can develop into caring and responsible stewards of both their community and the greater world in which we all live. NYRP programs seek to reach out directly to parents, providing both structured and informal activities that bring families closer together – and closer to the natural world in which they live – through a variety of enjoyable, stimulating and thought-provoking activities that support the environment, as well as each other.