2025 Year-End Summary

For NYC H2O, 2025 was a record year for getting students outside to explore natural areas across the city. We brought 9,470 students on outdoor field trips to explore the connections of nature and clean water.

Whether it was planting trees in the Bronx, cleaning up Canarsie Park in Brooklyn, clearing out invasive reeds at the Ridgewood Reservoir to plant native species, or building traps for spotted lanternflies in Staten Island’s Greenbelt, we made a splash in every borough. We also held our first eco-printing event at the Greenbelt Nature Center.

Thanks to the New York City Council, our Board of Directors, individual donors and foundations, H2O members and of course, the 2,590 volunteers and 10,758 students who helped make all this possible.

EDUCATION

STEM and Water Ecology Trips and Virtual Lessons

In 2025, NYC H2O led 309 field trips for 206 schools in all five boroughs. We brought 9,470 NYC kids to field trips at parks, wetlands, beaches, reservoirs, and natural areas across the city and reached an additional 1,288 students with 51 live lessons via Zoom. In total this year our programs reached 10,758 students. Since we began offering H2O Field Trips in 2014 we have reached 53,042 students in-person and an additional 13,067 online.

The majority of the students we work with have minimal access to STEM learning through their schools and are often unfamiliar with the greenspaces right in their own boroughs. As Title I and III students, they also face language and income barriers. Through our Water Ecology and Engineering Field Trips and lessons we open worlds to these young people and help them understand our ecological history and our vital interconnectedness with their city’s greenspaces and waterways.

NYC H2O field trips, led by trained field guides with dual skill sets in teaching and in environmental science/STEM, encourage students’ natural curiosity and prompt them to ask thoughtful questions about what they observe in both the natural and built environments at the following greenspaces:

• Ridgewood Reservoir (Queens/Brooklyn)
• Baisley Pond (Queens)
• Central Park Reservoir (Manhattan)
• ​Jerome Park Reservoir (Bronx)
• Silver Lake (Staten Island)
• High Bridge (Manhattan / Bronx)
• Lemon Creek (Staten Island)
• Plumb Beach (Brooklyn)
• Canarsie Park (Brooklyn)
• Orchard Beach (Bronx)
• Manhattan Beach (Brooklyn)

After School Programs

NYC H2O’s weekly afterschool programs introduce students to NYC’s water system, urban ecosystems, local natural spaces, and civic engagement, helping to build a connection to nature nearby. Lessons blend art and science via hands-on activities to support creativity and social-emotional learning helping students develop a sense of responsibility for their environment through stewardship activities. Highlights include planting over 500 pollinator plants, mapping infrastructure around school campuses, tree identification, plein-air watercolor painting, designing model watersheds, and bird watching. After school programs took place at PS 58, IS 5, Grover Cleveland High School, (Queens) and PS 24 (Bronx).

At IS 5, the Trout in the Classroom program connected students to NYC’s drinking water by raising trout from eggs and releasing them in a stream in the Croton watershed. This included monitoring water quality–including pH, nitrogen, nitrates and ammonia– in the fish tank. In May, the class traveled to the Cross River to release the trout. This experience helped students understand how healthy ecosystems and clean water are interconnected.

H2O Eco Mappers: GIS + Stewardship

The H2O Eco Mappers program gives youth the tools to study, protect, and advocate for their urban watershed. We use GIS–a digital mapping technology–and ecology methods and environmental stewardship to power student action. 

In 2025, NYC H2O led 9 programs across 7 schools, teaching 140 lessons and engaging over 360 students in urban watershed projects. Students analyzed storm drains, street trees, and rain gardens to evaluate how stormwater moves through their neighborhoods and the risks of pollution entering local waterways. The students used their own data to drive thoughtful environmental cleanups and improvements, including street cleanups, tree maintenance, rain garden planting, and messaging campaigns.

H2O EcoMappers at Lyons Community School:

This October we engaged 8th and 9th grade students in our 3-week GIS Education Program at Lyons Community School in East Williamsburg. In our third year of offering this in-school lesson sequence, we trained 99 students in urban ecology research methods focusing on the conditions of street trees around their school block.

This training involved critical data and digital literacy skill development through the use of ArcGIS Field Maps. Students conducted several outdoor field surveys to document and analyze the presence of green infrastructure in flood zones near their school. They then contextualized their GIS Data maps using background knowledge about the Urban Water Cycle and their local urban watershed. After 2 weeks of scientific research and concept building, students learned how to use their data to narrate a compelling message about environmental justice issues in their neighborhood.

In our final week, each student designed their own Call to Action One-Pager using maps, graphs, and before and after photos of their data-driven tree care stewardship event. Each one-pager showcased unique reflections and arguments identifying the top environmental problem around their school community. Overall, students found that high soil compaction and litter in street tree pits were the major indicators of poor stormwater absorption and increased vulnerability to flooding in their local urban environment.

STEW (“Stewardship”) Crew:

STEW Crew entered its fourth year this fall at WHEELS High School in Washington Heights, and we are proud of their work beautifying the streets around their school community. This year, STEW Crew welcomed a cohort of 20 high school senior interns to join our dedicated team of 10th and 11th grade students. With a larger crew, we piloted an expanded cleanup survey route that now includes all streets from 180th to 183rd between Audubon and Amsterdam avenues. Through this expanded student-led stewardship and litter hotspot tracking, we continue to deepen our stewardship footprint in the neighborhood. 

In addition to leading five afterschool street cleanups that removed nearly 250 pounds of trash from the 182nd St. corridor, students participated in several data and digital literacy workshop sessions that strengthened their ability to contextualize GIS field data. Members of STEW Crew have been empowered to take on different roles and responsibilities based on individual interests and training. This includes resident field mappers who routinely document local environmental hazards and streetscape conditions prior to cleanups, as well as a specialized syringe and hazardous waste removal crew.
In the Fall, STEW Crew mapped a total of 223 litter and environmental hazard data points, contributing to a long-term, student-generated dataset that informs community stewardship, education, and action across the WHEELS and greater Washington Heights community. An overview of this data is publicly available through the STEW Crew Data Dashboard, which serves as an advocacy tool for students and community members invested in addressing environmental justice issues in the neighborhood.

Council Members and Sponsors 

We’re grateful to the following City Council Members for their generous support of Water Ecology and Engineering Field Trips and GIS lessons for NYC students:

• CD 1 Councilmember Christopher Marte
• CD 2 Councilmember Harvey Epstein
• CD 5 Councilmember Julie Menin
• CD 6 Councilmember Gale Brewer
• CD 8 Councilmember Diana Ayala
• CD 10 Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa
• CD 11 Councilmember Eric Dinowitz
• CD 12 Councilmember Kevin Riley
• CD 13 Councilmember Kristen Marmorato
• CD 14 Councilmember Pierina Sanchez
• CD 15 Councilmember Oswald Feliz
• CD 16 Councilmember Althea Stevens
• CD 18 Councilmember Amanda Farías
• CD 27 Councilmember Nantasha Williams
• CD 28 Councilmember Adrienne E. Adams
• CD 30 Councilmember Robert Holden
• CD 34 Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez
• CD 36 Councilmember Chi Ossé
• CD 37 Councilmember Sandy Nurse
• CD 39 Councilmember Shahana Hanif
• CD 40 Councilmember Rita Joseph
• CD 43 Councilmember Susan Zhuang
• CD 46 Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse
• CD 47 Councilmember Justin Brannan
• CD 48 Councilmember Inna Vernikov
• CD 49 Councilmember Kamillah Hanks
• CD 50 Councilmember David Carr
• CD 51 Councilmember Frank Morano

We also thank the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Con Edison, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Hudson River Foundation, New York Presbyterian Foundation, SMPS Family Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation and Northfield Bank for sponsoring and supporting NYC H2O’s educational programming.

STEWARDSHIP AND PUBLIC PROGRAMMING

Ridgewood Reservoir

2025 marks the 7th year of NYC H2O’s restoration efforts at the Ridgewood Reservoir. This year, we made made great strides in habitat restoration and community engagement:

• Invasive Species Management: We continued our efforts removing invasive Phragmites australis reeds from the middle basin, removing over 10,600 square feet of reeds to significantly expand cleared areas to restore this vital wetland habitat. We also removed bindweed, mugwort, crown vetch, and ailanthus trees from the Reservoir paths.
• Pollinator Gardens: Weekly maintenance allowed us to expand the pollinator gardens around the Reservoir, creating a thriving habitat for native pollinators. We collected seeds from plants we planted in past years and planted them on the causeways, ensuring the pollinator habitat is wide reaching at the reservoir. 
• Volunteer Engagement: We organized 20 stewardship events at the reservoir that brought together 380 volunteers from Brooklyn, Queens, and beyond. Partnerships with organizations such as Cypress Hills LDC, NY Cares, ConEd, and NY Presbyterian Hospital helped us grow our volunteer base and raise awareness about our projects through outreach and bilingual programming. These events included removing trash from Vermont Place and Jackie Robinson Parkway, hauling Phragmites roots to be composted, and planting native seeds on the paths surrounding the middle basin. 
• Tree Planting & Care: We planted 40 trees this year, 28 near the Ridgewood Reservoir  and 12 near JHS 144 in the Bronx. We also continued care of trees planted in 2023 & 2024 to ensure their health and contribution to the Reservoir’s canopy.

Eco-Internship

Our Eco-Internship program is a unique experience that allows local high school and college students to engage in habitat restoration efforts at the Ridgewood Reservoir and gain exposure to green careers. From June to August, 16 interns dedicated four days a week to stewardship at the reservoir. This year, interns focused on removing Phragmites plants from the South and East viewing areas. To do this, they clear large sections of the plant stalks, then get into the water to cut out and remove the roots. The roots are stacked and dried on a wall, then are added to piles and covered with black tarp to promote decomposition. This approach avoids the use of herbicides to control invasive plant growth and has proven to be a highly effective method in controlling these invasive reeds, whose extensive root systems can otherwise regenerate rapidly. Interns planted over 250 native plants into composted piles of Phragmites roots and in the pollinator garden. 

Interns gained leadership experience by helping to lead volunteers at stewardship events. They shared stories about their experiences at the reservoir and had volunteers help move dried Phragmites roots to the compost piles though a human chain. 

In addition to hands-on stewardship experience, interns gained exposure to various green careers and professional development opportunities through field trips to local green spaces and career workshops. Field trips included outings to the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, Hudson River Park Trust Wetlab, Citywide Nursery, Recycling Plant, Brooklyn Grange’s Urban Farm, and a kayaking tour of Floyd Bennett Field. These field trips allowed interns to network with professionals and see green job pathways firsthand. 

Our successes in 2025 reflect our dedication to preserving and enhancing the Ridgewood Reservoir as a natural and cultural treasure. We look forward to continuing this vital work in the year ahead.

VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY EVENTS

Virtual and In-Person Events

This year, NYC H2O hosted 4 in-person talks for 680+ participants. 

We started out the year on February 28th with “Uncovered Creeks: New York City’s Forgotten Waterways” presented by Nathan Kensinger at Hunter College. In this talk, Kensinger used his 15-year photography portfolio of the many hidden waterways of NYC to discuss how increased flooding and sea-level rise could return these waterways to the city’s waterscape.

Next, we held another talk at Hunter College on March 28th led by Stanlely Greenberg on his new book, “Waterworks,” a revised and much expanded version of his earlier work in 2003. This book talks about New York City’s water supply and wastewater treatment system, including photographs from throughout Greenberg’s career that provide an unprecedented look into the water system of the late 1990s. The talk was followed by a discussion with Sean Corcoran, Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Museum of Art in New York City.

Following this we rounded out our Hunter College talks hosting ecologist Eric Sanderson, artist Mary Miss and city planner Amy Motzny for “Addressing Cloudbursts in NYC,” a presentation about NYC flooding on April 25th. This cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral talk discussed how the city prepares for, reduces, and reimagines the impact of flooding in our city.

Our final talk of the season was held at the Ridgewood Reservoir led by author Jared Fox on his recently published book “Learning Environment: Inspirational Actions, Approaches, and Stories from the Science Classroom.” Fox discussed the importance of community science and how interacting with real-world projects inspire environmental justice and authentic learning for students.

Community Walks

In 2025, we provided 33 free public programs reaching 1,133 New Yorkers! Each of these explorative walks and programs were led by experts passionate about the outdoors and our city.

This year, we brought back fan favorites, such as our Bat Walks at Ridgewood Reservoir with Gabriel Willow, and held new events like a tour and dance performance at Mill Pond Park led by Alethea Pace and Nathan Kensinger on City of Water Day in July.

We were also excited to share Ridgewood Reservoir’s natural beauty throughout the seasons. We started off the spring migration season in May with Bird Watching at Ridgewood Reservoir led by Heather Wolf. During this tour Heather delved into how the critical freshwater source in the center basin attracts migrating birds on the Atlantic Flyway and boosts our local bird populations. Thanks to Heather, we were able to offer all bird watching events this year in both Spanish and English! 

In April and June we held plant walks, during which Sophie Cozine highlighted the medicinal, edible, and ecological significance of the native plants that bloom in the Spring. 

During the summer we held more of our popular Bat Walks, led by Nic Comparato and Gabriel Willow. During this program attendees get to experience the wildlife of the Ridgewood Reservoir after hours, learning which of the 1,400 species of bats are in residence. Finally, we rounded out the seasons with more bird watching and plant walks exploring the life cycles of different species across seasons.

Journalist and photographer Nathan Kensinger continued his captivating walking tour series this year, exploring diverse New York landscapes. His tours included Walking the Harlem River, Lemon Creek and Prince’s Bay Walk, High Bridge Waterfront Walking Tour, Mill Creek and Richmond Valley Walk, Fordham Landing Waterfront Walking Tour, Richmond Creek and Brookfield Park Walking Tour, Harlem River Photo Walk, Mott Haven Waterfront Walk, and Sandy Brook Walking Tour. Each walk offered unique insights into the natural beauty and history of these areas. Nathan also teamed up with artist Alethea Pace for City of Water Day at Mill Pond Park where Alethea led an interactive and improvised movement-based performance while Nathan spoke about the history of the site.

This year, we continued our focus on fostering a deeper connection to marine ecosystems and watershed through a series of coastal walks and freshwater tours. One of our own educators, Cullen Brown, led bike tours along the Old Croton Aqueduct Bike Tour tracing the path of NYC’s first reliable and plentiful source of freshwater. Rounding off our program, we offered the popular Horseshoe Crab, led by Professor Lisa Jean Moore at Plumb Beach in Brooklyn. These activities not only educated participants about NYCs unique water ecology but also emphasized the importance of conservation and sustainable interaction with our marine surroundings.

Volunteer Beach, Park, and Litter Cleanups

In 2025, we organized 57 volunteer cleanups at 25 different beaches, parks, and streets across all five boroughs. With the help of almost 3,000 dedicated volunteers, we removed over 28,000 pounds of trash.

We organized 18 events in Staten Island, with two cleanups at Arthur Kill Rd., two at Conference House Beach, one at Crescent Beach, three at Lemon Creek, six at Mariners Marsh, two at Oakwood Beach, and two at Wolfes Pond. These cleanups were attended by many students from IS 7 and Tottenville High School. 

Our second most frequented borough was the Bronx, with a total of 12 cleanups. We organized street cleanups at Edson Ave., Givan Ave., High Bridge, Ogden Ave., Park Ave., Sedgwick Ave., and White Plains Rd. 

We focused on Brooklyn’s shorelines with four cleanups at Canarsie Park and Pier, and four cleanups at Plumb Beach. At these cleanups we removed debris from over two miles of shoreline, making sure waste does not end up in the marine environment. Hundreds of students from St. John’s University participated in these cleanups.

In Queens, we organized four cleanups at Baisley Pond Park where we focused on removing large items from the pond including twelve barrel drum trash cans, five bicycles, two scooters, and two lamp posts.

We organized four bench and fence painting events at Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan. Together we painted over 100 feet of fence and 60 benches to make the area more enjoyable and welcoming to park-goers.

2025 marks our 10th year of organizing volunteer cleanup events across New York City and our commitment to enhancing green spaces across the city by collaborating with community members.

PARTNERS

We’re grateful to the following elected officials and government entities for their generous support of Water Ecology and Engineering Field Trips:

We also thank the following sponsors, partners, and community groups for their sponsorship and support of our programming:

Finally, we thank all the schools who participated in field trips or virtual lessons with us for their support of our programming:

We look forward to continuing our impact in 2026!