For several years, community events have shrunk on Roosevelt Island, but this year, Earthlove Day appears ready to reverse that trend. New management at RIOC changed focus, reaching out for community involvement.
by David Stone
The increase in community group involvement speaks for itself. Under interim management for only a few months, RIOC leadership has healthily engaged with Roosevelt Islanders.
Earthlove Day in Action
Yesterday, RIOC released a detailed summary of activities for Saturday.
This year’s Earthlove Day celebration is jam packed with a wide array of activities designed to educate and encourage residents to engage in healthy, sustainable, eco-friendly living on Roosevelt Island. Check out our list of events below:
Community Tables on Meditation Lawn & Blackwell Plaza
10 AM – 2 PM: RIOC will host a table with a free Earthlove Day community giveaway.
10 AM – 2 PM: Roosevelt Island Historical Society will host a table with free children’s book giveaways and other items.
10 AM – 2 PM: Wildlife Freedom Foundation will host a table with free Earthlove Day giveaways.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Island OM will host an info table on yoga on Meditation Lawn.
Health and Wellness
10 AM – 10:45 AM: MSTDA will host a free capoeira class on Meditation Lawn.
10 AM – 2 PM: Bike New York is hosting learn to ride bike classes for children and adults (pre-registration required) at the Capobianco Courts.
10 AM – 2 PM: Bike New York is also offering free bike repairs under the Helix.
11 AM – 12 PM: Island OM will host a free yoga class for island residents on Meditation Lawn.
12 PM – 1:30 PM: Roosevelt Island Runners and the Roosevelt Island Plogging Club will host a plogging run highlighting our island’s green spaces that steps off from Meditation Lawn at noon.
Recycling/Thrift/Composting
10 AM – 2 PM: Roosevelt Island thRIft will host a table in Blackwell Plaza where they will be accepting donations of clothes, accessories, and books. Donated items will also be available for sale!
10 AM – 2 PM: The Carter Burden Older Adult Center is co-hosting an electronics recycling drop-off point in conjunction with State Senator Liz Krueger’s office. Electronics can be brought to the senior center garden for recycling.
10 AM – 2 PM: Haki Compost returns to Good Shepherd Plaza in conjunction with the Roosevelt Island Garden Club to collect compostable food items.
10 AM – 2 PM: The Roosevelt Island Public Library is hosting a book swap and accepting book donations in Blackwell Plaza.
Educational Seminars
10 AM – 2 PM: iDig2Learn will host free tours on Roosevelt Island’s new “Manhattan Healing Pocket Forest” in Southpoint Park just north of Strecker Lab. (No pre-registration necessary.)
12 PM – 2 PM: Outdoor tours of Cornell Tech’s sustainability features (20-minute tours at 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm, 1:00 pm and 1:30 pm). Meet outside the entrance to the Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center, 2 West Loop Road. (No pre-registration necessary.)
Children’s Activities
10 AM – 2 PM: The Roosevelt Island Youth Center is hosting a free recycling themed art table for kids on Meditation Lawn.
10 AM – 2PM: Island Kids is hosting an environmentally themed activity table on Meditation Lawn.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: The Youth Center will also host a recycling themed scavengers hunt on Meditation Lawn.
10 AM – 2 PM: RIOC is also sponsoring free kids face-painting and a photo booth on Meditation Lawn.
Bravo
“We have never had such comprehensive instructions about an event,” Roosevelt Island historian Judith Berdy said. “My compliments to the RIOC staff, especially Amanda (Dominguez, Communications and Constituent Services Liaison) and team!”
Dominguez provided participants with maps clarifying locations.
North of the Roosevelt Island Tram Plaza
Around the Rivercross Lawn
And South of the Tram Plaza
Finally…
The weather forecast predicts a partly cloudy day with a midday high around 65. It looks ideal and appropriate for a day in which RIOC’s invested so much in sparking a community partnership.
