Hands-on restoration in the park’s wetlands and floodplain. What we do shifts with the season — check the individual date before you sign up. By season: water chestnut removal on Van Cortlandt Lake in summer; phragmites control and planting native willows and shrubs in fall. When: Wednesdays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Where: Van Cortlandt Golf House — meet outside the VCPA offices next to the bathrooms Bring: clothes that can get wet and muddy, water bottle, sunscreen. Long sleeves and boots for the phragmites dates. Tools, gloves and training provided. No experience needed. Ages 15+ welcome (minors need waiver). RSVP Now. Groups of 6+ email noel@vancortlandt.org to schedule separate event for a modest fee.
We are very excited to bring our Youth Run Farmstand featuring fresh local produce at affordable prices back! Wednesdays 2-7pm from July 8 to October 28 Train Park (Gale Place and Orloff Avenue) We accept WIC, FMNP Checks, EBT, Snap, Fresh Connect Checks, Cash and Credit/Debit.
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance Farm Stand is an open-air farmers market at Corner of Gale Pl & Orloff Ave, Bronx. Hours: Wed 2pm-7pm. Season: July 8-October 28. Free to visit — no ticket and no registration. Listed by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (data.ny.gov farmers' market directory).
Join us for forest restoration work at a new work location. Your work opens the forest floor for native wildflowers, oak seedlings, and the understory waiting underneath. When: Fridays, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM New Location: Van Cortlandt Park — meeting at the Classic Playground on the southern end of the park. What to bring: Clothes that can get dirty, sturdy shoes, water bottle, sunscreen. Tools and gloves provided. RSVP Now. Ages 15+ welcome (minors need signed waiver: https://vancortlandt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/VCPA_Waiver_Form_2019.pdf) Limited to 30 volunteers per shift. Groups of 6+ email noel@vancortlandt.org
This October, you’re invited to the VCPA Learning Garden for FREE family garden fun! Super Seedlings is a FREE, drop-in gardening program for kids ages 2-7 and their caregivers. Each session will have a fun seasonal theme to explore, crafts, plants to water, veggies to harvest, soil to dig into, and more! Come once, twice, or all three weeks for some playing and planting! We hope to see you there! 📅 Dates: Saturday, October 10th* Saturday, October 17th Saturday, October 24th 🎃 🕐 Time: 10 AM – 12 PM 📍 Location: VCPA Learning Garden Enter through the park entrance off of Mosholu Avenue and Broadway – our garden is past the Northwest Playground and next to the Riverdale Stables. *Please note: 10/10 is the day of the Manhattan College Invitational Cross Country Race in VCP. Parking will be extremely difficult. We recommend taking public transporation to the garden that day. RSVP Suggested. For more information, contact gardening@vancortlandt.org.
Join a local artist as they work to highlight the Van Cortlandt forest through casting falling trees using homemade paper. Work with a local artist as she makes paper and casts fallen trees for an upcoming exhibit. Join a local artist as they work to highlight the Van Cortlandt forest through casting falling trees using homemade paper. Work with local artist Michele Brody in collaboration with VCPA to create paper casts of fallen trees in Van Cortlandt Park. VCPA is collaborating with Bronx Artist Michele Brody to produce an immersive installation that will reanimate fallen Park trees through cast handmade-paper sculptures for an upcoming exhibition at the Kingsbridge Historical Society. Come join her to help with this creative endeavor while learning the process of making paper. For ages 15 and up! RSVP Now. This project is made possible with public funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and with funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, both administered by the Bronx Council on the Arts.
Join us for an afternoon of creativity and reflection as we gather at the Enslaved African Burial Ground in Van Cortlandt Park. The event will begin with a moving live performance by musician Juan Usera and The Sambuco Tribe, setting the tone and making space for remembrance and renewal. Following the music, Bronx-based artist Tijay Mohammed will lead an interactive chalk art project aptly named “Message to my Ancestors,” transforming the pathway into a vibrant canvas that honors history and sparks imagination for the future. Local artists will work alongside Tijay Mohammed, including Adrian Bermeo, Adrienne George, Dario Mohr, Musah Swallah, Noel Hefele, and Yoshiko Mori. This unique gathering blends art, music, and community in a powerful act of reimagining, bringing people together in a shared experience of creativity and remembrance. RSVP Now. Tijay Mohammed’s “Message to my Ancestors” project is sponsored by Bronx Council on the Arts and AnkhLave Arts Alliance, Inc. The event is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This event is part of Van Cortlandt Park Alliance’s REIMAGINING initiative. VCPA invites the community to reimagine the park’s Enslaved African Burial Ground site as a memorial space that fosters long-term healing and restoration. Phase 1 of this project was supported by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation. Juan Usera is a fourth-generation Bomba practitioner and culture-bearer from Santurce, Puerto Rico, a community educator, researcher, college professor, musician, and performer. He specializes in Puerto Rican and Caribbean music and culture and has over 20 years of experience developing highly engaging cultural activities and arts programs throughout the New York tri-state area. Juan is the founder and director of La Tribu del Juey Sambuco (La Tribu), an Afro-Caribbean music and dance ensemble and arts in education company. La Tribu has been featured at Lincoln Center and El Museo del Barrio among many others. He is the recipient of a NYSCA Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant, City Parks Foundation grant, and NYFA City Artists Corps grant among others. Ghanaian-born artist Tijay Mohammed currently resides in Bronx, NY. As an artist he has a strong passion for exploring issues that affect community and humanity at large. His work explores the concept of ‘excess’ in the production and consumption of products, and offers a solution through the integration of materials reuse and up-cycling. Tijay has spearheaded workshops and community-oriented projects for esteemed organizations, including the Studio Museum Harlem, Brooklyn Museum, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Wallach Art Gallery, Lehman College, University of Ghana, and Pinto Community Centre in Trinidad and Tobago.
