Randall's Island Park Alliance, Inc.

The Randall’s Island Waterfront Stewardship Program
teaches children about coastal and estuarine ecology and enables children to experience nature through hands-on learning. During the field trip, students have the chance to explore one of the wetlands on Randall’s Island and make observations on birds, fish, and plant life using scientific tools. Students gain a greater respect for the environment and a greater understanding of what it means to be an environmental steward. By targeting local schools, participants are able to recognize that nature is something that is present in their own back yard, and easily accessible year-round. The program hosts visits by 4,500 school children annually.

RIPA offeres a free five-week summer program that utilizes the various destinations and facilities available on Randall’s Island to create an active, educational and fun-filled Island experience for thousands of local children. Enrollment is available through local community-based organizations and is comprised almost exclusively of children living in East Harlem and the South Bronx. Children participate in a huge variety of activities that introduce them to different sports, music, and environmental activities. In 2019, the RIPA summer camp hosted 6,135 children, over 90% of whom are from East Harlem and the South Bronx.

The Jesse Owens Track & Field Program is a partnership between RIPA and the City Parks Foundation. It is an instructional program for young people that aims at inspiring and motivating ongoing participation in the sport. This free program for children ages 8-14 was offered on Saturdays during the fall. This fall the Jesse Owens program taught children the basics of cross country running. The children learned drills that helped them work on good running form as well as built running stamina. On average nearly 50 children participated in this program each week, with a high of 110 on the very first week. Many children come to the program with little or no running experience and by the end of the program they are able to run the two mile round trip to and from Randall's Island starting at Thomas Jefferson Park to Randall's Island. Many of the kids also run in the NYRR Youth Jamboree at short distances of 100 meters to 400 meters. Many also run in RIPA’s annual Run The River event with most running in the children's races and a handful competing in the full 5k.

The Volunteer Program brings school, community and corporate volunteers to Randall’s Island Park to lend a hand in restoring and maintaining our beautiful spaces. In 2022, 1757 volunteers logged 5,127 hours participating in 120 events ranging from removing invasive species from our wetlands, to building fences and preparing and planting gardens. Volunteers also helped staff RIPA's large scale seasonal and family-friendly events such as our annual Cherry Blossom Festival, Harvest Festival and Waterfront Festival.

RIPA offers a range of free fitness classes for the local community from Open Run Nights at Icahn Stadium to drop-in Yoga and Zumba Classes taught at convenient Park locations within walking distance from East Harlem and the South Bronx.

RIPA offers free regularly scheduled drop-in walking tours of the Park's waterfront, wetlands, urban farm, gardens, fall foliage and historic sites. The tours are led by professional staff.

The waterfront natural areas of Randall's Island offer New Yorkers a unique opportunity to explore the outdoors and learn more about how these spaces are improving the environment for wildlife and local communities. The Natural Areas Exploration Days are held three times a year and in concert with other local, national and international environmental stewardship events: World Science Day in June, City of Water Day in July, and the Great Fish Count in August.

Park visitors enjoy planting and cooking demonstrations as they explore the Randall's Island Urban Farms organic vegetable gardens, composting station, gourd tunnel, apple orchard and rice paddies. The free program is offered on a drop-in basis during weekends, April - November.

RIPA offers free outdoor Movie Nights 6 times a year during the summer months.