Tomorrow, April 22, 2017, is Earth Day! There will be events around the city that celebrate the world, both in its natural state and as observed through the lens of a city. If you can’t make it to one of the events, try one of the nature-centric book pairings listed with each event—and, in honor of Earth Day, consider checking out your book pairings on an e-reader!
TAKE A WALK
Route for Car Free NYC
Courtesy of Car Free NYC
Part of NYC’s Earth Day celebrations will include “Car Free NYC,” which will ban cars from Broadway between Times Square and Union Square. Along the route will be various different celebratory events and workshops, including urban gardening classes, artistic and musical performances, walking tours, and fitness classes. Various boroughs will also feature a car-free section, so, if you don’t want to head to Broadway, you can stop by one of the other locations in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, or Manhattan.
Central Park
BOOK PAIRINGS
Fiction: Open City, by Teju Cole
Poetry: Solstice to Solstice to Solstice, by Allison Boyd Justus
Nonfiction: Wanderlust: A History of Walking, by Rebecca Solnit
Nonfiction: Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, by Lauren Elkin
STREET TREES
Trees on display at The Whitney Biennial
For $13, you can take an Earth Day class called “Street Tree Identification for Beginners” that gives an overview of how to identify trees then takes a walk for some real-life practice! This is through Brooklyn Brainery, which describes itself as “accessible, community-driven, crowdsourced education.” There are two walks; one is in Greenpoint and the other is in Carroll Gardens, both on Saturday 4/22/17.
BOOK PAIRINGS
Fiction: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
Short stories: A River Runs Through It and Other Stories, by Norman Maclean
Nonfiction: A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
Nonfiction: The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben
Art by Chihuly
Courtesy of the NYBG
FANTASTICAL ART
CHIHULY, a major exhibition of artist Dale Chihuly’s fantastical glasswork, opens on Earth Day at the New York Botanical Garden! If you can’t make it on Earth Day, never fear: it will be open until October. The botanical garden will have evening “CHIHULY Nights,” which will remain open after sunset for performance art and musical entertainment with shopping, food, and themed cocktails.
BOOK PAIRINGS
Children’s: The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss
Poetry: Poems of the Sea, by J.D. McClatchy
Poetry: The Moon Before Morning, by W.S. Merwin
Nonfiction: The Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery
NEW YORKERS
Museum of the City of New York
Courtesy of Abigail Kirsch
Museum of the City of New York celebrates Earth Day! This family-friendly celebration includes a scavenger hunt to learn about ways New Yorkers protect our planet, an area to design a plant pot inspired by the environment and plant a seed to take home, and various activities, songs, books, and snacks.
The High Line
BOOK PAIRINGS
Fiction: Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
Poetry: Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman
Short stories: The Shell Collector, by Anthony Doerr
Nonfiction: Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson
This was wonderful, Katherine! I had to miss most of this, but knowing of the book pairings, etc. can help. Earth needs our human support now. Thank you.