Along with the arrival of spring flowers to Park gardens — with daffodils, tulips and other bulbed beauties adding vibrance to our waterfront — April heralds the start of volunteer season in Hudson River Park.
Thousands of corporate volunteer groups and individual community members rolled up their sleeves last year to keep the Park looking green and gorgeous. Working alongside Park horticulturists, volunteers help Hudson River Park thrive: planting bulbs, removing invasive species, supporting community composting, conducting shoreline cleanups and helping to monitor oyster populations.
The first Saturday in April 2025, Friends welcomed back our HRPK Green Team — a hardworking group of weekend volunteers that cut back the winter overgrowth and readied the Park’s Gansevoort Peninsula plant beds to kick off the nearly nine-month volunteer season in Hudson River Park.
More than 2,500 volunteers helped out throughout the Park’s four miles last year, thanks to the support of our Presenting Sponsor, Citi, and Supporting Sponsors, Colgate and New York Cruise Lines. Volunteers put over 5,000 new plants in the ground and sent 230 loads of weeds and other horticultural debris to the Community Compost Center.
Last fall volunteers planted over 18,000 flower bulbs throughout the Park’s piers and upland plant beds — the very bulbs that add beauty to our waterfront when we welcome them back to the Park the following spring!
Whether they’re taking part in Corporate Volunteer Community Service Days, Saturday Green Teams, Blue Team shoreline cleanups, Neighborhood Gardeners, Compost Facilitators, or Park Ambassadors at major events, our volunteer community is central to the Park’s care.
As a lifelong New Yorker, I am always happy to give back to the communities that helped shape me. Volunteering with Hudson River Park has left me with cherished memories of working with colleagues to add value to New York City.”
— Kimberly Williams
Director, Manhattan Corporate Affairs, Con Edison