Celebrate Earth Day with the Staten Island Museum

Having trouble with your houseplants? Looking to forage in your own backyard? Wondered how to hike the woods of Staten Island? Indulge your curiosity with over 20 different skills designed to connect you with the natural world whether that's on the seashore, in the woods, inside your home or right outside your door.

Join the Staten Island Museum at their virtual version of the annual Earth Day: How-To Festival on Thursday, April 22, at YouTube.com/SIMuseum (on the Earth Day 2021 Playlist) or at www.StatenIslandMuseum.org/event/EarthDay2021. The videos will be released at 10am and remain accessible throughout the spring.

Celebrate Earth Day and our community's know-how with fun virtual presentations for all ages. Local experts, enthusiasts, and hobbyists share their particular passions ranging from activities that require specialized skills to those anyone can do. This Earth Day, learn something new and help protect the only world we have!

"After a successful virtual event last year, we are thrilled to be offering our annual Earth Day How-To Festival online again this year! Many presenters are returning with new how-tos to celebrate and share their expertise. The How-To Festival gives people the opportunity to learn new skills and access a bevy of knowledge about the environment, right from their own homes," remarks Janice Monger, Staten Island Museum President and CEO.

How-To Festival Lineup, April 22

Cooper Keane (Amateur Lepidopterist)

How to help monarch butterfly migration

Yemi Amu (Founder and Farm Manager, Oko Farms Aquaponics)

How to grow food from food

Tattfoo Tan (Artist)

How to make paint from minerals

Sarah Blas (Founder, Staten Island Therapeutic Gardens)

How to cultivate community growth through gardening

Tony Rose (Director, Natural Resources Protective Association)

How to put a kayak to sea... and come back

How to talk to a living fossil

Cliff Hagen (President, Protectors of Pine Oak Woods)

How to attract attractive birds

Staten Island Urban Center

How to alkaline water

Jenna Otero and Annabel Posimato (NYC Regional Environmental Educator, New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation)

How to make a pollinator-friendly outdoor space

Christopher Rommel, Environmental Educator, Staten Island Greenbelt

How to use a Baseplate Compass

Colleen Evans (Director of Natural Science Interpretation and Collections, Staten Island Museum)

How to press a plant and start an herbaria at home

Ashley Gary (Science communicator)

How to follow your dreams of becoming a science communicator

Ciara Scully (Regional Environmental Educator at New York State Parks)

How to start a Nature Journal

Aly Stoffo, Environmental Communicator

Staten Island Weed, or Medicinal plant? How to Identify and Use!

Kwynn Hogan, Environmentalist, Advocate, & Educator (IG: @kwynn.hgn)

Eat the Weeds: How To Forage In Your Backyard

Lenny Librizzi (Beekeeper and Community Gardener)

What Tree is That? How to Identify Five of My Favorite Trees.

Franco Paolino

How to Hike Staten Island

Cait Field (Manager for Science & Research Development , Freshkills Park Alliance)

How to observe animals like a scientist

Wambui Ippolito (Horticulturist)

How to cold stratify seeds for spring planting

Cristian Gilces (GrowNYC)

How to choose the right houseplant for your home

Earth Day is an annual event celebrating the environment and raising awareness about the threats against it. Earth Day started as a grassroots movement in 1970 based on the idea of "teach-ins." More than 20 million people and thousands of local schools and communities participated in the first Earth Day. This early success helped to influence the United States' government to create stronger laws to protect the environment and create the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Earth Day is still as relevant today as when it started and serves as a reminder of what humanity can collectively accomplish. As a Museum founded by naturalists 140 years ago, the Staten Island Museum is committed to helping people understand the importance of biodiversity and how we can lessen human impact on the environment.

Earth Day: How-To Festival is on Thursday, April 22. The featured videos can be found on the Museum's YouTube channel at YouTube.com/SIMuseum (on the Earth Day Playlist) as well as their website StatenIslandMuseum.org, and Facebook page (Facebook.com/StatenIslandMuseum). All instructional videos can be accessed beginning on April 22 and will remain up for the public to view throughout the spring.