Urban Naturalist Classes

In this teeming metropolis we call home, nature is all around us whether we pause to carefully observe it or not. Amaranth springs through the cracks in our sidewalks; migrating warblers rest in our parks; horseshoe crabs scuttle onto our beaches to breed. As a NYBG Urban Naturalist, you will have a unique opportunity to explore these diverse habitats while discovering the keys that unlock their many secrets. Enroll in a course for fun or pursue a Certificate.

Click here for an overview of the Certificate Program.


July

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
261BOT308AO 07/28 Mo 6:00pm-8:00pm Holmes
ONLINE

August

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
261BOT346O 08/04 Mo 10:00am-12:00pm Bijkerk
ONLINE

Enhance your environmental stewardship skills by learning the methods of conducting a botanical survey. In this class, you'll examine how botanists are contributing to conservation efforts by documenting the flora of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve in Westchester County. You'll more...
261NAT340BL 08/05 Tu 6:00pm-8:00pm Butter
OFS-BL

Explore these two beautiful and intriguing groups of herbaceous plants. NYBG's Director of the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium Dr. Emily Sessa will take you through the basic aspects of ferns and lycophytes. Gain an understanding of their form and more...
261BOT360 08/08 Fr 10:00am-1:00pm Sessa
NYBG

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
261BOT308BO 08/10 Su 10:00am-12:00pm Bucuvalas
ONLINE

Chanterelles, Milk Caps, Black Trumpets, Boletes of all kinds, and many other choice edibles make their appearance in the steamy summer months. Learn how to sort through this abundance with hands-on techniques and observations.
261BOT356 08/14 Th 10:00am-1:00pm Sadowski
NYBG

Study the crucial role birds, insects, and bats play in local ecosystems. Expert naturalist Alan Wells discusses the many different types of pollination, as well as how the roles played by a plant's flower structure, nectar production, and fragrance.
261NAT325O 08/14 Th 6:00pm-8:00pm Wells
ONLINE

Celebrate National Moth Week with its co-founder Elena Tartaglia! She'll detail the essential roles that moths play in ecosystems as pollinators, links in food webs, and decomposers. Discover how to attract moths for close observation and learn how they are more...
261NAT348O 08/14 Th 6:30pm-8:30pm Tartaglia
ONLINE

With lushly cultivated gardens, native plants, and variety of natural habitats, NYBG is a haven for observing many species of pollinators and other fascinating insects. During the summer pollination season, dozens of species of butterflies, dragonflies, bees, beetles, wasps, flies, more...
261NAT216 08/17 Su 10:00am-1:00pm Chaya
NYBG

September

Delve into the fascinating world of the creatures that make up 84% of the Animal Kingdom—what renowned biologist E.O. Wilson once called "the little things that run the world." We'll discuss the roles that insects play—both in maintaining healthy ecosystems more...
261NAT322BBL 09/03 We 10:00am-12:00pm Chaya
BLENDED

Get a solid grounding in the basic plant body-from the cell to the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. We'll use dissecting and compound light microscopes to observe plant anatomy, then introduce the base-level chemistry required to understand the world more...
261BOT315BO 09/07 Su 10:00am-1:00pm Bijkerk
ONLINE

Focus on the unique ecologies of the freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, and rocky shores of the tri-state area, including the rare, threatened, and endangered species that live there. You'll also study how soils, plants, and animals are adapting to urban more...
261NAT334BL 09/09 Tu 6:00pm-8:00pm McCargar
OFS-BL

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
261BOT308CO 09/11 Th 5:30pm-7:30pm Holmes
ONLINE

Explore the myriad structures and diverse life cycles of plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria. Discover how and why scientists have divided and classified these organisms.
261BOT317O 09/18 Th 6:00pm-9:00pm Alvarez
ONLINE

In autumn our native Northeast flora can be spectacular, but difficult to identify. With a 10X power hand lens and a plant key, you'll learn to identify these wildflowers, shrubs, and trees on the Garden grounds.
261BOT331 09/18 Th 10:00am-1:00pm Slowik
NYBG

The Bronx River, New York City's only freshwater river, flows through the center of NYBG and is buffered by the Thain Family Forest. Learn the fundamental elements of our local riverine ecosystem teeming with life in the first session of more...
261NAT359BL 09/19 Fr 10:00am-12:00pm Chaya
BLENDED

Delve into the fascinating world of the creatures that make up 84% of the Animal Kingdom—what renowned biologist E.O. Wilson once called "the little things that run the world." We'll discuss the roles that insects play—both in maintaining healthy ecosystems more...
261NAT322BL 09/21 Su 10:00am-12:00pm Chaya
BLENDED

Learn how to create and contribute research grade observations for the global scientific community by using iNaturalist. In this class, you'll explore the breadth and depth of iNaturalist—a community-based education and science organization app for those curious about nature, interested more...
261NAT176B 09/27 Sa 11:00am-1:00pm Cummings
NYBG

Take your naturalist game to the next level by learning how to sketch. Drawing asks that you slow down and closely observe what you see, allowing you to identify unfamiliar species and investigate ecological connections. Focusing on trees, you'll learn more...
261NAT400B 09/28 Su 11:00am-1:00pm Leighton
NYBG

With its wide variety of habitats and its position on the Atlantic Flyway, NYC is a bird-lover's paradise. Over 300 distinct resident or migratory species live here or pass through, including many nesting species such as Peregrine Falcons, Red-tailed Hawks, more...
261NAT321BL 09/30 Tu 10:00am-12:00pm Chaya
BLENDED

October

In autumn our native Northeast flora can be spectacular, but difficult to identify. With a 10X power hand lens and a plant key, you'll learn to identify these wildflowers, shrubs, and trees on the Garden grounds.
262BOT331 10/04 Sa 10:00am-1:00pm Slowik
NYBG

With its wide variety of habitats and its position on the Atlantic Flyway, NYC is a bird-lover's paradise. Over 300 distinct resident or migratory species live here or pass through, including many nesting species such as Peregrine Falcons, Red-tailed Hawks, more...
262NAT321BL 10/04 Sa 10:00am-12:00pm Chaya
BLENDED

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
262BOT308AO 10/19 Su 10:00am-12:00pm Bucuvalas
ONLINE

In NYC, fall is the best time to hunt for edible fungi. Paul Sadowski, 25-year veteran of the NY Mycological Society, will lead a mushroom hunt, and show you how to identify many species and their look-alikes, where to find more...
262BOT368 10/25 Sa 10:00am-1:00pm Sadowski
NYBG

November

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
262BOT308BO 11/05 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Holmes
ONLINE

Urbanization is changing biodiversity, interspecies relationships, and even animal behavior, in the tri-state area and beyond. Liz Johnson, former manager of AMNH's Metropolitan Biodiversity Program, will introduce you to the particular habitats found here, as well as plants and animals more...
262NAT338AO 11/11 Tu 6:00pm-8:00pm Johnson
ONLINE

January

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
263BOT346AO 01/03 Sa 11:00am-1:00pm Candee
ONLINE

Discover the fascinating traits that most frogs, toads, and salamanders share-such as having thin, smooth skins through which they can breathe-as well as what makes them unique. You'll pick up tips to identify local species by sight and/or sound and more...
263NAT347O 01/13 Tu 6:00pm-8:00pm Johnson
ONLINE

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
263BOT308CO 01/15 Th 5:30pm-7:30pm Bucuvalas
ONLINE

In class and in forays around the Garden, you'll learn to recognize the winter characteristics of native and common woody plants by bud types, leaf scars, fruit remnants, and other distinguishing marks.
263BOT332 01/15 Th 10:00am-1:00pm Slowik
NYBG

February

Coyotes, bears, and deer are becoming an integral part of urban life due to the extirpation of their predators and conversion of natural habitats. We will look closely at these species and discover how they have adapted to co-exist with more...
263NAT326O 02/11 We 6:00pm-8:00pm Herrera
ONLINE

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
263BOT308DO 02/12 Th 5:30pm-7:30pm Holmes
ONLINE

Among Earth's most amazing and oldest living organisms, lichens grow on bark, rock, and barren soil. They thrive in rain forests, deserts, the arctic-even environments simulating Mars! Lichens are sensitive environmental indicators, yet scientists are only just beginning to understand more...
263BOT313 02/12 Th 10:00am-1:00pm Howland
NYBG

Urbanization is changing biodiversity, interspecies relationships, and even animal behavior, in the tri-state area and beyond. Liz Johnson, former manager of AMNH's Metropolitan Biodiversity Program, will introduce you to the particular habitats found here, as well as plants and animals more...
263NAT338BO 02/26 Th 10:00am-12:00pm Johnson
ONLINE

March

Discover the many herbs and spices prized for centuries to heal, to revitalize the immune system, and to treat and prevent asthma, insomnia, flu, and more.
263BOT346BO 03/07 Sa 11:00am-1:00pm Candee
ONLINE

This is the class for plant-lovers eager to up their game! Learn the terminology and basic botanical nomenclature that will help you recognize and describe key differences in common plants.
263BOT308EO 03/13 Fr 11:00am-1:00pm Bucuvalas
ONLINE