Spring is when Tompkins volunteers come out in force
by Kathleen Corrigan
Look for signs of spring as the bulbs we planted in the fall are popping up in our five pollinator pocket gardens at East 7th & Avenue B.
A “pollinator pocket garden” is a small, often compact, garden designed to attract and support such pollinators as bees, butterflies, and moths, by providing them food (nectar and pollen) and shelter. Our zones contain a selection of plants that support pollinators, reduce soil erosion, minimize flooding and bring four-season interest to the park.
Our volunteers have been busy this winter participating in January “Mulchfest” and spreading mulch around the park throughout February.
In March, we focused our energy on cleaning up the park and readying our pollinator pocket gardens for the spring. On April 26th, we join the Sanitation Foundation’s NYC Big Spring Clean 2025, participating in spring pruning & general park clean-up.
In 2024, the Friends hosted 28 events with over 500 volunteers including groups from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Gilbane Building Company, NYU/Stern School of Business, Beacon High School, NYU Law School, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Louis Pasteur Middle School 67, East Side Community High School and the enthusiastic Keung To fan club (a member of the Hong Kong boy band Mirror).
We created a “Dog Crossing” zone to guide four-legged visitors through the pollinator pockets, and our team of volunteers planted over 2,000 perennials, shrubs, bulbs, and grasses.
In 2025, with spring upon us and more welcoming weather approaching, we will be expanding our efforts to work on the East 10th & Avenue B side of the park, planting another series of pollinator pocket gardens. We’ll also be cleaning and maintaining the 10th Street borders along with maintaining our gardens in the southeast quadrant of the park. Our primary events—a few Saturdays each month from 10 am to noon—often swiftly reach capacity and we boast an excellent return rate of volunteers from all over the city.
The Friends work under the umbrella of Partnerships for Parks/City Parks Foundation with full support from NYC Parks and have extraordinary community partners including the Lower East Side Ecology Center (compost & mulch), Saifee Hardware & Garden (compost & soil), Battery Park Urban Farm (plant donations), Staten Island Greenbelt Native Plant Nursery, and the Lowlands Nursery/Gowanus Canal Conservancy. Also helping to make all our work possible are grants and plant donations from Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, NYC Parks Street Tree Habitat Project, New Yorkers for Parks/PlayFair Coalition, The Citizens Committee for New York City and the Sanitation Foundation.
The Friends of Tompkins Square Park volunteers are improving the park experience for our neighbors, visitors, and, of course, the pollinators. At every event, locals and tourists will stop by, ask about our work, or simply say “Thank you!”
So when next you’re in the park, be sure to check out our efforts—and if you’re interested in volunteering, sign up at our website here to register for our upcoming events.
Kathleen Corrigan is the head gardener of the Friends of Tompkins Square Park, a group started in October 2022 that is dedicated to restoring and preserving the Park’s beauty, health and safety.
