Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve

Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve is a 265-acre forest located in Staten Island, NY.

Tick season is upon us! It’s important to enjoy the outdoors while also protecting yourself from ticks and the diseases ...
06/06/2026

Tick season is upon us! It’s important to enjoy the outdoors while also protecting yourself from ticks and the diseases they may carry. Below are some guidelines for ensuring safety against ticks while out hiking:

👖 Wear socks tucked into long pants, long-sleeved shirts, close-toed shoes, and keep hair tied back.
🌳 Stay on the trail while hiking. Ticks prefer tall grass and shrubbery to hide in, so staying on the trail avoids their prime habitat.
✔ Do a full body tick check when you return from your hike. Lint rollers are a great tool to use to collect any ticks that might be on your clothes!
🚿 Shower soon after coming inside.
🐜 Use bug spray. There are EPA-registered repellents that are specially designed to prevent ticks.

Stop by the Nature Interpretive Center for bug spray and more information about ticks in the park!

Here we have a male (slide 1) and female (slide 2) Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are common in NYC dur...
06/06/2026

Here we have a male (slide 1) and female (slide 2) Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are common in NYC during their breeding season in spring. The males have white bellies, black and white striped wings and back, and a distinct red patch on their breast (hence their name). Females look sparrow-like but share the same white stripes on their wings and back as the males.

Grosbeaks are monogamous and build their nests together in roughly 4-9 days. Females will lay 1-5 eggs, and males will often sing while incubating the eggs, an uncommon behavior of songbirds.

Source: allaboutbirds.org

We're hosting a U-Pick Peas Pop-Up Event this Sunday, June 7 from 4pm-5pm. Drop by the Gericke Farm anytime within that ...
06/05/2026

We're hosting a U-Pick Peas Pop-Up Event this Sunday, June 7 from 4pm-5pm. Drop by the Gericke Farm anytime within that hour to pick an assortment of peas that served as our cover crop! For a $5 donation, we will provide a basket to collect your peas in.

We planted this cover crop in late fall, and it began growing in early spring. The cover crop is important for our farm field as it protects against w**d growth and improves soil health.

Gericke Farm: 2876 Arthur Kill Rd Staten Island, NY 10309. Parking is available along the driveway. We hope to see you there!

Check out our new exhibit at the Nature Interpretive Center! “Fungi of Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve,” created by e...
06/04/2026

Check out our new exhibit at the Nature Interpretive Center! “Fungi of Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve,” created by educator Sara Robinson, is an informative and interactive exhibit about the fungi that live in our park. Learn what a mushroom is, the parts of a mushroom, the history of human uses of fungi, and so much more!

Join us for our first Wellness Weekend of the year! Throughout the weekend (June 6-7) we will be hosting a variety of ev...
06/03/2026

Join us for our first Wellness Weekend of the year! Throughout the weekend (June 6-7) we will be hosting a variety of events to promote physical, mental, and social wellness. These events will be outdoors but moved into the Nature Interpretive Center if there is inclement weather. Mats will be provided but feel free to bring your own! Programs are for all ages! Registration is required at [email protected].
See below for the schedule:
 
⭐️ Gentle Yoga. Saturday June 6, 10am-11am.
⭐️ Tai Chi. Saturday June 6, 1pm-2pm.
⭐️ Qigong. Sunday June 7, 10am-11am.
⭐️ CPP Hiking Club. Sunday June 7, 1pm-3pm.
 
We hope to see you there!
 
  ThisIsNY ConservationMatters EnvironmentalEducation Conservation UrbanWildlife UrbanConservation NewYorkStateParks NYStateParks NYSP GetOutside LoveOurNYLands

It might seem like a branch at a first glance, but if you look closely, you can see the magnificent Green Heron. They st...
05/30/2026

It might seem like a branch at a first glance, but if you look closely, you can see the magnificent Green Heron. They stand motionless like statutes scanning the water for a tasty snack to swim by, and when the moment is perfect, they strike with their dagger-like bills. They often tuck their necks in tightly, making them look stocky, but they can suddenly extend them into a long, "S" shape to strike!

This Green Heron was spotted during our May bird walk! Check out all of our events at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com.

Source: Audobon.Org

This miniscule but vibrant Common Eyelash Cup, (Scutellinia scutellata), was found under a sodden log along the Ellis sw...
05/30/2026

This miniscule but vibrant Common Eyelash Cup, (Scutellinia scutellata), was found under a sodden log along the Ellis swamp trail. We half expected it to wink! These mushrooms are tiny, measuring between 0.2-1cm in diameter. Young specimens start spherical, expanding to reveal the mature disc/cup form. The inner surface of the cup is a bright red-orange color and contains fertile spores. The margins or edges contain dark, eyelash-like hairs around their rim hence their common name, Eyelash Cups. These hairs serve to retain moisture by trapping humidity within the cup as well as providing structural support. It is suspected that the hairs also help with spore dispersal by altering wind flow around the cup, helping spores become airborne. These hairs may also act as a physical barrier to small insects, preventing them from eating the fungus. Eyelash cups are commonly found growing alone or in dense clusters on rotting wood, damp soil and dung. Keep your eyes peeled and you might spot one!

Please enjoy the beauty and strangeness of our park’s fungi but remember foraging or tasting wild mushrooms is NOT allowed in any of our parks.
Resource: inaturalist.org

Swipe to see what’s going on in the park in June! 🌈 Tot Time. Every Tuesday, 10am-11:30am. Ages 0-5.🌈 Gentle Yoga. Satur...
05/28/2026

Swipe to see what’s going on in the park in June!
 
🌈 Tot Time. Every Tuesday, 10am-11:30am. Ages 0-5.
🌈 Gentle Yoga. Saturday June 6, 10am-11am. All ages. Registration required.
🌈 Tai Chi. Saturday June 6, 1pm-2pm. All ages. Registration required.
🌈 Qigong. Sunday June 7, 10am-11am. All ages. Registration required.
🌈 CPP Hiking Club. Sunday June 7, 1pm-3pm. All ages.
🌈 Bug Hunt. Saturday June 13, 10am-12pm. All ages.
🌈 FrogWatch Hike. Wednesday June 17, 8pm-9:30pm. All ages.
🌈 Seasonal Crafting for Seniors: Cupcake Liner Wreaths. Thursday June 18, 9am-11am. Ages 55+.
🌈 Pollinator Gardening. Saturday June 20, 10am-12pm. All ages.
🌈 Mud Day. Saturday June 27, 11am-3pm. All ages.
🌈 Art in the Park: Memory Wire Suncatchers. Sunday June 28, 1pm-3pm. All ages.
 
Register for our events at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com. DM us and we will add you to our mailing list!
 
  ThisIsNYC ThisIsNY ConservationMatters EnvironmentalEducation Conservation UrbanWildlife UrbanConservation NewYorkStateParks NYStateParks NYSP GetOutside LoveOurNYLand

Walking along Clay Pit Road, keep your eyes peeled for a bright flash of reddish-orange with black wings flying around. ...
05/27/2026

Walking along Clay Pit Road, keep your eyes peeled for a bright flash of reddish-orange with black wings flying around. That would be a Scarlet Tanager! These beautiful birds are found along the northeast during the spring, making their homes in high canopies. They often join mixed flocks of other songbirds to feed. The female Scarlet Tanagers are actually yellow with dusky brown wings. If you can learn this bird’s distinctive “chick-burr” call, it’s very useful for finding both males and females.

An interesting fact is that Scarlet Tanagers are often hosts to the sneaky Brown-headed Cowbird. When a pair of Tanagers notices a female cowbird approaching, they aggressively drive her away. But if they don’t notice, the Cowbird replaces the Tanager egg with one of her own, and the parent Tanagers can’t tell the difference between their own egg and the imposter. They are also unable to tell the difference between the hatchlings, so they will raise it like one of their own!

Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Scarlet_Tanager/overview

Thanks to everyone who came to Art in the Park: Geometric Wall Art on Sunday! We had a great afternoon crafting and crea...
05/26/2026

Thanks to everyone who came to Art in the Park: Geometric Wall Art on Sunday! We had a great afternoon crafting and creating beautiful works of art. We hope to see you at our next event!

Address

2351 Veterans Road W
Staten Island, NY
10309

Opening Hours

Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm
Saturday 8:30am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+17186053970

Website

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