HarborLAB Information

Learning. Adventure. Boating. HarborLAB provides free and inclusive environmental education programs afloat and ashore to inspire and enrich STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) studies in communities underrepresented in these fields. Our emphasis is the Hudson Estuary and its environs and the drinking watershed of New York City. Students, volunteers, and public participants paddle our canoe and kayak fleets on New York Harbor and on the Neversink Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains to perform environmental services: seeding and cleaning shorelines, tending oysters and mussels, sampling water for laboratory testing, and documenting biota and contamination, and more! We also provide introductory kayak lessons and events with environmental education tables at Gantry Plaza State Park, indoor pools, and special events like City of Water Day, the Clearwater Festival, and the Peace Lanterns Festival, which we co-sponsor. We achieve our mission through native resources and partnerships with city, state, and federal agencies, schools, and community and youth service organizations. Our labor base is composed of volunteers and funding comes through sponsorships, grants, and donations. We're incorporated as an educational nonprofit in New York State and have affiliated with Open Space Institute as our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor Institute to accept tax deductible donations.