Designed by Nelson Byrd Woltz and Marvel Architects, the Naval Cemetery Landscape is an innovative urban meadow, contemplative memorial, and native pollinator and bird habitat in Brooklyn. The NCL has won many design awards, including the 2020 ASLA professional award for general design, and is a forerunner in urban meadow and sustainable design.

Brooklyn Greenway Initiative built and maintains the Naval Cemetery Landscape on the site of the former Naval Hospital Cemetery at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as a place for retreat and remembrance while honoring its rich layers of natural and cultural history. Visitors can participate in a seed saving activity or pick up a self guided tour brochure at the entrance to learn more about this native meadow and the history of the NCL.

Friday to Sunday: Meet the Gardners and Site Specific Playlist

Follow up with on-site gardeners to dig deeper into horticultural practices and to share nature observations. Fall is a great time to spot migratory birds (over 80 species were observed on-site last year), late-season perennial plants, and various pollinators buzzing with activity. The Director of Horticulture will be on-site to answer design questions. Visitors will also enjoy a site-specific playlist (scan a QR code onsite to listen on your phone) featuring original music and spoken word by Artist Resident Rose Bordallo, a Chamorro/Chamoru singer-songwriter from the island of Guam, exclusively accessible to the NCL and its visitors.

Saturday, 6-7pm: Live Performance

Artist Resident Rose Bordallo and NCL will host a free sunset musical performance. For her artist residency at the NCL, she explored the pre-Industrial history of the site, its impact on the natural environment and the Lenape tribes who first peopled it, and the ongoing traversals of humans, plants, and animals that make the landscape so special and fascinating.

Family Programming: Free science and nature-themed books for children to take home and keep to build their own at-home libraries. Nature journaling and activity books are available for children to use on site, or they can be taken home to complete in other green spaces.

No public restrooms are available on-site.

No animals allowed, as the site is a wildlife sanctuary. No bikes or scooters are allowed inside the Naval Cemetery Landscape. A bike rack is available outside of the entrance.