Since the first Earth Day was held in 1970, we’ve collectively learned so much—not only about how we can best protect and preserve the health of the planet, but the critical link between environmental stewardship and human health and well-being. The High Line has been at the forefront of this movement—raising awareness about the immense benefits of urban parks and green spaces—since we were not much more than a dream in the hearts and minds of a group of neighborhood advocates.

That’s why the theme of Earth Day 2026—“Our Power, Our Planet”—resonates so profoundly with us. While it’s a celebration of the accomplishments of 56 years of activism and advocacy, it’s also an urgent call to action—to make daily strides through collective practices, large and small. Because Earth Day 2026 finds Mother Nature, like all busy and overworked moms, needing more support than ever in the face of mounting challenges.

Here are nine ways the High Line is giving her a helping hand here in New York City—and the impacts on New Yorkers!

1. We support biodiversity. The High Line’s naturalistic garden zones—woodlands, wetlands, thickets, and grasslands—are designed to echo the native landscapes that once lined the Hudson River shores, making our gardens attractive habitats to 400 species of resident and visiting birds and 33 species of bees, as well as butterflies, migrating bats, and other beneficial insects such as ladybugs. Native pollinators under threat—such as the Monarch butterfly—find critical support for their lifecycle from their partner plants like the native butterfly milkweed in our gardens. Additionally, because we do not cut back our gardens in fall, our resident wildlife has the food and shelter they need to spend the winter with us, turning our gardens into interconnected, thriving ecosystems of plants, animals, and people.

2. We reduce urban heat. Urban surfaces like asphalt and concrete absorb solar heat during the day and re-emit it at night, increasing temperatures day and night through what is called the heat island effect. This can create an up to 7 degree increase during the day and 22 degree difference at night. However, a recent study from Climate Central found that the High Line’s 150,000-plus plants help make it an average of 7.2°F cooler than the surrounding neighborhoods. In addition to the shade created by our canopy of nearly 1,400 trees, our gardens facilitate a process called evapotranspiration, in which water evaporates off the leaves and soil, and transpiration, where the plants release moisture into the air, making our park into a giant air conditioner.

3. We improve air quality. Working together, trees and plants form nature’s own air purifiers. Our plants and trees ravenously devour carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air. According to a 2017 study from Columbia University, the High Line’s tree canopy sequestered 1.3 tons of atmospheric carbon annually. The High Line has since doubled the number of trees in the park, revving up its carbon capture. A 2023 study revealed New York’s trees and plants absorb 40% of the city’s CO2 emissions.

4. We mitigate flooding. Impervious surfaces like pavement and concrete cannot absorb water, while trees, plants, and soil are natural stormwater mitigation and filtration systems. As storms become more severe, managing stormwater run-off is a major challenge for cities. Tree canopies block and slow water from reaching the ground, while their roots create canals that enable soil to drink up more of the run-off that can cause flooding and damage.

5. We conserve water. Through a multilayered drainage system, the High Line absorbs rainwater. Rain that falls on our concrete pathways slips through the gaps in the planks and migrates through the soil in the planting beds before reaching the storm drain. This allows the soil, plant roots, and the drainage mat to absorb as much water as possible before sending the excess to the drain. This simultaneously reduces the amount of dirty stormwater that escapes the High Line and helps keep our plants healthy.

6. We are a living lab for climate resiliency. Growing in just 18 inches of soil on a bridge 30 feet in the air, our plants are exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures, drought, and excessive rains of our increasingly volatile climate. Yet they learn to adapt and thrive in challenging conditions—without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers. Our unique growing conditions and use of sustainable horticulture practices make the High Line’s gardens a learning laboratory for finding resilient plants that will do well as climate change creates more unpredictability and weather extremes, and for developing gardening techniques that produce a net positive environmental impact.

7. We improve human health. Access to green space is an important determinant of health, and the High Line’s serene and tranquil natural environments offer New York’s city-dwellers a garden oasis where they can experience the substantial physical and mental health benefits human beings derive from nature. Studies show that just a short visit to a park soothes stress, boosts mood, relieves anxiety and depression, lowers blood pressure and cortisol levels, mitigates feelings of loneliness, and promotes a sense of well-being. Our botanical-level gardens are entirely free to the public 365 days per year.

8. We are a global model of urban infrastructure reuse. The idea to build a park on a disused freight rail was once considered an impossible idea, but today, the West Side of Manhattan enjoys the benefits of a 1,340-tree canopy and 150,000 plants throughout 1.5 miles of naturalistic ecosystems. Because of the High Line, cities across the globe have a model for creating green spaces and building climate resilience in their communities. The High Line now leads the High Line Network, a peer community of 46 infrastructure reuse projects creating innovative green space across North America.

9. We advocate for parks and steward the future of urban nature. Our park is an open-air science museum, where visitors can deepen their experience with and understanding of the important role of urban nature. Through the Nature in the City exhibition along the wall of our 14th Street Passage and via signage throughout our gardens, you can learn all about the ecology right before your eyes. Additionally, the amazing teens in our paid High Line Fellows: Emerging Leaders program not only shadow and receive mentorship from our horticulturists but also help speak out in critical campaigns to advocate for our city’s parks at large. It gives us inspiration and hope for the future to see the next generation of New Yorkers stepping up to defend Mother Nature in our backyard.

Great parks like this one don’t just happen. The High Line is operated and programmed by Friends of the High Line, a nonprofit conservancy that raises nearly 100 percent of the park’s annual budget and keeps all the above activities happening on behalf of our fellow New Yorkers. People like you, who volunteer at and help fund the park through contributions large and small, are critical to keeping the High Line thriving. This Earth Day, we invite you to join us on the park to deepen your appreciation for the important role green spaces like ours play in nurturing New York City—and for all the people that make our park in the sky possible.