General Lab Information

Brookhaven celebrates Earth Day 2024!

At Brookhaven Lab, we protect the environment by carefully planning work to prevent incidents. We preserve the future by integrating “net-zero” concepts into facility design to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate waste in order to help reduce the future impact of climate change. We preserve the beautiful campus on which the Lab is situated through planting for pollinators, vegetation management, and prescribed fire for ecosystem support and risk reduction from wildland fires.

On Earth Day, learn about what you can do to help preserve and protect our shared environment – at the Lab, in our community, and beyond.

1

Preserve the Earth

Reuse what you use. Compost your organic wastes, reducing waste sent to landfills.

2

Protect the Earth

Reduce your impact. Avoid buying single use plastics. Use reusable water bottles and coffee cups.

3

Provide for the Earth

Get planting! Start a garden or plant a tree. Stop by the Garden Club table for a free seedling on Earth Day!

You can learn about the Lab's sustainability principles and more by reading the annual Site Sustainability Plan.

illustration of the earth

Brookhaven Lab Earth Day Activities

Live Music, Berkner Lobby

4/24, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Come on down to Berkner where members from The Supernovas will help us celebrate environmental awareness and appreciation at the Lab.

Outdoor Yoga, Brookhaven Square Park

4/24, 12 – 12:45 p.m.

Enjoy nature while getting fit at the same time with a free Outdoor Yoga class hosted by BERA. While yoga is traditionally thought of as an indoor fitness program, performing yoga outdoors has many benefits. Practicing in open spaces makes your body work harder to adjust to wind and heat. It is thought to increase blood circulation, reduce anxiety, provide mental clarity, and relieve stress since energy is moving more freely and participants are closer to nature. We encourage you to join instructor Krista Shattes for this yoga flow class, open to all levels. Participants encouraged to bring their own mats but there are some available to borrow should you need one.

The 45-minute class will take place in the center of the site at Brookhaven Square Park. In the event there is inclement weather, the class will be relocated to the Recreation Hall (Bldg. 317). Please check the intranet calendar for updates. For more information, contact Kristyn Noren (Ext. 2400).

Foraging Tour at Sunken Meadow State Park (Registration Required)

4/7, 12:45 – 4 p.m.

Get closer to nature, one bite at a time, by joining the Brookhaven Employee Recreation Association (BERA) for a three-hour foraging tour for common wild plants and learning their ethnobotany. It’s the perfect way to reconnect with your environment, learn about conservation and get in the spirit of Earth Day From identifying edible and medicinal wild plants to knowing where they are likely to grow, Naturalist Steve Brill will help participants to open their eyes to wild foods that have always been right in front of them and even provides recipes to help them make the most of their finds.

Visit the BERA store to register for this tour. It’s $10 per person (BSA employees). Family and friends are welcome - $15 per person; $5 per child 12 and under. (Sunken Meadow State Park vehicle use fee applies, $8 per car; NY State Empire Pass will be honored.) For more information, contact Kristyn Noren (Ext. 2400) of the BERA Board.

The Office Swap

4/24, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Berkner Room D

It's Back! Support Brookhaven Lab's Housekeeping Standard to help ensure a safe, healthy, and clean environment for all workers. Clean out your office, conference rooms, and supply closets and get rid of clutter! Bring unwanted supplies to Berkner Room D and swap or just take what you need – for free! Even if you have nothing to bring, you can stop by and take any item you want! For more information about the annual Office Swap contact Carol Shea (Ext. 6033).

EV Fleet Showcase

4/24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Berkner

The Lab has started purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) to fulfill Executive Order 14057: Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, with the goal to have 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2050. Come to Berkner to see the EVs currently in the Lab’s fleet from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can learn about EV operations and best practices as they relate to charging and preventative maintenance. Plus, you can chat with Fleet Services & the Motor Pool staff to learn more about the expected arrival of additional EVs and how to prepare your team.

Forest Health Tour (Registration Required)

4/24, 11 a.m. – Noon, North End of Berkner Parking Lot

Join us for a tour of the Lab’s forests and get an introduction to pine barrens ecology, learn about threats to the health of these forests, and find out what we are doing to restore these complex ecosystems. You will see the effects of various management strategies like prescribed fire and mechanical treatments as compared to unmanaged forest stands to help illustrate why active management is a necessity for the maintenance of pine barrens.

Meet at the north end of the Berkner parking lot and we will then carpool to different forested areas of the Lab. Please wear shoes appropriate for walking on unpaved roads. For more information, contact Kathy Schwager (Ext. 8471). In the event of inclement weather, registered participants will be contacted.

Taking Aim at Laboratory Plastics Use

4/24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Berkner

Scientific glassware has been replaced by a wide variety of plastics bringing about great efficiency gains in laboratory operations, at the expense of contributing to the larger problem of plastics waste that plagues modern society. While you're visiting the other displays at Berkner, stop by to see a variety of bio-based plastic labware samples designed to address this problem. Samples of these products will be available for piloting. If you're interested in participating in a pilot program for these products, stop by and see what we have to show you.

NEARMAP Imaging

4/24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Berkner

Aerial Photography is crucial to understanding the impacts of forest pests and development on the environment. See how the forests at the Lab have changed over the years and understand the challenges the forest faces from the Natural Resources staff.

Earth Day Scavenger Hunt

4/24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Berkner

Learn more about the Lab by participating in a scavenger hunt throughout the Lab’s central campus. Retrieve your hunt list at the registration table in the lobby of Berkner. You will have one hour after registering to complete as many items as you can. Those who submit their list before the hour is up and have answered the items correctly, will have a chance to win a prize pack. For more information or to participate remotely, contact Kristyn Noren (ext. 2400) in the Protocol Office.

Photography Contest Winners Announced

4/24, 11 a.m.

We’ll announce the winners and share an online album of all the entries. You’ll get to see the wonderful photography taken by Brookhaven Lab staff—and the children of Lab staff—who participate in the contest. In addition to entering the Lab’s Earth Day Photo Contest, consider entering the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Photo Contest.

CMAS Weather Instrumentation Mobile Laboratory

4/24, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Berkner Circle

The Lab’s Center for Multiscale Applied Sensing (CMAS) mobile laboratory will be in front of Berkner with a team scientist available to answer questions.

Garden Club Presents "Soil to Fork"

3/19, Noon

Erica and Ryan Idso-Weisz are from Medford, Oregon, and they operate “Itty Bitty Acres Farm,” a micro-farm that provides sustainably sourced food.

The BERA Garden Club is a group of Lab employees and retirees who meet monthly to share practical and creative ideas for gardening on Long Island. The club meetings are typically held the third Monday of every month from noon to 1 p.m. Currently, meetings are held virtually. View our latest presentation, "Soil to Fork:

In addition to discussions and hosting various presenters, the Garden Club, with Grounds support, will maintain the garden located at the Brookhaven Square park. This year, they will be handing out the ever-popular seedlings outside of Berkner on Earth Day.

Come by to enjoy the garden, which contains plantings of all native, pollinating-insect friendly, and drought-resistant plants.

Earth Day 2024 Photo Contest

Enter your photo in the annual Earth Day Photo Contest. There are four categories this year.

Photo Contest submissions will be accepted starting April 1.

pink and yello watercolor flowers

Painting Bugs for Earth Day, Presented by BERA

Thursday, April 18, 5:30 p.m - Rec Hall (Bldg. 317)

Sign up in the BERA Store: Mon. - Fri., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $20 per person. All materials included.

scattered letter blocks

Climate Quest 2024 Word Search

Show what you know! Download the puzzle and see how many climate-related words you can find.

Further your quest by learning the meaning of each word in the puzzle.

image of flowers

Download a copy of the Plant Information Sheet

Learn about the plants that will be available to employees on Earth Day. This information sheet has details on care and its place in nature.