Forest Park fills its first full week of November with four free programs, from a Wednesday evening cardio class at the old golf clubhouse to a Sunday afternoon of fairies and gnomes for children. Two of them put people to work in the park itself: a daffodil planting on Saturday that will show up as flowers in the spring, and a ranger hike on Sunday that teaches how to tell the park's oaks, maples and hickories apart by their fall color.
Here is the week, in order, with what each one involves and where to meet.
Wednesday, Nov. 4: intenSati at Oak Ridge
5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Free, registration open through the day of the class.
intenSati is a Shape Up NYC cardio class that mixes moves from dance, kickboxing and yoga, led by instructor Julia Varela. It meets at Oak Ridge, the Dutch Colonial building inside the park that was built in 1905 as the golf course clubhouse and now serves as Forest Park's administration building. Parking is in the overflow lot shared with the golf course, across the traffic light and to the left of Oak Ridge; Parks asks that no one park behind the building.
Saturday, Nov. 7: Bulb Planting with The Forest Park Trust
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free, registration required.
NYC Parks and The Forest Park Trust, the park's public-private partner, are cleaning up and planting daffodil bulbs in several of the park's horticultural beds. Tools are provided and no experience is needed. Volunteers should wear sturdy closed-toe shoes and bring a water bottle. The group meets at the George Seuffert, Sr. Bandshell, at Woodhaven Boulevard and Forest Park Drive. Daffodil bulbs planted in the fall come up as flowers in early spring.
Sunday, Nov. 8: Fall Foliage Tree ID Hike
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free, no registration.
The Urban Park Rangers lead a 90-minute walk through the park's woods, explaining the chemistry of why leaves change color and how to identify trees by bark, leaf and shape. Maples, oaks and hickories are the species the rangers expect to be showing the most color. Forest Park is named for its trees, and its woods include northern red oak, scarlet oak, white oak, tulip trees and shagbark hickory, along with a pine grove planted in 1914 after chestnut blight killed more than 15,000 trees in the park two years earlier. The hike meets at Myrtle Avenue and Park Lane South. Rangers can be reached at 718-846-2731.
Sunday, Nov. 8: Fairy and Gnome Day
1 to 4 p.m. Free, for ages 3 to 12.
The Forest Park Trust runs an afternoon of crafts and a guided tour of a forest trail with a storybook theme. Costumes are welcome. It meets at Metropolitan Avenue and Forest Park Drive, the corner of the park closest to Forest Hills and Kew Gardens.
About the park
Forest Park is bordered by Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills and Glendale. Brooklyn's parks department bought its first parcel in 1895, and the park and Forest Park Drive were designed by the Olmsted firm. Beyond the woods it has a golf course, a carousel, the bandshell, tennis courts, a bridle path and more than five miles of walking trails.
The J train stops at Woodhaven Boulevard and at 85th Street-Forest Parkway, a short walk from the park's southern edge. Each program's page on the NYC Parks site has its latest details and any weather changes.

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