Week two of the Green Girls Summer Institute comes to a close, and it was just as eventful as week one. The week started off in Queens where the girls visited Socrates Sculpture Park. Here the girls worked with a local artist to make baskets out of old yogurt containers and various types of recycled paper. Later that day they visited a Recycle a Bicycle shop where they made jewelry with recycled bicycle parts! The girls got really into it making jewelry for family and friends.
Green Girl Chatel Coleman said she wasn’t a fan of recycling until getting involved in the Summer Institute.
“It makes me want to do more for the world,” she said.
Midweek the girls traveled upstate to the Catskill Mountains. For many of the girls this was their first trip 
upstate and they were able to see lots sights unfamiliar to city dwellers. We stayed in a quiet inn, minus the girls, of course, where the owner prepared our meals like we were family. While upstate we visited the Ashokan Reservoir, the watershed where 90% of the water in NYC comes from. The girls were able to see the reservoir up-close and learned how their drinking water makes it way from the watershed down to the city. The girls even worked with the Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the area surrounding the reservoir. They felt proud they took part in keeping their drinking water safe! One girl was so inspired she recommended upon returning that we visit Coney Island to clean up the beach there too.
Our two-day getaway also consisted of a visit to a model forest where the girls took a hike with a forester who explained about erosion and its environmental impacts. Along the way the girls looked for traces of animals and a few spotted some wild turkeys. We returned home exhausted but with an experience none of us will forget. Thursday brought a special treat, a visit from a group of engineers from Goldman Sachs. The day started off with a tree survey challenge that asked the teams to identify a tree based upon its leaves and size. The activity taught both the girls and the volunteers a lot about different types of trees! Next the volunteers gave the girls a presentation about women in technology. Following the presentation, the girls worked in groups with the volunteers to design eco-friendly cell phones. Each group was asked to present their design and it turns out the girls are quite the saleswomen.
We ended the week with a visit to Manhattan’s Chinatown. The girls worked in teams to navigate the area visiting different locations listed on each team’s scavenger hunt. Along the way the girls were asked to pick up different fruits and pastries that they had never tasted before. At the end of the day the girls shared what they found and got to try all that was gathered throughout the day. Can’t wait to see what next week’s adventures bring us!
– By Allison Ryan, Green Girls Intern
