Members of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) braved the rain and wind at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City on Sunday, Sept. 24, to learn about the environment (Photos provided by GSGNY)
Sept, 27, 2023 By Michael Dorgan
Members of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York (GSGNY) braved the rain and wind at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City on Sunday, Sept. 24, to learn about the environment.
Sporting rain gear and holding umbrellas, the Girl Scouts and volunteers took part in an initiative called The Girl Scouts Love State Parks, where Girl Scouts from across the five boroughs visit various public parks to embrace Mother Nature. The initiative also sees Girls Scouts embark on outdoor adventures in and around their respective communities.
At Sunday’s event at Gantry Plaza State Park, the Girl Scouts were taken on a guided tour of the park to identify the various birds that reside there, learn about their behavior, and listen to the sounds they were making.
The young scouts also learned about plants and trees at the park as well as some history about the space which once served as a dockyard and manufacturing district. The gantries with car float bridges helped load and unload freight railcars.
The scouts also went fishing, cleaned up the park and drew some of the birds and animals they spotted on their tour, according to Meridith Maskara, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York.
“Girl Scouts Love State Parks is such an incredible event that gets girls out and about learning about state parks in their boroughs,” Maskara said. “Not everyone knows we have state parks here in the city, and that they are an important part of our ecosystem and climate resilience. We are proud to partner with New York State Parks to create this opportunity for the next generation to practice environmental leadership.”
Throughout September, hundreds of members of Girl Scouts of Greater New York visited state parks in their respective boroughs, where they learned how to interact with and care for their environment through hands-on activities. Sunday’s event in Queens wrapped up the 2023 event series.
Girl Scouts of Greater New York is New York City’s oldest and largest girls’ leadership organization, reaching tens of thousands of girls from ages five through 18 in each borough.
Girl Scouts earn badges after learning new skills with members often taking part in outdoor adventures, advocacy, environmental leadership, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education.
Volunteers at GSGNY say that the organization aims to help its members learn to lead with courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place.
Girl Scouts drawing (Photos provided by GSGNY)
Girl Scouts bird watching (Photo provided by GSGNY)
The young scouts also learned about plants and trees at the park as well as some history about the space which once served as a dockyard and manufacturing district (Photo provided by GSGNY)
A Girl Scout bird watching (Photo provided by GSGNY)
Featured Events
