Students from the Green Girls institute went ankle-deep into Strack Pond at Forest Park attempting to catch a dragonfly. Forum Newsgroup photos by Luis Gronda.
Victoria Rodriguez smiles as a dragonfly sits on her right shoulder during the Green Girls Institute‘s visit to Forest Park to learn about dragonflies in their natural habitat. Forum Newsgroup photos by Luis Gronda.
Kids involved in an environmental program got a chance to step outside the classroom and learn hands-on about an insect living in its natural habitat.
The Green Girls Summer Institute, a summer program put on by the City Parks Foundation, went to Forest Park to be introduced to dragonflies living around Strack Pond.
The group of 15 girls learned about dragonflies, including their physical features, what they eat and how they are valuable to the environment that it lives in.
They then grabbed their big nets and attempted to catch a dragonfly for an up close look at the insect itself.
The event started with the group gathered in a circle while Susan Stanley, a research ecologist at the Natural Resources Group, and Danielle Rolli, the coordinator of the Green Girls Institute, told the group basic facts about dragonflies and answered any questions that the students had.
For Rolli, she was hopeful that the outdoor event like the one at Forest Park would expose the girls to outdoor and natural areas around New York City and give them a chance see in person things that they have learned about inside the classroom.
“At this age, they like to be doing more hands-on things,” said Rolli, who is in her fourth year as coordinator.
The program is four weeks long and is based out of P.S 165 in Brooklyn. The aim of the program is to give the kids an opportunity to learn on different science subjects and possibly open doors to exploring a career in that field.
Angelica Chery was a member of the Green Girls last year and returned to help out with this year’s class.
The reason she came back to the institute, Chery said, was because she wanted to experience the class over again like she did last year.
She said that being in the institute served as a “really big eye opener” for her and she now wants to have a career in environmental science.
“I learned that I love the environment. I really didn’t know that before,” Chery said.
She said that she hoped to pass down what she learned from previously being in the class and hopefully get the students interested in a science career just like she had. Chery currently studies aquaculture at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, a public school on Governor’s Island.
After the dragonfly informational session, the students grabbed their catching nets and tried their hand at catching the insects.
The kids had a difficult time catching the flies as they quickly took flight.
Eventually, they caught a fly and the students gathered around in a circle once again, only this time it was to look at and hold the dragonfly in their hands.
One girl even made a new friend while attempting to catch the insect
A dragonfly sat on the shoulder of Victoria Rodriguez for at least ten minutes. She walked around with it and posed for photos as her classmates looked on in amazement.
Rodriguez described having the dragonfly rest on her right shoulder as “pretty cool” and she could not imagine that it would have happened to her when the day started.
By Luis Gronda
