A team of 10-15 women hit the dirt this past weekend as part of a volunteer event put on by the Urban Girl Squad. We arrived at 116th and Riverside around 10am and got to know one another while we waited for Manny from the Riverside Park Fund. He went over some basics about the area, and what ours task would be for the day: Pull weeds. Pull lots of weeds. Not only are they unsightly, but the tall mess of leaves and branches also pose a safety risk when people are unable to see down into the park from the street level (If you’ve never been up to that neck of the woods, the park slopes down from the street at a steep incline)
Since we were smack in the middle of a heat wave, this project was cut short simply because it was too damn hot out to pull weeds for 3 hours straight. We began packing up our tools and clearing debris shortly after 12, by which time we had made a pretty big dent. Manny planned to go back later in the week to throw down wood chips, making the area look much cleaner and uniform.
UGS Volunteers in the Weeds
Click for more pictures, or visit Urban Girl Squad’s website!
All of the girls were really nice and chatted each other up while working, which made the day go by quicker. Urban Girl Squad seems to have a great following in NYC and I would recommend looking into their future events for any woman who just moved to the city and is looking to meet new people. They host wine tastings, outdoor adventures and more; they now have monthly volunteer opportunities as well. The next volunteer outing will be August 22nd at God’s Love We Deliver. I’ve volunteered here before (you can read about my experience here) and can vouch for the awesomeness of this organization. There will only be 10 spots available, so sign up now if you want to attend!
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