This summer, ten young women from across California met for the first time at the Reno airport — nervous, excited, and about to spend eight days together they wouldn’t forget. They were the 2026 cohort of SYRCL’s Earthwatch Girls in Science fellowship, and within hours of piling into the van, they had already started becoming friends. By the time they reached Van Norden Meadow, the group was buzzing with questions about the meadow restoration work they were about to join — and about each other. 

Nothing quite prepared them for their first look at Van Norden itself. The 485-acre meadow opened up in front of them sprinkled with wildflowers, and the fellows stopped in their tracks. “I could feel the smile of my 5-year-old self on my face the whole week, and I’m so grateful for how emotionally safe AND inspiring it was at the same time,” said Paria Vahdat, a 2026 Girls in Science Fellow. 

For many of these students, the fellowship marked the first time they’d been away from home for more than a few days. But the week is about far more than fieldwork and homesickness. It’s a week where young women build friendships with peers who share their curiosity, connect with women working in a STEM career, and find a time of self-discovery, self-reflection, and — for many — the first real sense that they belong in science. “Becoming friends with so many girls like me, and working with women at various stages in their STEM careers, was such a unique and amazing experience, and I’m incredibly appreciative of the opportunity,” Paria said. 

Once the awe of the meadow wore off, the real work began. This year’s team focused on learning to identify meadow plants, fanning out across Van Norden to help set up nearly 100 plant survey plots and gather the data SYRCL’s science team will use to track the meadow’s recovery. The fellows also spent a day in the field with Ben Sullivan’s team from the University of Nevada, Reno, collecting soil carbon samples — trading their plant ID guides for a crash course in carbon science. 

For Sanaya Jayakody, another 2026 fellow, the week reshaped how she sees her own future. “Girls in Science gave me the opportunity to experience restoration research firsthand and showed me that my dream of pursuing environmental science and habitat restoration is real and achievable,” Sanaya said. “Through hands-on fieldwork, mentorship from scientists, and an incredibly supportive community of peers, I gained practical research experience, confidence in my path, and connections that helped me see there is no single route to a successful STEM career. This fellowship will stay with me as I begin university, pursue my own restoration work, and continue working toward a career where I can make a meaningful environmental impact.” 

“Every summer, I watch this program take young women new to field work and turn them into a community of scientists,” said Monique Streit, SYRCL’s Education Director. “Girls in Science isn’t only about teaching restoration ecology — it’s about showing these fellows, at a pivotal moment in their lives, that they belong in this field, and there is a group of women willing to mentor them and support them throughout their educational and professional careers.” 

These fellows started as strangers meeting at an airport. Now they’re scientists, friends, and, for at least a few of them, one step closer to the careers they came here to imagine.