Octavia Project

Our Institute participants became community scientists this week at Billion Oyster Project! They gained experience supporting NYC's best “ecosystem engineers”: the oysters that boost ecological resilience by fostering biodiversity, filtering water, & acting as natural storm barriers.

The OP gives students an opportunity to meet professionals working in creative & STEM fields. Last week, Institute participants visited Gather, a collective that brings together professional writers, to gain networking experience & insight into writing-related career paths.

Our Institute participants are building new worlds with guidance from @nkjemisin.bsky.social! Through the lens of mythmaking, students examined what our collective stories communicate about power and social roles. How can we subvert existing myths and craft new narratives?

Urban ecology is a major theme of this year's Institute. On Science Day, participants designed their own terrariums with a guest teacher from BK ROT (bkrot.org), NYC's first bike-powered food waste hauling and composting service! 🌿🪨🪲

We’re continuing our explorations of the city around us with urban planning workshops at the Institute. Through sharing real and speculative stories about the impact of rising temperatures on on urban environments, we’re working together to imagine cities of the future. 🌇

At the OP, New York City is our classroom! Last week, guest teachers in architecture and urban planning helped Camp participants discover the ✨everyday magic✨ present in their communities with generative mapping exercises, model building, and observations of public spaces.

Speculative fiction lets us enter realms beyond our own world. On a field trip to the Museum of Arts and Design, our Campers visited the "Empathic Universe" of artist Saya Woolfalk, who uses fantastical worldbuilding techniques to bring new beings & immersive landscapes to life.

We’re just one month away from our Summer Showcase! Every year, we celebrate the work of our participants with their friends, family, and OP community.

If you're in NYC, RSVP here to join us on 8/14 at 5:30 PM at CARA: https://www.cara-nyc.org/program/events/octavia-project-summer-showcase-2025

Our ✨Teaching Fellows✨ are all OP alums who bring their passion, STEAM skills, and expertise about the program to new groups of Camp participants each summer. Our Teaching Fellows designed and led two of the art workshops at Camp last week, including this block printing workshop!

What can butterfly pea flower tea 🦋 and temperature-sensitive slime 🧪 teach us about the 🪄scientific magic🪄 of light and color? Our Campers found out by conducting their own experiments on Science Day this week! 🌈

Our Camp book club pick this summer is Manu by Kelly Fernández! We're reading and discussing this graphic novel about friendship & finding your place in the world together this month. Thank you to Scholastic for donating copies of Manu for all of our Camp participants!

Our Camp for grades 6–8 starts today, kicking off our 11th summer of programs! Keep up on the latest with what's happening in our programs here.

If you're in NYC, save the date for our Summer Showcase on 8/14 at CARA, which is generously hosting us for the third year in a row!

Our ✨Teaching Fellows✨ have been getting ready for Summer Camp!!! Over the last two weeks, they've been fine-tuning activities, developing their own workshops, and deepening their leadership skills to foster a fun and welcoming community.

😎Summer is almost here!🤓 Meet our Lead Teachers who will be leading our Camp and Institute this year!
Lead Teachers are an indispensable part of our program: developing curriculum, facilitating program, and co-creating a space where our queer and trans youth of color can build community and thrive.

✨There's still time to apply for our free Summer Institute✨
Join us for a summer of 🏙️discovering new ideas📝 and 💻building new skills🧪 in a fun, welcoming community of young women and trans and nonbinary youth! Learn more and apply by visiting octaviaproject.org/join by June 15th!

🚨Big news🚨 We're increasing our staff capacity and transitioning to a Co-Director model. We're thrilled to introduce our new Co-Director ray ferreira (she/her)! ray & Meghan, our former ED, will collaboratively steer our organization forward. Get to know ray at: https://www.octaviaproject.org/team/

Our friends @bsfwriters.bsky.social are hosting another great event in a few weeks, this one about climate and survival! Donations from the event will support the Octavia Project. Come out and join us! www.eventbrite.com/e/we-demand-...

You did it--you got us to our goal! 🥳 We're thrilled to share that thanks to your support and that of over 260 dedicated contributors, we passed our fundraising goal, raising $47,069! Thank you for donating, sharing, and cheering us on--we couldn't do it without you. 💜

Applications for our Summer Institute and Summer Camp are open NOW! Do you know any young women or trans or nonbinary youth interested in creative writing, artmaking, computer programming, and/or speculative fiction? Learn more and apply at https://www.octaviaproject.org/join/

Today is the final day of our fundraising campaign, and to help us cross the finish line, all donations are being matched up to $5,000! We have already raised $3,000--can you help us get the rest of the way there? Donate here https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/ and share to spread the word 💕

Last day + match day! To help us reach our $40K goal, two generous donors will match every dollar raised today up to $5,000 🎉 

Hear from our alum, Kris, on the difference the OP makes for young women & trans & nonbinary youth in Brooklyn. Donate at https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/!

⏰ 3 days left! Can you help us achieve our goal of raising $40,000 for our summer programs by Friday? Learn more and donate here! https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/

Did you know that nearly half of our funding comes from individual donors like you? We’re heading into the final five days of our annual fundraising appeal, with a goal of raising $40,000 by this Friday. Help us get there with a donation today! https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/

One week left! We’re trying to raise $40,000 to fund our summer programs by 3/28, but we’re facing a gap as we near the finish line. 

Can you give today to fund bold ideas and big dreams? Help our participants have the best summer possible! https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/

Thank you for sharing! 💜

The Octavia Project is a local initiative that I've been happy to support, which helps young women and trans and nonbinary youth find mentoring and practice their creative skills. They could use donations!

The OP has had amazing guest teachers--like @kalynnbayron.bsky.social, @pdjeliclark.bsky.social, @nkjemisin.bsky.social, & @older.bsky.social!  

Can you help us raise $40K by 3/28 to connect young women and trans and nonbinary youth to more writers today? https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/

An event not to be missed from our friends @bsfwriters.bsky.social!

“One of my favorite things about [the Octavia Project] is that there’s a very strong sense of community here.” —Nia, OP alum

Can you help us expand our community of young creators, engineers, & leaders today? Learn how you can support our free programs: https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/

“I believe that blending art and science together can be beneficial for us all.” —Eden, OP Alum and Teaching Fellow 

Support STEM learning and creative expression with a gift to the OP! Help us raise $40,000 by 3/28 for our free summer programs: https://www.octaviaproject.org/support/