The free, three-day She Builds camp hosted by the Associated General Contractors of Wisconsin gives participants hands-on building and tool experience, tours of active jobsites and organizations, and opportunities to learn about careers in construction and architecture. Immel Construction was honored to help lead the programming for Green Bay's second annual summer camp August 4th through the 6th, 2026.
The week kicked off with learning the importance of safety in construction, from a morning stretch and flex session to navigating the purpose of each piece of personal protective equipment (PPE) given to the girls. The group learned how the outcome of one activity can affect the rest of a schedule by crafting their own pull planning boards for the week.
After lunch, the girls traveled to a local architect, Somerville, for an introduction to architecture and interior design in the commercial construction world. The presentation was perfectly paired with a jobsite tour of the new Starr Elementary in Green Bay currently in the final stages of construction.
After a morning stretch and flex and adjustments to their pull planning schedule boards, the group dove into the world of estimating in construction. Immel Construction led a mock bid day where each group carefully put together a bid form under a time crunch detailing the construction project they were to complete later in the day – building bird houses.
Veteran’s 1st of Northeast Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to providing supportive affordable housing for veterans, organized a seamless building activity for the group with assistance from the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters. After some tool identification and conversations around safety, the girls used power tools, table saws, nail guns, and more to construct six bird houses donated to Veterans 1st Tiny Homes Village initiative. Learn more about the Tiny Homes Village here: www.veterans1stnew.com.
When they weren’t getting their hands dirty in the shop, teams were formed during their introduction to interior design in a residential space to pick out different types of carpeting, tiling, and other flooring at HJ Martin for a client’s new home.
Our young construction experts toured local mechanical fabrication shop, Tweet Garot, where they even made their own marshmallow shooters. The girls also competed at Verhalen to put their teamwork to the test playing blindfolded giant Jenga as well as planting their own flower pots.
A career path panel including representatives from Verhalen, NEW Building & Construction Trades Council, and Laforce answered all the girls' questions on career planning to a day in the life in the trades.
The girls finished their final day of camp with presentations on their biggest takeaways of the week. They expressed interest in careers in carpentry, interior design, and construction estimating, and talked about their favorite activities from the bird house build and marshmallow towers to the field trips and chances to make new friends.
Do you know a young girl in your life that would excel in a She Builds construction camp, or that would simply enjoy learning more about careers in construction? Mark your calendars for summer 2027 to be on the lookout for next year’s camp registration!
Visit the AGC of Wisconsin's site here.