WHAT IS THE GOLD AWARD?
The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that can be earned by Senior Girl Scouts, those from grades 9-12. This project requires lots of time and work. It begins with two Senior Journeys or the Silver Award, the second-highest award that can be earned as a Girl Scout Cadet. Completing the Journies and Silver Award help Scouts build their skillsets and prepare for completing their Gold Award on their own.
The Gold Award project requires a minimum of 80 hours of work time to complete the necessary steps, which include: identifying an issue, investigating, building a team, creating and presenting a plan, taking action, and inspiring others. This is a solo project that helps Girl Scouts build a multitude of skills, prepare them for being independent, and gain confidence in their own work.
ABOUT MY PROJECT
My project mission is to help the pollinator population in my community. In order to do this, I built bee hotels, which are small birdhouse-shaped structures filled with small, hollow reeds in which solitary bees can nest. These hotels provide a habitat and breeding ground for the bees that can be used for many years and easily moved when needed. In addition to the bee hotels, I planted small pollinator gardens at elementary schools in my town and gave presentations to the students to help them understand the importance of pollinators and the pollinator garden. My goal is to educate my community about the importance of pollinators and promote the growth of bee populations. This website aims to help people outside of my community by providing resources for others to build their own bee hotels and plant pollinator gardens with native plants from their own ecosystems. I would like to make a connection around the world and inspire others to help pollinators in their own communities as well.