One of the fundamental principles of the Girl Scout Law is to make the world a better place. And in the past year, nine Girl Scouts from Greenbelt Troop 23007 have done exactly that – and earned their Girl Scout Silver Award in the process. The Girl Scout Silver Award is the second highest achievement awarded by Girl Scouts USA. Working either individually or in small teams, scouts identify issues of concern; brainstorm potential projects that would allow them to address the concern; develop project proposals, including all necessary tasks, appropriate community partners and funding; and then implement the projects. All Silver Award projects must be approved by the area Girl Scout Council and completed by the time the scout enters high school.
Between April and August 2023, Girl Scouts in Greenbelt Troop 23007 completed four Silver Award projects.
Anna Grim and Lien Gareri were concerned with the loss of natural forest cover and the associated loss of wildlife habitat in Maryland. They met with City of Greenbelt staff to identify areas in Greenbelt that were severely damaged by storms in 2022 and in need of forest recovery. With the help of a team of nine additional volunteers they recruited for the project, Lien, Anna, their volunteers and Greenbelt Environmental Coordinator Kevin Carpenter-Driscoll rehabilitated a storm-damaged hillside at Buddy Attick Park. Together they planted 40 native trees and shrubs in an area that had lost almost all of its forest cover in the storms.
Emily Gendreau decided that she wanted to spotlight the importance of native insects and other invertebrates for a healthy ecosystem. She developed plans for a “bug hotel” (a structure made from recycled pallets that provides habitat for beneficial native insects), met with City of Greenbelt staff to identify an appropriate location for the bug hotel, built the structure with the assistance of her family and designed a sign that educates the public about the importance of native insects and invertebrates and how the bug hotel provides habitat for these species. The bug hotel and educational sign are located at Schrom Hills Park.
Claire Alolga, Brooklyn Scott and Emerson Gary identified food insecurity as a significant problem in local communities. They located a dilapidated food pantry on a lot owned by the University Park Church of the Brethren that had previously provided free food for residents of Hyattsville, College Park and University Park. Emerson, Brooklyn and Claire worked with church members to relocate the pantry to a more accessible location and then repaired and painted the structure, added inviting messages in both English and Spanish, installed a motion-sensor light to improve safety after dark and stocked the pantry with free food. The scouts also developed a flyer and provided large food bins to assist the church with future food collections.
Sadie Young, Lilah Ali and Faith Holden wanted to assist pollinators, stressing the importance of these insects to the health of Maryland ecosystems. They coordinated with City of Greenbelt staff about potential locations to plant a pollinator garden and a plan for obtaining appropriate plants. After working with the city to determine the best location, they recruited seven additional volunteers, which they then organized into a workday for planting the pollinator garden at Schrom Hills Park.
All of the Girl Scouts received their Silver Award Pins and certificates at a Court of Awards ceremony on September 15.
Holly Wheeler is troop leader for Girl Scout Troop 23007.