Girl Scout Gold Award project: Rose Goodman, Boulder, “Protecting the bees”
- GSCO blog
- Sep 18, 2017
- 4 min read
What did you do for your Gold Award project?
Being from Boulder, I am someone who is very environmentally friendly, and a tree hugger at heart. Therefore, for my Gold Award project, I wanted to address an environmental issue. I decided to go with the problem of the bee population declining. For my Gold Award project, I created a lesson plan to fit the common core curriculum of second grade. This was important because I made my lesson plan accessible to teachers via the internet, and because it fits the common core standards, it is easier for teachers to use. I then presented my own PowerPoint presentation, that was based off of my lesson plan, to a few groups in the community to get my message across. My overall goal was to educate people about the importance of bees and how we can help them.
How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?
I measured my impact by asking the kids I presented to, at the end of my presentation, what they had learned from my presentation. The kids responded with several answers such as “bees are not the same as wasps”, “the bee population is going down,” “we need to help save the bees,” “pesticides kill bees,” “planting plants helps bees.” I also realized the impact I was making when one of the kids came up to me full of emotion, in tears, and said she was very sad about the bees and really wanted to help them. We use mississauga Mice removal sometimes, but this is a different thing, they can be very dangerous for the kids.
How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?
I have made sure that my project is sustainable. First, Sammie Reynolds, a teacher at Mt. Saint Vincent in Denver, has promised to continue this lesson plan and committed to use it in the future. Additionally, I made my lesson plan accessible online to teachers, by sharing my lesson plan and presentation with Kristin Reynolds who is putting it on the Earth Guardian website. Hopefully, people other than Ms. Reynolds will access my lesson plan and use it in their classrooms.
What is your project’s global and/or national connection?
Bees are not just a species that roam around in my town of Boulder. Bees are all over the world, and globally, bees are the number one pollinator. This problem affects the whole world. My project starts in this little corner of the world in Boulder, but will longterm affect the whole world. Also, by sharing my lesson plan with Ms. Reynolds, I am making my lesson plan accessible for teachers all over the nation.
What did you learn about yourself?
From my project, I have learned so much more about bees. I started with only basic knowledge about bees, and then began my research. I also learned how to work with people, and how to pick the correct people for my team. I learned that sometimes certain people are a little more of procrastinators than I am, and they can be hard to work with. Additionally, I learned an extremely valuable skill: how to speak well in front of people. All these skills will help me in my future in going to college, and then, hopefully, medical school.
How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?
This project not only opens up doors because it shows how dedicated I can be and thus, people will hopefully be more likely to hire or accept me into a position, but this project also opens the door to presenting more often. It shows me that if I can accomplish my Gold Award, then I can do any presentation. It encourages me to feel more and more comfortable when collaborating with others and talking to a big group.
Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?
I have been a Girl Scout since I was a little Daisy. Throughout my Girl Scout career, I had been doing fun activities that involved learning and helping the community. Each of these activities, however, were fabulous, I didn’t feel as though I, myself was making a difference. I would work with a group of roughly 10-15 girls in completing an activity that my great troop leader had come up with for us do. Yes, we earned badges and I felt accomplished with every badge, none of them made me feel as good as I felt when I completed my Gold Award. I had not only felt that I had made a difference, but I had measured and proved that I actually had made a difference. On my own, I came up with an idea, executed it, and made an impact.
How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
My project made me a go-getter because although it took me over a year to complete my project, I kept with it and pushed until I succeeded. I knew some girls that started their project, but never finished it. I also had some times of self doubt, but I decided that I wanted to get my Gold Award, make a difference, and continue on. I proved to myself that I had true dedication, along with leadership. I learned how to be a leader and inspire others to take action. Every kid I presented to showed great excitement in wanting to help the bees.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: This blog represents only a small fraction of the hard work, dedication and requirements that go into earning a Girl Scout Gold Award. It is simply a brief summary, which is meant to inspire Girl Scouts to Go Gold in the future. For more information on earning your Gold Award, please email highestawards@gscolorado.org