What did you do for your Gold Award project?
I built eight Mason Bee houses for the Carson Nature Center in Littleton. I also created a website with a map of the locations of the houses, more information onMason Bees, and instructions on how to build aMason Bee house.
How did you measure the impact your Gold Award project made on your target audience?
With the help of the Carson Nature Center, I created a sustainability plan that includes monthly counting of the holes that are filled in the bee houses, in order to see how many Mason Bees are utilizing them.
How is your project sustainable? How will your project continue to impact after your involvement?
Mason Bee houses need very little outside maintenance, as the bees clean the holes themselves. The design of the houses are specifically attractive to Mason Bees, so every year they will return to lay their larva and the cycle of population and pollination with continue. The website allows people from all over to learn more about Mason Bees and even build their own houses for their communities, effectively spreading both awareness and population.
What is your project’s global and/or national connection?
The website is available to anyone who has Internet access, and therefore people from all over the world can become aware of this species of bees and help foster the population. Furthermore, I reached out to several local, national, and international organizations, such as Planet Bee, and told them about my project and its impact on my community in the hopes that they would spread it as well.
What did you learn about yourself?
I learned that I enjoy challenging myself and stepping out of my comfort zone. I was working with a group of people who were adults, so leading and delegating them was uncomfortable at first, but I learned that I can rise to challenges like these.
How will earning your Gold Award impact you in the future?
The experiences and skills I have attained are invaluable to me as I move forward in life and I will continue to use what I learned in the school and work environment. Skills like leadership, confidence, and even woodworking will benefit me in any environment and I am grateful I developed them throughout my Gold Award Project.
Why do you feel the Gold Award was an important part of your Girl Scout experience?
A startlingly small statistic of Girl Scouts reach their Gold Award, so I think it is very important that I persevered. I learned so much in my experience and I hope that I can inspire other young Girl Scouts to continue in Girl Scouts. My Gold Award was important to my experience because it tied together everything I have learned and developed over the years and was the final task I needed in order to be ready for the world after high school.
How did earning your Gold Award help you become a G.I.R.L. (go-getter, innovator, risk-taker, leader)?
Earning my Gold Award particularly helped me be a risk-taker. When I first began working with wood and older adults, I was totally out of my element and I wasn’t sure my idea would even be approved. However, I’m so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and took those risks because it made earning my Gold Award so much more rewarding and satisfying.
**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.