On March 17, local Girl Scouts were among the 62 Girl Scouts in central Maryland who received their Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. The award requires a minimum of 80 hours of work to plan, create and implement a project that addresses a need in the community. Gold Award Girl Scouts are working on a broad range of challenging problems facing the world today.
Rachel Borucki, Westminster Troop 1096, "Women Can Do Anything," created video showcasing women whose achievements have been underappreciated throughout history, to both acknowledge these women and show young girls that they can do anything.
Lucy Cincotta, Westminster Troop 1096, "Bee Haven Bee Garden," planted a pollination garden, created an educational blog, and created signs with QR codes that take visitors directly to her website.
Marell Glendenning, Westminster Troop 121, "Blue Bird Boxes," constructed eight bluebird boxes, installed bluebird trail at Westminster Community Pond, and held two workshops where she educated children about animal habitats and invasive species.
Elena Rippeon, Westminster Troop 121, "Empowering Young Women to Be Their Best Selves," empowered girls 5-14 and boys 10-14 to be their best selves through workshop activities designed to foster confidence and sense of identity, while providing a sense of purpose.
Shannon Saghy, Westminster Troop 1096, "haBATats: Building Bat Boxes," built a single chamber bat box and posted blueprints and a how-to-video on YouTube to encourage community building of bat boxes to increase local population and reduce bugs and pesticide use, and created Facebook page on importance of bats in ecosystem.