Bat Boxes for the Gold

(Excerpted from the GSUSA blog 12-19-12)

"Girl Scout Sara Koran, 17, installed bat houses at Pioneer Park in Loachapoka and educated the public on their purpose as her Girl Scout Gold Award project about environmental community awareness.  (She learned from her aunt that bats were becoming endangered in Alabama.)

  

The project includes research, construction and installation of the (bat) houses, and was designed with the intent of helping the species of bats in the area that are becoming endangered. She not only intended to help keep them safer, but to move them to the park where they could do some good for the area.

“The main reason for the bat houses is to keep them out of homes and unwanted places for people,” she said. “Bats prefer to be outside where they can hunt instead of inside. So it’s kind of a pest control kind of thing … but another benefit was that [at the park] they can eat mosquitoes and unwanted bugs for people.”

“What my project was supposed to do was make these bat houses and then also educate people on them,” Koran said. “So I made a PowerPoint and presented it to schools and I’ve done presentations on Second Saturdays at Pioneer Park to educate the people that came out.”

Pioneer Park is a project of the Lee County Historical Society, a nonprofit organization established in 1968 to promote the history of the county."

Is this up to the Gold Award Take Action Project standard?  Probably.  As I've said before, the only info I have is from a newspaper write-up!  Here's what I have to hope Sara also did!

(Potential) Issue:  Bats moving into people homes.   Too many mosquitoes/bad bugs in the open spaces.

Root cause: Suburban sprawl into bat's natural habitats.  Residents not knowing how to bat-proof their buildings.

Team:  The article doesn't say, but I hope that Sara got together a team of (non-Girl Scout) peers to help educate the community, and in presenting the information, making and installing the bat boxes. Sara would be the leader, but she could assign duties to her team to help.

Non-profit Partner:  I hope it was the Lee County Historical Society or perhaps a city department that was able to provide information and services.

Funding:  Perhaps from Sara's cookie money? Funds from the city?  Historical Society?  The article didn't say how many she built, but I hope that it was enough to make a sizeable difference in the bat population!

Measurability:  What could Sara measure?  Number of batboxes built, for sure.  Maybe number of people presented to at schools and community fair days?  Perhaps number of inhabited bat boxes? Reduction of visible bats in the neighborhood?  Reduction of calls to city dept. asking for bat removal?

Sustainability:  I would hope that the Historical Society would take on this role.  Remember, it is required for all Gold Award Projects that the girl ensure sustainability.  Thinking back to a friend's Eagle project, the batboxes he made were pretty much self-sustaining over many years.  Perhaps Sara also put together a video about the bat boxes and how to secure a residence against bats?  She could link that to school and city websites to drive residents to the information.

Global:  Now, Sara doesn't need to provide batboxes to the world! But if she is truly making a sustainable change in her community, then she needs to think, and talk about, how could this work if her work went further into the greater community?  What if every park in the county had bat boxes?  Would there be a visible reduction in bad bugs, and/or diseases caused by these bugs?  Would bats go back to foraging in the parklands, instead of in urban settings?  It's a conversation to have, so that  Sara understands the global implications.     

Turtle Ramps in Queens

I am often asked, what does a Gold Award Project look like, that maybe doesn't hit homelessness, domestic violence, social justice, literacy, etc.  This one was posted in the GSUSA blog this week.  Take a look at what Katherine Kurre did for her Gold. 

The New York Daily News reports that Katherine Kurre was enchanted by the sight of turtles sunning themselves at a local park in Queens, NY. But she thought there must be a better and safer way for them to relax out of the reach of curious kids and potential poachers.

With the blessing and guidance of the Parks Department, Kurre put together a plan and a team of volunteers, including friends and family.

They designed and built the turtle island out of composite material. And they also embarked on an ambitious clean-up of the pond area which had been battered by flooding and erosion. The group fished paving stones out of the pond and reset them into a patio area. They also reclaimed logs that had washed into the pond and rebuilt the low rustic trail fence. In addition, they removed invasive plants and unclogged some of the streams that feed into the pond.

Does this qualify.  Errr, yes, I think, and here's how the backstory might look:

DISCOVER  Katherine saw a need in her community.  She identified her issue (Helping the animals at the site? or was it a larger environmental issue?) and the root cause (the turtles needed a safe environment? be eco-smart and re-create a healthy environment in the park?).

CONNECT  She did the research, and found that there were turtle ramps that could be purchased and installed to help the turtles.  Katherine partnered with an agency that had experience with the site and its needs.  She gathered a team of non-GS people to lead.  I hope she engaged them by giving education to her team, having them tell others about the project. 

TAKE ACTION  And from there, she took action. Not only did she put in turtle ramps, but she and her team also cleaned up the site and made it more useable for the community. And more ecologically sound, it seems.

SUSTAINABLE The article doesn't say, but I truly hope that she put a plan in place or the Parks Department to continue the work she started.  The requirement is to "plan for sustainability", not just hand over a notebook. I also hope that there was a community action piece in her project, where she was able to post on the Park's Website or create a link from there to her site giving information about the animals, why it was important to do this project, and how other people could volunteer to help in the future.

MEASURABLE  How did she measure success?  By counting live turtles?  By counting visitors to the site?  How was she able to confirm that she made a difference?  I wonder if she participated in a Parks Day/Community Fair/Grand Opening where she was able to hand out literature about the site, what she did and why, and how others could help?

GLOBAL IMPLICATION  Was Katherine able to think bigger?  To imagine how this could look if EVERY site in her town could do something like this?  The city? the other boroughs? the state? If her true message was about the environment, then how could her project make the world a better place for everyone?

It's a Gold Award Take Action Project.

 

 

What a Take Action Project should NOT look like!

"Pennsylvania's South Whitehall Patch reports that Meredith-Ann Beam, 18, has been awarded the Girl Scout Gold Award.  Beam's project included crocheting five baby blankets, knitting another five baby blankets, making 40 regular-sized blankets and making 70 bears for children at various local organizations.


“I taught the younger scouts how to knit and crochet the baby blankets and teddy bears for children to cuddle with," she said. "They were given to Bayada Pediatrics, Catholic Charities, Turning Point, Sacred Heart Hospital and Lehigh Valley Hospital.”  from the GSUSA blog 6-1-12

Did this project meet the current Gold Award Project requirements?  In a word, NO!  This was a nice service project.  Kudos that it involved teaching younger girls, and that it was a great output of product that was donated to the local hospitals.  But did it make a lasting change?  NO!  How was this sustainable?  

These are the questions we ask the girls when we talk with them about their projects.  What is the issue?  A need for blankets is NOT an issue, it's the result of something else.  Lack of funding?  Lack of an organized group to collect and make blankets? Or what?  

What could have made this a Gold Award standard project?  

Identifying the need.  

Discovering the root cause.

Connecting to the need and issue and developing a plan that attacks them!  Finding a Project Advisor.

Taking Action by putting together a project plan, gathering a team, educating others and working the plan.

Making a sustainable difference in the community.

Could the collection piece be included?  ABSOLUTELY!  But it can't be the whole project!  It should  be a small piece of the overall project. As one of our Gold girls said, "people like to give around Christmas, so I have a collection piece as part of my overall program, just for December."  She had a point!  Her club at school really connected with the students at school, by soliciting donations AS THEY GAVE OUT INFORMATION about the charity.  And the charity benefited from the service project.  

As we say in training, Girl Scouts has RAISED THE BAR on what a Gold Award Project looks like!  Here in Orange County, we are truly trying to hold the girls to the higher standard.

(On a separate note...my apologies for a lack of posts the end of the month!  I'll be getting back on track, starting today!  I think life just got in my way.  You know, visiting relatives, work, Mom, other GS events.... Speaking of, hope to see you all at the Adult Recognition Event on Sunday!  Bling it!)

 

Make a plan and work it

“As a longtime volunteer at soup kitchens and food banks, Melissa wanted to design a cookbook to address the needs of pantry patrons: to cook simple recipes using ingredients available at the food bank. Her cookbook features 332 recipes submitted and tested by community members who contributed over 350 volunteer hours. Melissa volunteered close to 100 hours and has donated the cookbook to the pantry.”

Many of you have asked what a great Gold Award Project could look like, and this is one!  And here’s how I’m guessing she went about putting it all together using the Toolkit:

1. Choose an Issue:  Melissa saw a need at the local food pantry where she volunteered.  Patrons didn’t know how to use all the donated ingredients to make healthy meals.

2. Investigate:  I’ll bet she interviewed the Director of the pantry as well as some board members and volunteers to see what the need was.  She used her community mapping tools to see that feeding the hungry crosses many lines in her community.  I hope she also did some research to find out if another pantry already had a cookbook, or if they could use one.

3.  Get help:  Melissa used her leadership to gather a team to work on this project.  She got the greater community involved by asking for their recipe input.  I’m hoping she developed (with the help of pantry staff) some parameters for what the recipes should include.  I also hope she located a dietician or nutritionist to help her pick out healthy choices for the clients.

4.  Create a Plan:  She put together the plan, worked collaboratively with the pantry as well as the other volunteers. And she led the charge to collect and test all the recipe.s

5.  Melissa submitted her proposal and was given the green light to start.

6.  Take action:  She did!  She worked her plan, used resources wisely, spoke out to others about the pantry and its needs, and garnered community support. 

7.  Educate and inspire:  Melissa helped to educate the public as well as the community she was serving at the pantry. She engaged others to help, and she completed her project by giving the pantry the final product:  a cookbook that could be used for years to come, not only at that one pantry, but potentially at many.  Great sustainability! 

This article was posted on the GSUSA blog in June

Great Gold Award Project

“For their Girl Scout Gold Award project, Hilgenberg and Pavlik undertook the restoration of the Olympia Brown Nature Trail located on the school's grounds.  Hilgenberg began her work by identifying all the plants and animals, coordinating the planting of flowers and bulbs along the trail, and creating a series of animal habitats including bird houses, brush piles, and bat houses.

Pavlik was responsible for working with school officials to ensure the project met the needs of the students, school and the community. She designed and built plant, tree, and animal identification markers for the trail. In addition, she worked with the school's science club advisor to develop a self guided habitat and wildlife worksheet for the school's students. Pavlik coordinated and hosted the ribbon cutting ceremony for school officials when the project was completed.”  Excerpted from the Wisconsin Journal Times June 2011

Wow!  Great project, and I bet they spent waaaay more than 80 hours apiece on this.  It would have been interesting to hear more:

What root issue did they pick to address? 

How did they know there was a need to fill?

Was their project advisor from the Nature Trail staff?  Private?  State?

How much money did they need to raise? 

How did they raise it?

Who was the team?  And how did the girls educate and lead them?

Sure seems like it was a sustainable project, but who/what entity will provide the maintenance on the trails, replace broken signs, make the self guided worksheet available for the students, etc.?

In the old Gold requirements, two girls could team up and do a project together – as long as they each had separate responsibilities and each had the hours individually for the project.  In the new Journey requirements, all projects will be one girl: one project. 

Could this project have been a solo girl Gold Award Take Action Project?  I think so.  It may have looked a little different, but our Gold Girls can accomplish any task they set their minds to!!!!

Gold Award Project defined

From the GSUSA Blog: “Jacqueline is recycling wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches which will be donated to United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, St. Anne’s Church and Met Council of The Bronx. Her goal is to help alleviate the burden of purchasing these items for people in need. She was inspired by her mother who was forced to use a walker when she broke her ankle. Jacqueline was 11 at the time and wondered how people who didn’t have insurance could have access to this equipment.”

From reading that paragraph, I’d say it was a very nice collection/service project, but hardly a Gold Award Project!  But as we all know, a newspaper doesn’t necessarily get all the details into its article, so I have to hope that Jacqueline really DID have a fully thought out Gold Award Project.

Watching her Mom use a walker definitely made an impression on Jacqueline.  But what root issue did just collecting wheel chairs address?  I’m hoping that her advisor challenged her to investigate the current health care system to figure out what agencies exist to provide those items to those in need. Using the community mapping tool would have given her great insight into her own community.  And wouldn’t it have been great if she identified part of her issue as helping the underserved by connecting them to agencies.  Or created an outreach with UCP or other agencies to get the word out into the community that this resource is available.

And how could she have used her leadership, beyond asking for donations?  How could she educate others?  Create a sustainable plan to ensure that donations would keep coming in?  Beyond helping the few people with her donations, how could she make a lasting difference in her community?  What would challenge her to think bigger and better?  To go beyond her comfort zone, and engage more with others in a leadership capacity?

I hope that her advisor/troop leader asked these questions, and really made Jacqueline think about what she was doing.  I truly hope that the Gold Award Committee who interviewed her and approved her Gold Award Project made sure that these pieces were included in her proposal.

And I hope Jacqueline celebrated the completion of her very successful project!