Gold Award Girl Scouts
in
Service Unit 32-11
The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Open only to girls in high school who are a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador, this prestigious leadership award challenges a girl to change the world—or at least their corner of it. By the time she puts the final touches on her solo seven-step project, she'll have solved a community problem—not only in the short term, but for years into the future. The Gold Award Take Action Project addresses a root issue that a girl is interested in, has national and/or global ties and is sustainable. The project requires pre-approval by our Council's Gold Award Committee. Guidelines suggest a minimum of 80 hours be spent on the project.
Year Name Project Title
2021 Ashley Bass Night Sky Observatory-Compass Rose
2021 Abigail Antonishek Rosary Walk
2021 Tessa Brizhik Spelling Bee
2021 Rosie Ballmann Mo.Co. Bat Habitat
2021 Rachel Yablon Safe Return Back to School
2020 Caroline Simons John Poole House Historic Pollinator Garden
2020 Charlotte Vogel The Buzz on Bees: How You Can Save Pollinators
in Your Own Backyard
2020 Lia Widenhofer Delivering Dignity Comfort Cases
2020 Shreya Sharma Bring Awareness in School Kids in India about Effects of Smoking
and Substance Abuse
2019 Raenya Sharma Child Assault Prevention to Stay Safe, Strong and Free
2019 Jessica Mense Eco Evie ~ Every Bit Helps!
2019 Rachael Behrend Slate Patio, Table & Chairs at the BCC-IWLA Archery Range.
2019 Priya Kalra Summer Coding Camp for Girls
2018 Gretchen Hundertmark Bird Rescue Awareness & Assistance Project
2017 Mackenzie Gross Give Tomorrow a Chance
2017 Megan Grubb Alzheimer's Aprons
2017 Anna Morrison Save our Reefs
2016 Anne Hundertmark Much Ado
2015 Sophia Mense Don't Drop the Top!
2013 Emily Grubb Reading Rocks Homework Club
2013 Jennifer Haller Animals that Heal
2013 Alyssa Nubgaard Homework Club: Magical Math
2011 Amanda Haller Update Children's Waiting Area & Playroom in Hospital
2011 Amber Nubgaard Helping Bed-Bound Children in Hospital
2008 Laura Gilfrich Bags for Wheelchairs & Walkers
2008 Amanda Lyon Sounds of Music
2008 Natasha Nubgaard Leave No Trace
2008 Rachel Tjornehoj Quilts for Project Linus
2008 Emily Trythall Hand-Made Stuffed Animals
2006 Colleen Gilfrich Book Collection
2006 Caitlyn McAtee Book Collection
2002 Lauren Elizabeth Lee Youth Field Hockey Clinic
2002 Megan Lyon Adult Recruitment Video
2002 Elizabeth Murtha Girl Recruitment Video
1999 Lindsay Megan Lee Seniors Afternoon Out
1999 Lauren Leigh Shores Seniors Afternoon Out
*Awards marked with an asterisk represent projects that have been completed. They have not yet been officially awarded.
2021 Ashley Bass Night Sky Observatory-Compass Rose
2021 Abigail Antonishek Rosary Walk
2021 Tessa Brizhik Spelling Bee
2021 Rosie Ballmann Mo.Co. Bat Habitat
2021 Rachel Yablon Safe Return Back to School
2020 Caroline Simons John Poole House Historic Pollinator Garden
2020 Charlotte Vogel The Buzz on Bees: How You Can Save Pollinators
in Your Own Backyard
2020 Lia Widenhofer Delivering Dignity Comfort Cases
2020 Shreya Sharma Bring Awareness in School Kids in India about Effects of Smoking
and Substance Abuse
2019 Raenya Sharma Child Assault Prevention to Stay Safe, Strong and Free
2019 Jessica Mense Eco Evie ~ Every Bit Helps!
2019 Rachael Behrend Slate Patio, Table & Chairs at the BCC-IWLA Archery Range.
2019 Priya Kalra Summer Coding Camp for Girls
2018 Gretchen Hundertmark Bird Rescue Awareness & Assistance Project
2017 Mackenzie Gross Give Tomorrow a Chance
2017 Megan Grubb Alzheimer's Aprons
2017 Anna Morrison Save our Reefs
2016 Anne Hundertmark Much Ado
2015 Sophia Mense Don't Drop the Top!
2013 Emily Grubb Reading Rocks Homework Club
2013 Jennifer Haller Animals that Heal
2013 Alyssa Nubgaard Homework Club: Magical Math
2011 Amanda Haller Update Children's Waiting Area & Playroom in Hospital
2011 Amber Nubgaard Helping Bed-Bound Children in Hospital
2008 Laura Gilfrich Bags for Wheelchairs & Walkers
2008 Amanda Lyon Sounds of Music
2008 Natasha Nubgaard Leave No Trace
2008 Rachel Tjornehoj Quilts for Project Linus
2008 Emily Trythall Hand-Made Stuffed Animals
2006 Colleen Gilfrich Book Collection
2006 Caitlyn McAtee Book Collection
2002 Lauren Elizabeth Lee Youth Field Hockey Clinic
2002 Megan Lyon Adult Recruitment Video
2002 Elizabeth Murtha Girl Recruitment Video
1999 Lindsay Megan Lee Seniors Afternoon Out
1999 Lauren Leigh Shores Seniors Afternoon Out
*Awards marked with an asterisk represent projects that have been completed. They have not yet been officially awarded.
Ashley Bass
2021 Gold Award Project
"Night Sky Observatory Compass Rose"
2021 Gold Award Project
"Night Sky Observatory Compass Rose"
Ashley and her team built a night sky observatory at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (B-CC IWLA). Ashley ran a workshop for younger scouts at the observatory.
Tessa Brizhik
2021 Gold Award Project
"Poolesville Elementary School Spelling Bee Program"
2021 Gold Award Project
"Poolesville Elementary School Spelling Bee Program"
Tessa organized a spelling bee for students at Poolesville Elementary School. Her team helped her run in person after school workshops until the schools closed for virtual learning. Tessa re-designed her program to allow the students to complete the spelling bee virtually.
Rosemary Ballmann
2021 Gold Award Project
"Mo. Co. Bat Habitat"
2021 Gold Award Project
"Mo. Co. Bat Habitat"
Rosie designed a workshop for younger scouts to learn about bats and build bat boxes.
Abigail Antonishek
2021 Gold Award Project
"Rosary Walk"
2021 Gold Award Project
"Rosary Walk"
Abby created an outdoor garden for people to walk, rest, reflect and pray. The garden features five sections and mirrors the structure of the rosary.
Caroline Simons
2020 Gold Award Project
"John Poole House Historic Pollinator Garden"
2020 Gold Award Project
"John Poole House Historic Pollinator Garden"
Caroline recreated the historic 18th century John Poole House Garden in Poolesville, Maryland. She worked with Colonial Williamsburg in researching historically accurate plants and then chose the best for pollinators in the area.
Caroline used the completed garden as the backdrop and example to help Junior Girl Scouts earn the Gardener badge.
Charlotte Vogel
2020 Gold Award Project
"The Buzz on Bees: How You Can Save Pollinators in Your Own Backyard"
2020 Gold Award Project
"The Buzz on Bees: How You Can Save Pollinators in Your Own Backyard"
Charlotte’s project addresses the issue of habitat destruction contributing to the decline of the bee
population, as well as the struggling pollinator health due to problems such as water
accessibility. Charlotte noticed that a major contributor to the suffering pollinator population was
the lack of diverse habitats that centered around being bee-friendly-- created without the use of
pesticides and home to a number of different native wildflowers. Charlotte worked with her
project advisor Tina Brown to receive advice on planting the garden and interacting with the
community, determining how to start the garden, what plants were best, and other steps she could
take.
For the first half of her project, Charlotte planted a wildflower garden in a town park to
provide a critical habitat for these pollinators and improve the overall quality of the land. Having
gained approval to plant from Poolesville's Parks and Streets Board, Charlotte prepared the
ground and added mulch and Leafgro. About a month later, Charlotte planted thirty native
flowers, composed of fifteen types of pollinator-assisting perennials, including bee balm, great
blue lobelia, bergamot, and milkweed (great ones to plant in your garden!) Charlotte received
donations from Colony Supply, Dave Ashley Signs, and Poolesville Hardware, and additionally
petitioned for a grant from the Town of Poolesville. Charlotte also worked with landscaper Garth
Seely, who gave advice on starting the garden, President of the Sugarloaf Citizens Association
Lauren Greenberger, who came to the garden to help plant in the most efficient manner.
population, as well as the struggling pollinator health due to problems such as water
accessibility. Charlotte noticed that a major contributor to the suffering pollinator population was
the lack of diverse habitats that centered around being bee-friendly-- created without the use of
pesticides and home to a number of different native wildflowers. Charlotte worked with her
project advisor Tina Brown to receive advice on planting the garden and interacting with the
community, determining how to start the garden, what plants were best, and other steps she could
take.
For the first half of her project, Charlotte planted a wildflower garden in a town park to
provide a critical habitat for these pollinators and improve the overall quality of the land. Having
gained approval to plant from Poolesville's Parks and Streets Board, Charlotte prepared the
ground and added mulch and Leafgro. About a month later, Charlotte planted thirty native
flowers, composed of fifteen types of pollinator-assisting perennials, including bee balm, great
blue lobelia, bergamot, and milkweed (great ones to plant in your garden!) Charlotte received
donations from Colony Supply, Dave Ashley Signs, and Poolesville Hardware, and additionally
petitioned for a grant from the Town of Poolesville. Charlotte also worked with landscaper Garth
Seely, who gave advice on starting the garden, President of the Sugarloaf Citizens Association
Lauren Greenberger, who came to the garden to help plant in the most efficient manner.
For community involvement, Charlotte worked to educate the public on how they can be
instrumental in saving our vital pollinators. She engaged all ages of the community, by creating
bee water bowls with elementary school-aged students, working in the garden with high school
students, and addressing groups of adults on what they can do for the pollinators, such as buying
local honey or refraining from the use of pesticides in their backyard.
instrumental in saving our vital pollinators. She engaged all ages of the community, by creating
bee water bowls with elementary school-aged students, working in the garden with high school
students, and addressing groups of adults on what they can do for the pollinators, such as buying
local honey or refraining from the use of pesticides in their backyard.
Charlotte presented at a number of events in her community to spread the word on bees. These include Rustic Roads, at which Charlotte ran a booth and worked with the Sugarloaf Citizens Association to provide
information on steps we can be taking to mitigate the effects of climate change on bees. In
addition, Charlotte addressed the lack of knowledge on the growing environmental crisis and its
impact, as well as the low amount of steps taken by many citizens of the town are factors on why
habitat destruction is so prevalent. In addressing the Poolesville Town Commissioners and the
Poolesville Town Parks and Streets Committee, Charlotte made it evident that our town needs to
take more steps to combat the effects of climate change and habitat destruction on our
pollinators, to spark change and more projects in our community.
A wildflower garden needs little attention after the plants grow to their further extent, and with
natural elements can be sustained for years into the future. Charlotte’s project provides a location
in Poolesville where people can view the benefits of wildflower gardens, and realize they too can
make a difference.
information on steps we can be taking to mitigate the effects of climate change on bees. In
addition, Charlotte addressed the lack of knowledge on the growing environmental crisis and its
impact, as well as the low amount of steps taken by many citizens of the town are factors on why
habitat destruction is so prevalent. In addressing the Poolesville Town Commissioners and the
Poolesville Town Parks and Streets Committee, Charlotte made it evident that our town needs to
take more steps to combat the effects of climate change and habitat destruction on our
pollinators, to spark change and more projects in our community.
A wildflower garden needs little attention after the plants grow to their further extent, and with
natural elements can be sustained for years into the future. Charlotte’s project provides a location
in Poolesville where people can view the benefits of wildflower gardens, and realize they too can
make a difference.
Lia Widenhofer
2020 Gold Award Project
"Delivering Dignity"
(Comfort Cases)
2020 Gold Award Project
"Delivering Dignity"
(Comfort Cases)
Children having to enter foster care after being removed from their homes or switching between placements often have to suffer the great indignity of carrying their few belongings in trash bags. Having to put their belongings in a trash bag devalues the child and the few belongings they treasure.
With the help of the community, Lia hoped to create 50 cases to help lessen the indignity that children face when having to put personal belongings in a trash bag. These cases would contain basic necessities (tooth brush, shampoo, etc), a book, a journal or coloring book, a stuffed animal, and a no sew blanket that the community would help make. The cases could then be distributed to police officers, social workers, and others who have direct contact with children in the system with the help of an organization called Comfort Cases. By the time the project was complete, Lia's team had created 91 cases! These items were donated by people from Lia's town and church. About 65 of the blankets were made by members of Lia's community. Because Lia's project was completed during the pandemic, community members participated in a porch delivery and pick up project. Lia provided kits with supplies and instructions and picked up the finished project to include in a case. Between blanket-making and donations of other items for the kits, the people of Lia's community really stepped up to get involved and contribute to this project.
With the help of the community, Lia hoped to create 50 cases to help lessen the indignity that children face when having to put personal belongings in a trash bag. These cases would contain basic necessities (tooth brush, shampoo, etc), a book, a journal or coloring book, a stuffed animal, and a no sew blanket that the community would help make. The cases could then be distributed to police officers, social workers, and others who have direct contact with children in the system with the help of an organization called Comfort Cases. By the time the project was complete, Lia's team had created 91 cases! These items were donated by people from Lia's town and church. About 65 of the blankets were made by members of Lia's community. Because Lia's project was completed during the pandemic, community members participated in a porch delivery and pick up project. Lia provided kits with supplies and instructions and picked up the finished project to include in a case. Between blanket-making and donations of other items for the kits, the people of Lia's community really stepped up to get involved and contribute to this project.
The final piece of Lia's project included educating the community about the issue through the website Lia created, the social media used to share facts and updates, and direct communication so the community is now better informed and interested in continuing support to agencies and organizations that pass that support along to the children.
|
Shreya Sharma
2020 Gold Award Project
"Bring Awareness in School Kids in India about
Effects of Smoking and Substance Abuse"
2020 Gold Award Project
"Bring Awareness in School Kids in India about
Effects of Smoking and Substance Abuse"
The issue Shreya's project addressed was the importance of educating students about substance awareness in developing countries (India) where such education is not always included in the curriculum. During the summer of 2018, she traveled to India and made in-person presentations to about 200 high school students. During the summer of 2019, she reached out to more schools in India and made Skype presentation to two more schools. She also held open discussions with the high school students to discuss this issue and take in their input. It was important to address where these substances can be found so that students were more aware of their surroundings and careful in certain situations. Talking about the impact that these substances have on the human body, made her presentation more factual and convincing to the students to avoid them. The project benefited both the students and the schools where she conducted this project. A presentation was shown to the students that thoroughly went over the different substances available as well as what they do to the human body when consumed or smoked. The students were also provided with pamphlets and activities that went into depth about the issue at hand. They took quizzes and discussed the answers during open discussions. Shreya and her team gave out these resources to make sure that the students would have some references to refer back to after the presentation.
Shreya believes that her project will be sustained beyond her involvement by the schools themselves as well as her active Facebook page where she will continue to post information on these substances for the students to access. The Facebook page will contain the presentation as well as the resources that were used in this project for all to see.
Shreya believes that her project will be sustained beyond her involvement by the schools themselves as well as her active Facebook page where she will continue to post information on these substances for the students to access. The Facebook page will contain the presentation as well as the resources that were used in this project for all to see.
Raenya Sharma
2019 Gold Award Project
"Child Assault Prevention to Stay Save, Strong and Free"
2019 Gold Award Project
"Child Assault Prevention to Stay Save, Strong and Free"
Through her Gold Award Project, Raenya tried to bring awareness about child assault, its prevention and staying safe, strong and free, especially in developing countries, where these issues are not addressed appropriately, stigmatized and silenced instead of being brought to peoples' attention. Through her project she hoped to make an impact that raised childrens' awareness of this issue and their ability to recognize and react in potentially dangerous situations.
Raenya reached out to few schools in India and during summer of 2018, visited two schools and made in-person presentations to upto 200 students. After returning and resuming her school in USA, she reached out to additional schools in India and made skype presentations to two more schools during summer of 2019. Hence reaching out to more than 400 students and teachers.
These students ranged from second through sixth grade and received lessons and presentations curate to their demographic. In these lessons, she went over how to identify specific unsafe situations by presenting examples and taught the appropriate response to maintain safety and security. More specifically, she helped the audience understand the difference between a "safe touch" and "unsafe touch", how to reach out and be persistent in getting help from an adult, and how to avoid unsafe situations involving strangers. In order to ensure that the participants retained the information, she also followed up each lesson with an interactive activity, ranging from discussions, booklets, role-play, and question and answer sessions. The discussions were guided by the students volunteering their understanding and retaining of the content. The previously planned question and answer session also opened up discussions in addition to evaluating how well the students retained the information. The feedback she received from these interactive activities were overwhelmingly positive and made her presentation more effective. Each presentation took two to three hours.
These students ranged from second through sixth grade and received lessons and presentations curate to their demographic. In these lessons, she went over how to identify specific unsafe situations by presenting examples and taught the appropriate response to maintain safety and security. More specifically, she helped the audience understand the difference between a "safe touch" and "unsafe touch", how to reach out and be persistent in getting help from an adult, and how to avoid unsafe situations involving strangers. In order to ensure that the participants retained the information, she also followed up each lesson with an interactive activity, ranging from discussions, booklets, role-play, and question and answer sessions. The discussions were guided by the students volunteering their understanding and retaining of the content. The previously planned question and answer session also opened up discussions in addition to evaluating how well the students retained the information. The feedback she received from these interactive activities were overwhelmingly positive and made her presentation more effective. Each presentation took two to three hours.
Her project will be sustained beyond her involvement as the administration of schools in India are contemplating to conduct her presentation to new groups of students every year as well as distribute her presentation materials. She has also created a Facebook page where she is interacting with students and keeping it posted with new information addressing child exploitation. The facebook URL is: https://www.facebook.com/stopabuseinternational/
This facebook page has already received many views and accumulated likes and followers by the school administrations and teachers in India. There is active participation and resources available like project presentation, booklets etc. Raenya plans on continuing interactions with those involved as well as posting updates to the global situation of child exploitation.
This facebook page has already received many views and accumulated likes and followers by the school administrations and teachers in India. There is active participation and resources available like project presentation, booklets etc. Raenya plans on continuing interactions with those involved as well as posting updates to the global situation of child exploitation.
Jessica Mense
2019 Gold Award Project
"Eco Evie ~ Every Bit Helps!"
2019 Gold Award Project
"Eco Evie ~ Every Bit Helps!"
To the people who understand how vital it is to help the environment, it can seem extremely overwhelming. Many people look at such a large problem and truly believe that there is nothing that they can personally do that will make a difference. Some people know that they can help, but they think that they will have to go out of their way and that it will be difficult to do anything. Jessica's goal was to help people realize how many choices they make throughout the day can negatively impact the environment and how easy it is to make earth-friendly choices instead. Jessica logged 196 hours and her team logged 175 hours for a total of 371 hours on the project. For details about her two-part “Eco Evie ~ Every Bit Helps!” project go to her website https://ecoevie.weebly.com/
1."Where in the World is Eco Evie?" Social Media Photo Scavenger Hunt
Jessica created a cartoon character of a bear that she named Eco Evie. She invited people to take and post a photo of Eco Evie doing something earth-friendly. Her hope was that by joining in the fun of taking photos and seeing the photos posted by others, people -- especially children -- would think about how easy it is to make choices throughout their day to help the environment. https://ecoevie.weebly.com/where-in-the-world-is-eco-evie.html
Jessica talked to everyone about the project. She handed out flyers about the project at Poolesville Day. She emailed all of the teachers in the local schools including preschools. She received permission to run an Eco Evie contest at Camp Sunshine, the Girl Scout day camp at which she was a counselor. The unit who posted the most photos won. She repeatedly posted about it on Poolesville's community Facebook site that has 5,500+ members. Her team members posted about it on their social media sites. She contacted the local newspaper, The Monocacy Monocle, and they ran an article inviting people to participate. She passed out flyers to friends who were traveling for spring break and asked that they participate. She emailed scouts all over the United States and the world asking that they spread the word. She emailed zoos and other environmentally conscious groups. She is a certified SCUBA diver, so her team posted requests to participate on SCUBA diving social media sites. To get Eco Evie to space, she emailed every contact she could find on the NASA site which resulted in her going up in the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) with a Girl Scout Leader in NASA. To get her to Antarctica, she googled projects taking place in Antarctica and emailed the contacts listed there. Her team members posted about it and her cousin, a former military member, was able to contact current Coast Guard members who were soon to be stationed there. They contacted scientists that were already there and Eco Evie made it. When Jessica got close to meeting the 50 state goal, she emailed schools, county officials and even state legislators from the missing states asking for their help.
So far Eco Evie has logged photos detailing 319 eco-friendly acts in all 50 US states, 2 US Territories, 27 countries on 7 continents and on an 8 mile high NASA mission. She even went SCUBA diving 65 feet underwater. The project Facebook group with 406 members has photos of her eco-friendly actions and a map showing their locations. https://www.facebook.com/groups/EcoEvie/
Jessica created a cartoon character of a bear that she named Eco Evie. She invited people to take and post a photo of Eco Evie doing something earth-friendly. Her hope was that by joining in the fun of taking photos and seeing the photos posted by others, people -- especially children -- would think about how easy it is to make choices throughout their day to help the environment. https://ecoevie.weebly.com/where-in-the-world-is-eco-evie.html
Jessica talked to everyone about the project. She handed out flyers about the project at Poolesville Day. She emailed all of the teachers in the local schools including preschools. She received permission to run an Eco Evie contest at Camp Sunshine, the Girl Scout day camp at which she was a counselor. The unit who posted the most photos won. She repeatedly posted about it on Poolesville's community Facebook site that has 5,500+ members. Her team members posted about it on their social media sites. She contacted the local newspaper, The Monocacy Monocle, and they ran an article inviting people to participate. She passed out flyers to friends who were traveling for spring break and asked that they participate. She emailed scouts all over the United States and the world asking that they spread the word. She emailed zoos and other environmentally conscious groups. She is a certified SCUBA diver, so her team posted requests to participate on SCUBA diving social media sites. To get Eco Evie to space, she emailed every contact she could find on the NASA site which resulted in her going up in the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) with a Girl Scout Leader in NASA. To get her to Antarctica, she googled projects taking place in Antarctica and emailed the contacts listed there. Her team members posted about it and her cousin, a former military member, was able to contact current Coast Guard members who were soon to be stationed there. They contacted scientists that were already there and Eco Evie made it. When Jessica got close to meeting the 50 state goal, she emailed schools, county officials and even state legislators from the missing states asking for their help.
So far Eco Evie has logged photos detailing 319 eco-friendly acts in all 50 US states, 2 US Territories, 27 countries on 7 continents and on an 8 mile high NASA mission. She even went SCUBA diving 65 feet underwater. The project Facebook group with 406 members has photos of her eco-friendly actions and a map showing their locations. https://www.facebook.com/groups/EcoEvie/
These are a small sampling of the photos posted on the project Facebook site.
2. Eco Evie, Every Bit Helps! StoryWalk®
Jessica wrote a story featuring Eco Evie that showed that the little things we do and the choices we make that seem inconsequential to us, actually have a hugely negative impact on the environment. In the story Eco Evie learns how she can change those little choices throughout her day to day schedule to have less of a negative impact. The environmental tip on the bottom of the displays transforms what Eco Evie learns into a personal challenge to the reader and explains the impact of making or not making that choice. As an added bonus, the physical exercise challenge encourages outdoor exercise.
Jessica designed the StoryWalk so that the illustrations in the beginning of the story would be done by the youngest grades and increase in age as you went through the story. To illustrate the story, she hosted an art contest at Poolesville Elementary School, Monocacy Elementary School, John Poole Middle School, Poolesville High School and home-schooled students. To do so she designated an art contest contact at each of the four participating schools. She met with each of them, showed them the mock up of a sample page of the StoryWalk display and provided them a copy of the story as well as flyers and a key to the various pages to be passed out. They collected entries at each school. She then collected the entries from them. A representative panel of student judges, at least one student from each of the schools, and Jessica selected the winning entries. The final illustrations are by kindergarteners and students in every grade up through grade 12. https://ecoevie.weebly.com/eco-evie-art-contest.html
Jessica wrote a story featuring Eco Evie that showed that the little things we do and the choices we make that seem inconsequential to us, actually have a hugely negative impact on the environment. In the story Eco Evie learns how she can change those little choices throughout her day to day schedule to have less of a negative impact. The environmental tip on the bottom of the displays transforms what Eco Evie learns into a personal challenge to the reader and explains the impact of making or not making that choice. As an added bonus, the physical exercise challenge encourages outdoor exercise.
Jessica designed the StoryWalk so that the illustrations in the beginning of the story would be done by the youngest grades and increase in age as you went through the story. To illustrate the story, she hosted an art contest at Poolesville Elementary School, Monocacy Elementary School, John Poole Middle School, Poolesville High School and home-schooled students. To do so she designated an art contest contact at each of the four participating schools. She met with each of them, showed them the mock up of a sample page of the StoryWalk display and provided them a copy of the story as well as flyers and a key to the various pages to be passed out. They collected entries at each school. She then collected the entries from them. A representative panel of student judges, at least one student from each of the schools, and Jessica selected the winning entries. The final illustrations are by kindergarteners and students in every grade up through grade 12. https://ecoevie.weebly.com/eco-evie-art-contest.html
Jessica and her team designed and built 14 displays out of wood and plexiglass. The pages of the story are attached to them. As you walk down the path that runs around Halmos Park in Poolesville, you are directed to the next display. https://ecoevie.weebly.com/eco-evie-storywalkreg.html
The last display describes the "Where in the World is Eco Evie?" portion of the project, has a selection of Eco Evie photos doing earth-friendly acts and directs people to the survey on the project website (https://ecoevie.weebly.com/ ) via a QR code. Jessica hopes the StoryWalk® will encourage outdoor exercise, family time, and literacy among the children in the Poolesville area, as well as show them how easy it is to do a lot of small actions to help the environment every day throughout the day.
Rachael Behrend
2019 Gold Award Project
"Slate Patio with Wooden Table & Chairs at the BCCIWLA Archery Range"
2019 Gold Award Project
"Slate Patio with Wooden Table & Chairs at the BCCIWLA Archery Range"
Rachael Behrend saw the need for a place to observe the archers firing and to place equipment when she helped teach an archery class for youth at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America (B-CC IWLA) archery range. She built a 12x16 slate patio with a wooden table and four chairs at the range. It will be used not only for individuals, but also for the spring youth archery class offered there.
Priya Kalra
2019 Gold Award Project
"Summer Coding Camp for Girls"
2019 Gold Award Project
"Summer Coding Camp for Girls"
Recognizing the shortage of girls in STEM, Priya's project goal was teaching a programming camp to young girls. During this week-long camp held at a local library, girls ranging from ages 8-13 were able to explore and learn computer programming fundamentals.
On the first day of the camp, Priya taught the foundations of programming and then progressed with more advanced concepts. Upon concluding the class, every student programmed their own game without assistance.
Throughout the week, Priya built connections with each student and watched them grow as they became more enthusiastic about STEM. On the first day of camp, most of the girls had no interest in programming, but by the end of the camp they were enthusiastically asking Priya to teach them the camp again.
Priya was pleased that her vision for teaching this camp, so that girls learn how to program, was realized. Priya feels that programming is a skill everyone should have familiarity with and it is especially important for kids to learn it from a young age. Furthermore, there is a lack of females in STEM fields, so teaching girls to program in a fun and exciting way will spark their interest to pursue a career in a STEM field in the future.
On the first day of the camp, Priya taught the foundations of programming and then progressed with more advanced concepts. Upon concluding the class, every student programmed their own game without assistance.
Throughout the week, Priya built connections with each student and watched them grow as they became more enthusiastic about STEM. On the first day of camp, most of the girls had no interest in programming, but by the end of the camp they were enthusiastically asking Priya to teach them the camp again.
Priya was pleased that her vision for teaching this camp, so that girls learn how to program, was realized. Priya feels that programming is a skill everyone should have familiarity with and it is especially important for kids to learn it from a young age. Furthermore, there is a lack of females in STEM fields, so teaching girls to program in a fun and exciting way will spark their interest to pursue a career in a STEM field in the future.
Gretchen Hundertmark
2018 Gold Award Project
"Bird Rescue Awareness & Assistance Project"
2018 Gold Award Project
"Bird Rescue Awareness & Assistance Project"
Gretchen’s Gold Award project focused on raising awareness about the dangers facing wild, native birds such as oil spills and a loss of biodiversity, and sharing with young people and the broader community about the proper ways to rescue injured or sick wild birds so they can be returned to the wild.
She worked with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research to address a challenge they identified: the pens they used to care for rescued waterfowl were heavy to move around and difficult to store off-season. With the help of a carpenter and her team, Gretchen designed and built a prototype of a foldable, space-saving pen to be used to shelter injured and sick native water fowl. The pen she designed is lighter and can be folded and stored without taking up excessive space.
She worked with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research to address a challenge they identified: the pens they used to care for rescued waterfowl were heavy to move around and difficult to store off-season. With the help of a carpenter and her team, Gretchen designed and built a prototype of a foldable, space-saving pen to be used to shelter injured and sick native water fowl. The pen she designed is lighter and can be folded and stored without taking up excessive space.
For the community outreach part of her project, Gretchen organized an activity station at a community event in Poolesville for young people, and distributed information about the project, in addition to promoting the project at two Poolesville Day booths.
She created an electronic presentation, a survey and a brochure about the proper ways to help an injured or sick native bird. She used these to teach and quiz participants and provide information that can be shared with others.
Her project team also painted water color pictures of different birds and developed stationary for Tri-State to sell in their gift shop, promoting the work of the organization.
Her project team also painted water color pictures of different birds and developed stationary for Tri-State to sell in their gift shop, promoting the work of the organization.
Finally, Gretchen developed a detailed step-by-step instruction handout with pictures, for use by Tri-State to share with other volunteer organizations which would like to build similar pens so the organization would have more foldable pens in the future.
Mackenzie Gross
2017 Gold Award Project
"Give Tomorrow a Chance"
2017 Gold Award Project
"Give Tomorrow a Chance"
Mackenzie’s Give Tomorrow a Chance, a suicide prevention & awareness project, included a health fair, ally pledge, a "yellow out" football game and spoken word performance to educate, support and encourage discussion of this very important silent epidemic.
The goal was to help change the way people view mental health and its effects and to give students and community members necessary skills to engage with each other to initiate conversations.
The goal was to help change the way people view mental health and its effects and to give students and community members necessary skills to engage with each other to initiate conversations.
Poolesville Day attracts upwards of 15,000 visitors every year. At our Service Unit’s booth, Mackenzie shared her Gold Project with other Girl Scouts, their families, the local community and many visitors from out of the area. She collected signatures from those pledging to be an ally in the effort to raise suicide awareness and prevention.
Mackenzie created and ran a Suicide Awareness Health Fair. Hundreds of students participated and were supported by the administration and staff at Poolesville high school. Over 500 students, staff & parents have signed the ally pledge so far.
Students, families, staff and community members wore yellow to a Suicide Awareness Football game at Poolesville High School to raise awareness. Mackenzie handed out commemorative shirts to the first 100 through the gate and spoke to the crowd before the game.
As a Miss Poolesville nominee Mackenzie chose suicide awareness and prevention, “Give Tomorrow a Chance” as her platform. She performed an original spoken word piece to a packed auditorium of approximately 500 students, families and community members.
Megan Grubb
2017 Gold Award Project
"Alzeimer's Aprons"
2017 Gold Award Project
"Alzeimer's Aprons"
Megan coordinated sewing groups to make activity aprons for patients at the Frederick Memorial hospital. Activity aprons also called fidget aprons are a unique way to provide sensory stimulation. While each fidget apron is different, the general idea is that a person can put the apron on and have a variety of activities, trinkets and charms within their reach. Some fidget aprons include zippers, braids, different textures and patterns and all are designed to engage the minds and fingers of someone living with Alzheimer’s.
The aprons were donated to patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia to keep their hands busy.
The aprons were donated to patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia to keep their hands busy.
Anna Morrison
2017 Gold Award Project
"Save our Reefs"
2017 Gold Award Project
"Save our Reefs"
Anna helped raise awareness for coral reef conservation. She created 5 public service announcement videos in hopes to inform and educate teens about preserving our coral reefs. She also created a lesson plan and worksheet that was presented at Poolesville High School and the community to help spread the word to her peers and the general community.
Her goal is to inform teens about the impact that we have on the coral reefs and to inspire them to want to save our coral reefs and make a difference.
Her goal is to inform teens about the impact that we have on the coral reefs and to inspire them to want to save our coral reefs and make a difference.
Anna showcased her project with a display at our Service Unit's booth at Poolesville Day. By doing so she shared her projects with the local community and many visitors from out of the area.
The first PSA is entitled “What is a Coral Reef?” and talks about common corals you might find and common sea creatures that inhabit the reefs. The second PSA is called “Global Warming” and it talks about what global warming is and how it’s affecting our environment. The third PSA talks about the effect of global warming and pollution specifically on the coral reefs.
The PSAs are posted on a YouTube Channel and Facebook page, where they are accessible forever for anyone to watch them and be informed. https://www.facebook.com/goldawardconservation/
Anna gave her lesson plan to two teachers at PHS to use and share with other teachers. The Society for Ocean Sciences has also used her videos for their Facebook page, so people can continue to watch and share them. Anna’s hope is that people feel the call to action when they see her videos.
Anne Hundertmark
2016 Gold Award Project
"Much Ado"
2016 Gold Award Project
"Much Ado"
Anne created a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing to encourage a greater appreciation of classic literature among middle and high schoolers. She adapted the play into a 12 episode "Much Ado" video blog which takes place in the modern day. It is narrated by the perspective of a teenage student, Beatrice, as she undergoes the adapted plot of the play.
The video blog episodes are available on YouTube, for any member of the public to view. Much Ado on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9oqMTHdysw&list=PL5jSwh8vHCxW0ITsAp9vntpeieAgKqjC2
Anne’s goal was to create a product that would inspire interest in the plots of classic literature through a creative way of presenting the story, igniting a passion and interest in reading the actual classic work.
Due to the modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, Anne incorporated modern issues that surround students in today's environment. These included topics such as sexism, cyberbullying, and depression. Due to the relevance of the episodes, students are able to connect on a deeper level, encouraging students to pursue reading classic literature on their own.
Due to the modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, Anne incorporated modern issues that surround students in today's environment. These included topics such as sexism, cyberbullying, and depression. Due to the relevance of the episodes, students are able to connect on a deeper level, encouraging students to pursue reading classic literature on their own.
Anne also created lesson plans to be used when teaching "Much Ado About Nothing", but with the video blog series as an accompaniment to the lesson. These lesson plans are located on a website for teachers, Share My Lesson.
Much Ado on Share My Lesson: https://sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/much-ado-about-nothing-277358
Anne shared her project with the local community and many visitors from out of the area by creating a display for our Service Unit's booth at Poolesville Day.
Sophia Mense
2015 Gold Award Project
"Don't Drop the Top"
2015 Gold Award Project
"Don't Drop the Top"
Sophia's “Don’t Drop the Top!” multi-media project combined art and science to educate people and to raise awareness of the harmful effects of discarded plastic bottle tops on marine wildlife and to promote the recycling of bottle tops.
The first part of the project was an electronic media campaign including an educational website: http://dontdropthetop.weebly.com/ and a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dontdropthetop to highlight the problem of marine debris and to let people know what they can do to help. The project’s Facebook site had 426 “Likes” from people in 22 states and 7 countries.
The first part of the project was an electronic media campaign including an educational website: http://dontdropthetop.weebly.com/ and a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dontdropthetop to highlight the problem of marine debris and to let people know what they can do to help. The project’s Facebook site had 426 “Likes” from people in 22 states and 7 countries.
The second part of the project was a large ocean-themed mosaic mural made out of individually screwed in recycled bottle tops that Sophia and her team helped the students of Poolesville Elementary School (PES) in Poolesville, MD design and assemble via a six week long after school environmental club that she created.
Her community collection drive for bottle tops for the mural yielded close to 40,000 caps -- four times her goal.
Her community collection drive for bottle tops for the mural yielded close to 40,000 caps -- four times her goal.
Sophia educated the Poolesville area community about the plastic problem, by posting about it on the town's Facebook page and by participating in Poolesville Day. At our Service Unit's Poolesville Day booth, Sophia set up a sorting station to invite people to sort the collected tops by color. While at the booth, sorters learned about her project from the display she created.
To educate the students of PES and invite design proposals for the mural, she created a Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0mq0XOyPzM that resulted in 131 submissions.
To make the mural students screwed in the caps into the painted plywood, filling in each area like a paint by number painting.
The finished 6 foot by 9 foot mural is hung on the front wall of the school’s cafeteria and will be permanently on display. It was unveiled during a school-wide Earth Day celebration/assembly where Sophia discussed the project with the entire student body.
The plaque she designed that is hung next to the mural has a Quick Response (QR) code that will take those with the smartphone application right to the Don't Drop the Top! website.
Emily Grubb
2013 Gold Award Project
"Reading Rocks Homework Club"
Emily created an after-school homework club for students at Poolesville Elementary School who are struggling to complete their homework.
Jennifer Haller
2013 Gold Award Project
"Animals that Heal"
Jennifer led volunteers in making stuffed animals for the Upper Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Department and other local fire and police departments, so that they can provide comfort for distressed children.
Alyssa Nubgaard
2013 Gold Award Project
"Homework Club: Magical Math"
2013 Gold Award Project
"Homework Club: Magical Math"
Alyssa started a homework club at Poolesville Elementary School to help students at all grade levels complete their homework in a timely and efficient manner.
Amanda Haller
2011 Gold Award Project
"Update Children's Waiting Area & Playroom in Hospital"
Amanda Haller
2011 Gold Award Project
"Update Children's Waiting Area & Playroom in Hospital"
Amanda provided a bright cheerful place for children in the hospital in both the waiting area as well as the playroom. She worked with others to coordinate a collect of new toys/movies, reorganize the play room to make it easier for children to get to toys, and painted Disney characters on the walls of the waiting room.
Amber Nubgaard
2011 Gold Award Project
"Helping Bed-Bound Children in Hospital"
The goal of Amber's project was to provide activities for children who were confined to their bed or their room while in the hospital. She worked with younger girls to make a lot of 'Get Well' cards, and developed packets of puzzles, games, coloring pictures, etc for the children to use while they were in their room. She provided the Nurse Manager with a CD of activity packet so new copies could be printed whenever needed.
Laura Gilfrich
2008 Gold Award Project
"Bags for Wheelchairs & Walkers"
2008 Gold Award Project
"Bags for Wheelchairs & Walkers"
The goal of this project was focused on people who needed extra assistance with general tasks. Laura coordinated a team of friends and made bags that could be attached to arms/backs of wheelchairs and walkers. These were donated to local senior groups.
Amanda Lyon
2008 Gold Award Project
"Sounds of Music"
Amanda's project was "Sounds of Music." She organized and performed music concerts for residents of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg. Amanda coordinated a series of concerts over the course of a year at the Senior facility. Examples include: recruiting members of her church choir, as well as the bell choir she is a member and performing a piano concert for them. Amanda received a Gold Award scholarship from GSCNC for her project.
Natasha Nubgaard
2008 Gold Award Project
"Leave No Trace"
The goal of this project was to focus on the environment and the principles surrounding "Leave No Trace". Tasha put together class outlines that could be used for a variety of age groups from elementary to high school. As part of a senior field trip, she used what she had learned to put together a presentation for the Global Ecology Class. The coordinator of Global Ecology program was provided a copy of the teaching plans for use with her incoming freshman students. The same approach was taken with a group of students from the elementary school.
Rachel Tjornehoj
2008 Gold Award Project
"Quilts for Project Linus"
Rachel made quilts for Project Linus which provides love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets.
Emily Trythall
2008 Gold Award Project
"Hand-Made Stuffed Animals"
Emily coordinated the making of hand-made stuffed animals to be donated to a local children's facility. She recruited others to work with her and made sure they had the skills and knowledge to keep them safe for younger hands.
Colleen Gilfrich & Caitlyn McAtee
2006 Gold Award Project
"Book Collection"
Colleen and Caitlyn collected books for a school library destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Elizabeth Murtha
2002 Gold Award Project
"Girl Recruitment Video"
Elizabeth's video was a recruitment video for girls, the video was filmed at various troop meetings and showing what fun Girl Scouts was and to get girls excited about Girl Scouts. She went to school with a girl who had earned her Gold and she interviewed her.
Megan Lyon
2002 Gold Award Project
"Adult Recruitment Video"
Megan's video encouraged adults to volunteer for Girl Scouts. She highlighted the classes you had to take and interviewed leaders.
Lauren Elizabeth Lee
2002 Gold Award Project
"Youth Field Hockey Clinic"
2002 Gold Award Project
"Youth Field Hockey Clinic"
After the Poolesville High School Field Hockey Team won their first State Championship in the fall of 2002, more and more girls expressed an interest in learning more about the sport. Lauren designed and ran a three day introductory camp designed for middle school athletes to introduce or help improve their basic skills and knowledge of the sport. It gave young athletes a basic understanding of the fundamentals before entering high school and encouraged more young athletes to consider summer camps to play field hockey on a high school level.
Lindsay Megan Lee & Lauren Leigh Shores
1999 Gold Award Project
"Seniors Afternoon Out"
Lindsay and Lauren were the first Poolesville Girl Scouts to earn the Gold Award. When they earned it, scouts were not required to do a solo project. Their project was to organize a "Seniors Afternoon Out" for area senior citizens, with entertainment, music, speakers and food donations to WUMCO.