As a 10-year Girl Scout, it has always been my dream to earn my Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. It required a capstone project to address an issue within my community. My project was “Sustainable Solutions for Invasive Plants Through Multilingual Outreach and Education.”
Outreach on invasive plants
I researched, designed, built, and installed four signs in Little Hunting Creek Presesrve with information and graphics on invasive plants that affect Little Hunting Creek. The signs explain how invasive plants arrive, specific ones in our area, the harm they cause to native flora and fauna, and how you can remove them and prevent their spread in the future.The signs are in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Environmental education should be readily available for all, not just for the English-speaking majority.
My team and I also fixed up the trail in the Little Hunting Creek Preserve. In September, we put down fresh wood chips and cleaned up trash along the trail. Once the trail was ready, I researched, wrote the content, arranged a professional translation, and designed the signs to be accessible and interesting for those traversing the trail to read.
Project Completion
In October, I hosted an opening event for the new and improved trail. I led a tour to showcase the signs, Betsy Martin of the Friends of Little Hunting Creek demonstrated stiltgrass removal, and I took questions with help from Betsy and Alyssa Hemler of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, which owns the preserve. The event was super successful, and I am so thankful to everyone who stopped by. I also collected data through surveys before and after my educational efforts, and the numbers show that people who read the interpretive signs and attended the opening event had a much better understanding of what invasive plants are and how they affect native habitats.
As of November 14, I am officially a Gold Award Scout! Doing my Gold has been unbelievably rewarding, and everyone involved has been so kind. Many thanks to Alyssa Hemler of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, who was a fantastic project advisor; I could not have earned this award without her guidance. To my friends and family who shoveled wood chips, to my dad who helped me build the signs, and everyone who helped me along the way – thank you! If being a Girl Scout has taught me one thing, it is that having a network of support is the most important aspect of a successful project. I hope I can inspire younger Scouts to pursue their Gold Award and continue making positive impacts in our community.
