Cape High senior earns Girl Scout Gold Award
Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay announced Hannah Maney, a Cape Henlopen High School student from Lewes, recently earned the highest award in Girl Scouting, the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Hannah’s Gold Award project, titled Compost Bins, addressed climate change and provided a sustainable way to reduce the effects of this environmental issue by creating compost bins for the Sussex Consortium garden. The bins were built to provide the garden with a place to store and create compost. This allowed a resource of nutrients for the garden, and improved the quality of the soil and plant life. The bins also allowed the school to recycle food waste, which reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Hannah's project benefits her local community by giving children the opportunity to learn about the environment, and providing a space to create their own environmentally friendly soil. She spent time with students and taught them about composting during the spring fling day. She also developed a mini coloring book with information on what could be composted, like apple cores and banana peels, and how composting is good for the environment. As the students work in the garden, they increase their fine motor skills by manipulating objects with their hands, along with creating a collaborative community.
To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, Hannah completed more than 80 hours of work and seven steps, which include: identifying an issue in her community, investigating the issue thoroughly, building a team to support her efforts, creating a plan to take action, presenting the plan and gathering feedback, taking action by leading a team to carry out the plan, and educating and inspiring others.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders today’s world needs.
According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives, and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Some 87% of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally, and 72% said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship.
Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. A full 99% of Gold Award Girl Scout alumnae take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.
