The Full Project
About
Find more about my Girl Scout Gold Award Project:
"Get to the Root of It!"
Issue
Nowadays, it is a top priority to make sure our environment and the organisms inhabiting it are protected from the everyday tasks humans do, that destroy it little by little. Hundreds of people in the community try to address this problem by picking up trash, recycling, and conserving resources. However, adults' practices to stop the effects of destroying the environment are often overlooked by a specific group of people: young elementary school students. My Gold Award project aimed to address the lack of conservation awareness among younger students by educating them about protecting the environment, using resources wisely in an effort to make them more aware of the effect they have on the environment, and understanding the impact of proper conservation techniques on endangered species. Since many younger students are not aware of the effects they have on the environment, it is important to educate them from an early age so they can continue to carry out these beneficial practices for the rest of their lives.
Outcome:
Through this project, I successfully created and beautified a 45 ft. garden on the entire front (lefthand) of Belmont Elementary School. My initial plan was to construct a 6x6 ft garden alongside interacting with students via an after school club, but with the Pandemic, I decided to beautify a large, weed-filled empty patch in the front of the school. While incorporating both annual and perennial plants, I made sure to include at least one Native plant, and a diverse array of flowers and bushes to beautify the space for any individual to enjoy even from a distance. In addition to the garden, I curated this website so students have the opportunity to learn about the endangered species in our area, to watch tutorials on how to turn every day recyclables into projects that not only look good in their gardens but also provide functional purposes, and how to implement sustainable practices within our community. Finally, I was able to meet with my friends to introduce, discuss, and educate them on various environmentally friendly practices. What was surprising to learn was how interested my friends were of relevant topics such as Leave No Trace. This demonstrates how important it is to implement these practices from a young age. My friends can now educate other friends, relay what they have learned, and now my project reaches both elementary and high school audiences.
Experiences From the Day of Building the Garden
Finished Date: May 21st 2021
