Macey Clay, a Newsome High School junior, recently finished building a greenhouse for Randall Middle School as part of the Girl Scouts of America. Clay has participated in the Girls Scouts for the last 12 years. During that time, she has earned the Bronze and Silver Awards, and just recently earned the Gold Award for this project.
The Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn after completing a Gold Award project. The criteria for this project is for a Girl Scout to find and attempt to address a global issue that is important to her, then she needs to come up with a plan, while working within her community, to become a part of the solution. At least 80 service hours must be committed to the project as well.
Completed in mid-January, Clay’s Gold Award project, entitled ‘Greenhouse for Green Thumbs,’ raised funds and built a 12-by-30-foot greenhouse for the Randall Middle School Future Farmers of America (FFA). She also held climate challenge workshops for 75 local Girl Scouts, which, when completed, would make those girls eligible for their Climate Challenge badge. This greenhouse is located inside the land lab at Randall Middle School. Brittany Andrews, Randall agricultural teacher and Clay’s project advisor, will maintain the greenhouse, as well as her students. Andrews will use this greenhouse as part of her curriculum to teach students how to grow plants in a controlled environment. Students who participate in the Strawberry Festival can grow their plants in this greenhouse as well.
Clay stated of her project, “I chose to help the environment and educate others on the negative effects of climate change, including what we can do in our own communities to be better stewards of the environment. The culminating piece of my project was building a greenhouse for the FFA and agricultural programs at Randall Middle School. In addition to learning the value of hard work, speaking in public and working with adults in the community, completing my Gold Award project is proof that I can and have made a difference. This award opens up opportunities for scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and future career opportunities, as it is an award only five percent of Girl Scouts successfully earn.”
To find a local Girl Scout troop or find out more about its award programs, visit its website at www.gswcf.org.
