Monday, October 31, 2016

Girls celebrate Founder's Day with service


Girl Scouts’ founder, Juliette Gordon Low, left a legacy that has inspired millions of girls over the last century to confidently and courageously help make the world a better place.

In honor of Low’s birthday, also called Founder’s Day, local Girl Scouts put her mission into practice at the Fort Necessity Founder’s Day Service Celebration.

Sixteen girls and 10 adults participated in the service project, weeding and mulching around nearly 100 trees and improving the natural aesthetic of the meadows surrounding Fort Necessity and the Veteran’s Memorial.

The participants learned about the conservation plan for Fort Necessity and the desire to have the landscape look as if the visitor was stepping back into the 1750s.

Through hands-on activities, the girls explored how the local Seneca tribe of Native Americans dressed and communicated with wampum.

A walk out to the fort to taught the girls more about the trial and error young George Washington went through during the battle of Fort Necessity.

“The girls learned not only about how to protect
resources, but also about the history of the park,” said Christina Spohn, GSWPA Education and Outreach Intern. Spohn said the adult volunteers enjoyed the project, too, and showed interest in finding more outdoors activities for Girl Scouts.

"This project is a perfect fit to celebrate Founder's Day, as well as the centennial of both the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is all about taking action to help the community, and the National Park Service," said Jackie Dineen, Director, Partnerships and Girl Events at GSWPA.

"It’s important for girls to see that giving back and enjoying the outdoors can go hand in hand." 

Through this project, girls earned the Girl Scout Ranger certificate, and a few even earned the Girl Scout Ranger patch.

Spohn's intern position is part of collaboration between GSUSA and the Student Conservation Association (SCA) that is funded by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. This pilot program include five councils: GSWPA, Girl Scouts of Alaska, Girl Scouts-Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, Girl Scouts of Greater New York, and Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan. Christina is the second intern hired through this program. Curriculum and Training Intern Ariel Barasch joined GSWPA in August.

Visit gswpa.org for more information.