Gold Award Spotlight: Environmental Education

Megan, a Girl Scout Ambassador from Poquoson, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest honor and achievement in Girl Scouting. For her project, Megan focused on educating preschool and elementary school children about life and environmental sciences through a partnership with the Poquoson Public Library Butterfly Garden.

Megan worked with Girl Scout Junior Troop 1010 to help them paint shadow boxes depicting the life cycle of a butterfly that she placed in the garden as an informational resource for visitors. She also led the butterfly-themed week during the Poquoson Public Library summer reading program, where read stories, made crafts and sang songs with the children who attended.

Megan purchased live caterpillars that she placed in a net cage near the entrance of the library so that children visiting the library could watch them grow. When they emerged as butterflies, she and a group of children released them into the garden, which was a new learning experience for many of the children. She also created educational materials pertaining to the life cycle of a butterfly that are available as a community resource at the library’s circulation desk. 

Megan releases butterflies into the
garden at the Poquoson Public Library
with the help of local youth.

“Through my project, I introduced young children to the natural world and fostered in them a respect and curiosity for science, an appreciation for the environment and hopefully the desire to pursue careers in science,” Megan said.

Following her educational programs, Megan organized a fall and a winter clean up in the butterfly garden, and volunteers trimmed bushes, weeded and raked to help maintain the space for everyone to enjoy.

The Gold Award requires girls to identify an issue in their community and carry out a Take Action project to address the matter through leadership work. Nationwide, less than 6 percent of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award, which adds Megan to an elite group of female leaders across the country with the honor.