GSEM Gold Award Project Catalog

Riparian Rescue

Issue: Pollution causes significant harm to the environment. Root Cause: People chose to litter instead of properly disposing of their waste. Measurability: Sophia kept track of the amount of trash she was able to collect. She also conducted social media surveys to ensure her community learned about proper trash disposal. Sustainability: Riparian Rescue, the non-profit organization created in conjunction with the Gold Award project, will maintain the Instagram account, @riparianrescue, and another volunteer will organize future clean ups. Issue: Mass littering and a lack of recycling are harming the environment. Root Cause: Many buildings, especially schools, lack recycling bins or the bins are misused because people don’t know what they can and cannot recycle. Measurability: Jessica used a pre and post learning sorting quiz to evaluate how much the elementary schoolers learned. She also counted bottle caps. Sustainability: The video Jessica filmed, as well as the bench, will allow her project to continue making at impact on the kids.

Gold Award Girl Scout: Sophia B., Troop 1964

Project Details: Sophia noticed a large amount of trash accumulating along a branch of the Missouri River, know as the Centaur Chute. She jumped into action to clean up the harmful litter and earn her Girl Scout Gold Award. Sophia organized several cleanups of the Centaur Chute, which involved picking up trash and educating fellow community members about the importance of proper waste disposal for the health of wildlife and surrounding ecosystems. To further her project’s outreach, Sophia created an informational Instagram account to share helpful tips and tricks to implement living a more sustainable lifestyle.

Recycling Education: One Cap at a Time

Gold Award Girl Scout: Jessica A., Troop 696

Project Details: Jessica decided to take action to do her part for the environment after she recognized the lack of recycling bins at schools and the misuse of recycling bins when they are in place. To earn her Gold Award, Jessica educated local elementary school students about the importance of recycling. Jessica taught the students the recycling process, what should go into recycling bins, and how recycling is sorted. She also worked with the students to collect plastic caps to construct a school bench from them. Jessica collaborated with the environmental club at her high school to create a recycling program for their cafeteria, complete with a video presentation.