Jr. Girl Scouts Emphasize Need to Reduce Carbon Footprints

Avon Lake’s Junior Girl Scout Troop 50106 helped more than 400students “Get Moving” by biking and walking to school last week.

Including most of fourth-grade Junior Girl Scouts, 407 students, teachers and even Principal Carl Bosworth rode biked to school from May 7 – 11.

“This was completed as our Junior Troop Bronze Award Project which built off work the girls did this past year for their Junior level Environmental Journey, called ‘Get Moving,’” Pattie Ferrari, one of three troop leaders, said.

“The week started with 58 kids walking or biking to school,” Ferrari said. “The final day we had 133 kids walk or bike to school.”  

The Girls Scouts organization has incorporated the "Journey" concept as part of the process of earning badges as well as an integrated requirement to earning the 3 different levels of Girl Scout awards --the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards. The Journey work focuses on the environment and reducing individuals’ carbon footprints.  

Troop 50106 is comprised of 17 fourth-grade girls and leaders Margie Steele, Ferrari and Krissy Ingham. The troop has been together since first grade. The troop tracked how many participants walked or rode each day and Steele dispatched a daily report with the numbers and classes participating.

Bosworth also helped out by registering the school on the National Bike To School Day website.

Participating students had a chance to win more than 100 prizes from 30 local businesses.

The Gold Award is the highest award for a Girl Scout and is an individual project, similar to an Eagle Scout award for a Boy Scout. The Bronze and Silver awards are usually done as team efforts.