Troop 40304 Cadettes Earn Silver Awards
Fanwood Scotch Plains Girl Scouts Service Team
Five cadettes from Girl Scout Troop 40304 of Scotch Plains, NJ, earned their Silver Award, one of the highest awards in Girl Scouting. To earn this award, Girl Scouts work independently or in small teams to complete a project that addresses an issue in the community and effect a lasting change.
Taylor Mingoia worked with the Township of Scotch Plains to create a fun, colorful and interactive space at Brookside Park. Remembering how she used draw games on the blacktop with chalk to play on when she attended summer camp at the park, Taylor was excited to be able to create something that will brighten up the park, and that children will use and enjoy. With the help of family and friends, Taylor painted 2 four-square games, 2 Twister games, 4 hopscotch races, 3 finish the pictures, and 3 selfie stations for everyone to enjoy, and completed this expansive blacktop project in time for the start of the 2022 summer camp at the park. Taylor is grateful that kids will get to enjoy her hard work on this colorful Silver Award project.
Normandie Beversluis and Elyse Lamberti wanted a way to engage younger children in outdoor activities, so their Silver Award project idea focused on creating a fairy trail that can make taking a hike more interactive and interesting. After exploring different locations for the trail, Normandie and Elyse reached out to Girl Scout Heart of NJ Council Camp Director Deborah Hooker to propose installing a fairy trail at Camp Henry Lou Hoover in Middleville, NJ. Working closely with Ms. Hooker, Normandie and Elyse used an existing trail in the middle of camp and converted it to a “Fairy Tale Trail”. The trail itself is an easy, flat trail that is perfect for the beginner hiker. The project not only included installing fairy doors, enchanted elements and a storytelling area, it also provides a great introduction to the 7 principles of “Leave No Trace”, an important part of protecting and preserving natural spaces. Normandie and Elyse wrote fairy stories that teach each of the seven principles and the stories can be accessed through QR codes on tree-safe tags posted along the trail. They hope that the trail encourages imagination and an appreciation for nature to anyone that visits.
Samantha Lionetti and Claire Abadir collaborated with both Union County and the Township of Scotch Plains for their Silver Award project, which aimed to promote inclusivity and diversity. The project involved installing an Inclusive Little Free Library (“Library”) at Ponderosa Farm Park, a county park located in Scotch Plains, NJ. Sam and Claire reached out to teachers and publishing professionals for recommendations on books with themes that supported their cause. With the recommendations, they distributed flyers and contacted local businesses for book donations to put in the Library. They were happy to see how much support there is for greater awareness of the diversity within the community and the importance of inclusivity from the responses they received. The donated books were added into the Library with a custom bookplate to recognize a business or individual’s participation in the project. Sam and Claire are excited to have been able to put this welcome feature into the park and they hope their project provides a fun and educational resource to the families and visitors to the park.
