About Me
About me
Welcome! My name is Sophia Ferraro and I have been a Girl Scout for ten years in Greenwich, CT, and am now a Senior Girl Scout.
Thank you for visiting this website to learn about my Girl Scout Gold Award Project. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scouts can earn. Each Gold Award Project addresses a community issue and improves lives. The Gold Award process builds girls’ personal leadership skills, and the projects inspire others to take action within their communities. To earn a Gold Award, a scout must identify a community problem or issue and use the Four Standards of Excellence to address this issue. These standards are:
- Global: Girls must research this issue in other areas, identify how it must be addressed, and combine the "best practices" they find.
- Measurable: Girls must measure their project by developing and using a way to see how many people have been affected by the project, and how their project has helped people.
- Sustainable: Our projects must be sustainable, reaching many people for a long period of time.
- Share: We must share our projects, by letting people know what we are doing and inviting them to participate and celebrate with us.
For my project I have created a StoryWalk®*, where the pages of a book are spread out over a small section of a nature trail (usually a half mile or so.) I designed and wrote my own book, bushwhacked a section of Babcock Park to make the trail, and posted the pages of my book on podiums throughout the trail. My StoryWalk®, through my story Charlie Takes a Walk, teaches young children how to behave in nature and treat it well. It teaches children to "take only pictures and leave only footprints" and help them to enjoy the environment while protecting it. Charlie, the main character, encounters the danger that polluting and littering pose to animals. She learns how a simple peanut butter jar can harm many animals when it is carelessly left in their habitat. By walking along the nature trail, children and their families can enjoy the scenery and read the story as they go. My project addresses issues such as littering, improper treatment of nature, and encourages a love of the outdoors and of reading.
Welcome! My name is Sophia Ferraro and I have been a Girl Scout for ten years in Greenwich, CT, and am now a Senior Girl Scout.
Thank you for visiting this website to learn about my Girl Scout Gold Award Project. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest and most prestigious award that Girl Scouts can earn. Each Gold Award Project addresses a community issue and improves lives. The Gold Award process builds girls’ personal leadership skills, and the projects inspire others to take action within their communities. To earn a Gold Award, a scout must identify a community problem or issue and use the Four Standards of Excellence to address this issue. These standards are:
- Global: Girls must research this issue in other areas, identify how it must be addressed, and combine the "best practices" they find.
- Measurable: Girls must measure their project by developing and using a way to see how many people have been affected by the project, and how their project has helped people.
- Sustainable: Our projects must be sustainable, reaching many people for a long period of time.
- Share: We must share our projects, by letting people know what we are doing and inviting them to participate and celebrate with us.
For my project I have created a StoryWalk®*, where the pages of a book are spread out over a small section of a nature trail (usually a half mile or so.) I designed and wrote my own book, bushwhacked a section of Babcock Park to make the trail, and posted the pages of my book on podiums throughout the trail. My StoryWalk®, through my story Charlie Takes a Walk, teaches young children how to behave in nature and treat it well. It teaches children to "take only pictures and leave only footprints" and help them to enjoy the environment while protecting it. Charlie, the main character, encounters the danger that polluting and littering pose to animals. She learns how a simple peanut butter jar can harm many animals when it is carelessly left in their habitat. By walking along the nature trail, children and their families can enjoy the scenery and read the story as they go. My project addresses issues such as littering, improper treatment of nature, and encourages a love of the outdoors and of reading.
*The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
Get the most out of your hike
If you haven't been hiking or out in the woods recently, here's a few tips and tricks to have a successful, fun, and earth friendly hike.
- "Take only pictures and leave only footprints." Enjoy nature as it is and please leave the park as you found it!
- Please wear proper clothing. This simple step will help prevent ticks, scratches, stubbed toes and sunburns. I suggest sturdy sneakers or hiking boots, a t-shirt, shorts or long pants, and tall socks (especially if you are wearing shorts.) Bringing a few Band-Aids and mini first aid kit is always a good idea, in case of blisters or bug bites.
- Check the weather! If it rained the day before your visit, the trials may be muddy. It might be a good idea to wear your least favorite pair of shoes that day. Sunscreen and sunglasses are important even if it is cloudy, and a bandana is great to keep hair out of your face.
- Bug spray is a must. There are bugs in Babcock Park and they will get you (or at least they always get me). Almost any bug spray will do but if you are especially targeted by bugs (like me), try a bug balm or Off Deep Woods and apply liberally.
- Please keep a close eye on young children. Babcock preserve is big and easy to get lost in. My troop has placed trail maps a the entrance to the park if you wish to continue hiking after the StoryWalk®.
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