Everyday is Earth Day for Girl Scouts. That’s because girls are learning how they can help protect the environment through everyday actions. In April, over 30 Badgerland Girl Scouts participated in our exciting Team Trees program.

WOW EXPERTS TEACHING OUR GIRLS!
Wisconsin’s Female Chief Forester Heather Berklund is a Girl Scout alum! She is also a pioneer and the very first female to be the state’s chief forester in its 116-year history. And she dazzled Badgerland Girl Scouts when she met with them during Team Trees. Heather educated girls on all things trees including logging history, forest types, tree nurseries and the critical role trees play in Mother Nature. A fun part of the presentation was her inspiring story of becoming a forester and she surely inspired lots of Girl Scouts to consider forestry career paths.

Forester Heather also shared fun tree trivia. Want to test your knowledge? Let’s go!

How many did you get right? Did you learn something new? When girls participate in STEM activities she becomes more confident. She gets an increased understanding and appreciation of the importance of STEM in her life and recognizes that scientists and engineers work on things that make the world a better place.

So let’s get your girl involved in some upcoming STEM activities!

Elemental Ecotricity
PowerGIRLS unite to harness the power of the light, wind, and water to protect their ecosystems and tackle real climate change! Girls will meet sustainability experts, use their carbon footprint calculators to conduct field experiments, and get inspired to use resources wisely to make our world a better place.

Hatch Your Plan: Be a Product Designer!
Calling all Juniors who tinker! Do you love using ingenuity to innovate? Can you detect needs, then design solutions? Then bring your ideas and sketchpads to this fun two-part virtual workshop to earn your Product Designer badge!

Tinker Space: Pop Goes the Diesel!
Strap on your seat belts and get ready for a safe fun ride at The Tinker Space as we motor through Automotive Engineering! Subscribe to this month’s program pass to The Tinker Space – a place for a G.I.R.L. thinker to tinker! The Tinker Space is a virtual playground/co-working experience for Girl Scouts to focus, collaborate and create on month-long GSLE topics to earn badges and patches! 

STEAM Spectacular!
STEAM Spectacular! Join us every Monday in May when our experts conduct with you WOW demos and experiments with easily accessible items that will be sure to dazzle and amaze! Marvel at the wizadry of science, technology, engineering and math that YOU can do! Plus, we’ll provide resources and follow-up activities for you to honing your STEAM WOW skills!

Sisterhood of Spies: Gizmos & Gadgets Aplenty!
In this experience, we’ll explore the fascinating history of women in espionage with a focus on the technology of spying. You’ll be “trained” by the renowned International Spy Museum and get to test your spy skills and learn the tricks of the trade. Hear about the shadow world of spying and ask your questions.

Race for Renewability 
Compete in the month long Race for Renewability, to become a Climate Saving Triathlete! Girls and grownups will get creative for their climate, become useful users of refuse, and adapt with their favorite species to survive. Cross the virtual finish line to earn the United Nations Climate Change Challenge Badge and secure your spot on the leaders board of positive drivers of climate change in Badgerland!

For more than a century, Girl Scouts has been preparing girls for a lifetime of leadership. Today and always, we are committed to ensuring that all girls develop to their full potential and have equal access to and support in STEM education.

Lastly, take a moment to learn something new about trees!

These go-getting Girl Scouts have demonstrated what it means to be a Girl Scout by creating positive change in their communities.

Gold Award Girl Scouts are the dreamers and the doers who take “make the world a better place” to the next level.

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable—proof that not only can she make a difference, but that she already has.

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Akshita Pattnaik
Ambassador from Middleton, WI

Askshita wanted to alleviate stress that pediatric patients face. Her solution was to provide them with a gift or a blanket to comfort them. In Akshita’s research she learned that hospitals can help manage patient stress with gifts, soothing music or therapists for residential treatment. Through her Gold project, Akshita wants to help spread the word on how we can help reduce pediatric patient stress.

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Ariel Nelson
Ambassador from Hustisford, WI

Ariel helped people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease reduce stress and agitation. She learned that having something to fiddle with can be helpful in combatting their symptoms. She knitted cylinders with texture and embellishments for a calming sensory experience. The knitted product is called Twiddlemuffs.

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Audrey Groves
Ambassador from La Crosse, WI

Audrey addressed the issue of mental health problems that many teens face, as well as lack of exercise for the brain. She created videos with craft projects and addressed important issues that teens go through daily. By connecting crafts and mental health she was able to help teens be more productive.

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Ava Beyers
Ambassador from Walworth, WI

Ava addressed the issue of a deteriorating environment. She learned that bats have a positive effect on the environment as pest controllers and pollinators. She put up more bat houses in her area and informational signage to help others learn about the importance of bats.

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Brooke Leibman
Ambassador from Fort Atkinson, WI

Brooke increased the options for outdoor activities in her area. She developed a learning trail with informational signage at Haumerson’s Pond in Fort Atkinson. The trail provides a space for education and physical activity. To ensure inclusion she had signs written in both English and Spanish.

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Eliza Siebers
Ambassador from Madison, WI

Eliza made a plan to increase the vaccination rate in her city. She used the connections she made when she started planning for a flu clinic in fall of 2019. The pandemic forced her to scrap her original plans, but she persevered with new goals. She hosted a flu clinic at The Beacon in October, with plans to make it an annual event. She had help from Edgewood College Nursing students and Dane County Public Health.

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Emily Flood
Alum from Sun Prairie, WI

Emily aimed to help children and children with special needs to have an enhanced experiences at church. She developed worship kits for children to use during service. Her kits have helped create a better community throughout the congregation.

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Holly Stronach
Ambassador from Nekoosa, WI

Holly’s goal was to spread awareness of the importance of handwashing to reduce the risk of spreading infectious diseases. She provided low-cost handwashing stations to events in Adams county. The stations provided practical tips and supplies to prevent the transmission of viruses.

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Hope Lent
Ambassador from Middleton, WI

Hope wanted to help kids and teens with Type 1 diabetes by creating a cookbook of simple and delicious recipes. The goal was to help kids and teens feel more independent and educated about their nutrition. Her cookbook breaks down the nutrients, has delicious recipes and has made a difference.

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Jocelyn Arnold

Jocelyn took action to maintain and protect Geneva Lake from pollution. One of the harmful pollutions that she reduced was dog waste by providing waste stations with bags and signs to help inform dog owners how to protect the lake.

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Makayla Henthorne
Ambassador from Sparta, WI

Makayla took action to bring back butterflies to her community. She updated an area community garden by removing unhealthy plants and adding more butterfly friendly flowers to create more habitats for butterflies. She also distributed Milwaukee Seeds to people in her community to plant.     

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Morgan Sleaford
Ambassador from DeForest, WI

Morgan encouraged kids to get outdoors and explore nature more. She worked with the Village of DeForest to create a fun booklet of activities for area kids to use while exploring area nature trails and parks.

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Tifany Shaw
Ambassador from Sun Prairie, WI

Tifany provided a safe place for children to play outdoors. She built a playhouse for children to play by Shelter From the Storm Ministries, Inc in Sun Prairie. The playhouse provides a safe place for children to play outdoors and gain healthy relationships with one another.     

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Valorie Schamens
Ambassador from Jefferson, WI

Valorie helped get students outdoors to learn instead of spending the day in a classroom. She created individual outdoor classroom kits for students and teachers to support physical and mental health. The kits included clipboards, pens, and pencils. Her goal was to get students outdoors more, while addressing the issue of social distancing too.