Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Kelsey Weatherford from Columbia has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive.
For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Blooming Butterflies, Kelsey planted five butterfly gardens in Columbia. These butterfly gardens are a place where migrating butterflies can rest and eat and nest on their trip to Mexico. Kelsey said her Girl Scout Gold Award project was important because Monarch butterflies play a key role in our environment as pollinators. “Without pollinators like the Monarch butterfly, we wouldn’t have the vast variety of crops that we have today,” Kelsey shared.
“Through my Gold Award project, I learned the importance of being environmentally conscious, so that all creatures can continue to enjoy its wonders for many years to come,” Kelsey added.
Kelsey is the daughter of Gregory and Andrea Weatherford. She graduated from Columbia High School in 2017 and has been a Girl Scout for 13 years.
The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life. To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, a Girl Scout Senior or Girl Scout Ambassador must design and carry out a project that fulfills a need within a girl’s community, creates change, and is sustainable. The project must be completed with a suggested minimum of 80 hours of work. Only about 5 percent of eligible girls earn the prestigious Gold Award.
