Dakota Smallie from Granite City Has Earned the Girl Scout Gold Award

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSSI) is pleased to announce that Dakota Smallie from Granite City has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. 

The idea for Dakota’s Girl Scout Gold Award project, called Pontoon Beach Patchwork Garden, was sparked from a brainstorming session she had with a group of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. The group discussed the issues of hunger and nutrition, and Dakota thought a community garden would be a great way to address both issues. In addition to starting and maintaining the garden, Dakota provided education on the topic to elementary school students as well as other Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. 

Through her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Dakota learned important life skills that she will be able to use throughout her life. “The most important thing I have learned through Girl Scouting is that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to,” said Dakota.

Dakota is the daughter of Scott and Nancy Smallie. She is currently senior at Granite City High School and, upon graduation, plans to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering. Dakota has been a Girl Scout for 12 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.

Roxana Girl Scouts Work on Community Garden for Challenge & Change Project

 

 

 

Girl Scouts in Roxana have been working on a community garden for their Challenge and Change project.  Challenge and Change is a program funded United States Department of Agriculture to strengthen rural communities. Girls become change-makers through such programs as they envision and start long-term community service projects in their very own communities.

 

Girls begin with an initial day long training where they learn leadership, problem solving and entrepreneurial skills through a comprehensive curriculum. Led by trained facilitators, the girls discover what effective leadership looks like, connect with local experts and take action by digging into issues affecting their communities. After the training, girls recruit a community action team, including an adult who serves as their community champion, to turn their good idea into a sustainable, long-term project.

 

In Roxana, Girl Scouts from Service Unit 101 have created a Heritage Garden to highlight different plans and natural features of Southern Illinois.  They are partnering with the Roxana Parks and Recreation Department, The Nature Institute and Tom the Plant Guy to offer engaging learning and service experiences for students and local community members.