Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Zoe Wiech as a 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout.

Project: Raised Garden Beds

I started my Gold Award project based on the idea that I would like to make an impact in my local community garden. This community garden contains many garden beds that are open for the public to claim and use for the year. Last year, me and my Girl Scout troop used one of the garden beds for the year and loved it. But after taking care of the garden for a bit I realized that people might have trouble getting that low to the ground. If they wanted to garden here! So, that is when I came up with the idea to make raised garden beds for the community garden. These garden beds would be up high enough to about waist level and would be on wheels. The reason for it to be higher would be so that it is easy to access and more people can use it. I hope to be able to make raised garden beds to help bring more people to our local community garden and for their happiness of gardening.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

The Gold Award project is the culmination of all the work a girl puts into “going for the Gold.” A Girl Scout’s project should be something that a girl can be passionate about—in thought, deed, and action that encompasses organizational, leadership, and networking skills. The project should also fulfill a need within a girl’s community (whether local or global) and create change that has the potential to be on-going or sustainable. Approximately 80 hours of community service are involved in the project. Completion of the Gold Award also qualifies the Girl Scout for special scholarship opportunities and she can enlist in the military at a higher starting pay grade. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the most prestigious award in the world for girls, acknowledges the power behind each recipient’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. The Gold Award requires a Girl Scout to identify an issue and investigate it to understand what can be done to address the problem. The girl then forms a team to act as a support system, including a project advisor close to the issue who is not a troop leader or family member, while she leads the project. The Girl Scout creates a plan to ensure they know what steps they must tackle while working on the project. The Girl Scout submits a proposal for her project to her local Girl Scout council. After acceptance, the girl begins to work through the steps of their plan utilizing the assistance of her support team where necessary. Lastly, the project is used to educate and inspire others about the cause they are addressing. For more information on the Gold Award,  click here.