Girl Scouts of Western New York is proud to announce Phoebe Martin as a 2025 Gold Award Girl Scout.

Project: Phoebe’s Gold Award

For my Gold Award project, I created a pop-up, reusable exhibit about climate change at the Rochester Museum and Science Center. In this exhibit I aimed to teach kids, among other museum patrons, about the negative impacts climate change has on our world, and things they can do to help. The exhibit included an interactive experiment, a movie and poster I had created, and informational pamphlets. My project advisor for this was Brady Fergusson, the director of public engagement for the Climate Solutions Accelerator. I created this project to inspire young kids to take action against the climate crisis- a personal passion of mine- and to teach kids about climate change. This project impacted many people throughout the community as I was able to talk to over 200 people about climate change. Patrons left the museum with new knowledge of this issue, and I was also able to inspire younger kids.

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.