Hudson – Three girls from Hudson have earned the Girl Scout Silver Award – the highest award that a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. Loralyn DiDucca, Emma Fondas and Abigail Maston, from Troop 75242 in Hudson, will be honored for their achievement at a ceremony this spring, along with other Girl Scouts from central and western Massachusetts.
“Saving the Honeybees” was the title of the girls’ project, which addressed why honeybees are dying and what we can do to help save them. The Scouts presented their research to the fifth-graders at the David J. Quinn Middle School and then helped the students plant seeds for bee-friendly flowers. The girls also rehabilitated a garden plot at Lamson Park to attract the pollinators, and built and painted a beehive. They will purchase bees and set up the beehive in the spring.
In addition to identifying an issue they care about and matching it to community needs and interests, they needed to talk to community leaders and organizations, develop and execute a plan, individually lead a part of the plan, and spend a minimum of 50 hours each.
Loralyn, Emma, and Abigail are grateful to the local people who provided information and expertise to make their project successful. Stephen Burney, from Hudson Hives, shared his experience and facts about bees. Steven Santos from Hudson Parks and Recreation helped them find a location for their garden. The Hudson Garden Club has volunteered to help the girls maintain the garden.
The girls hope that by educating local kids about bees and what they do for our environment, maintaining a garden, and introducing more pollinators to our community, they will make a lasting impact.
Much of the project took place during the 2017-18 school year, when the teens were in eighth grade. They completed their final reports this past fall and will set up the beehive this spring and continue to help maintain the garden.