Girl Scouts help animals in hurricane-damaged city
PORT ARANSAS, Texas— Drilling a one-inch hole in a two-inch PVC pipe is not a skill normally covered in Girl Scouts.
But three Cadette Girl Scouts from Troop 9699 in Flour Bluff can add that to their resumes, along with the know-how to use a table saw and miter saw.
The Corpus Christi CallerTimes reports they used those skills and many more to complete a project to help injured raptors and sea turtles at the Amos Rehabilitation Keep at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.
The ARK, originally established as the Animal Rehabilitation Keep by the late Tony Amos, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey in August. And that’s about the time Jules Gilliam, troop president, Natalie Albrecht, troop treasurer, and Caitlin Marchand, troop secretary, began working toward their Silver Award, the highest honor given to Cadette Girl Scouts and second-highest honor overall in Girl Scouts.
The Silver Award will put them a step closer to the Gold Award, which is the Girl Scout equivalent of Eagle Scout.
About 10 percent of Girl Scouts earn the Silver Award, and fewer than 6 percent earn the Gold Award, according to Girl Scouts USA.
The girls wanted their community project to help animals. So they researched various options that ranged from raising funds for oxygen masks to helping pets caught in fires to designing an evacuation plan for animals kept at local facilities.
After seeing the damaged ARK, they consulted with ARK Director Alicia Walker about projects that fit the criteria of the Silver Award and fulfilled a need at the rescue and rehab center.
They decided on two. They committed to building four devices that would hold leafy greens submerged in water so sea turtles could feed on veggies like they would in the wild. The girls called them underwater salad bars.
They also agreed to design, build and install two wooden boxes, spacious enough to accommodate large owls and hawks. These would be secured near the ceiling of walk-in cages, because birds of prey like it up there.
First, the scouts had to solicit and gather materials. And afterward, they created an educational presentation that describes their projects and included biological information on raptors and turtles.
Then they planned and organized a recent dedication ceremony at the ARK to showcase their completed works and to recognize all who helped. The supporting cast included Suzanne Gilliam and Toni Farah, troop co-leaders, Flour Bluff science teacher Janice Ainbinder, and special guest Lynn Amos, Tony Amos’ widow.
“Tony would be proud,” she told the girls.
These elements of the project fulfilled the research and public speaking aspects of the Silver Award.
The next step is for each scout to compose an essay that describes and documents their efforts from the beginning. And finally, the girls submit their narratives to the Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas council for approval.
They agreed to design, build and install two wooden boxes, spacious enough to accommodate large owls and hawks. These would be secured near the ceiling of walk-in cages, because birds of prey like it up there.