Four Harvard Girl Scouts from Troop 64747 received their Silver Awards at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on Wednesday, June 18. The senior-level Girl Scouts and rising high school sophomores Jackie Beauchemin, Jane Besse, Kendall Hebert, and Natalie Guilmette each received a Silver Award, the second highest award in Girl Scouts, after completing tasks to help the community. Beauchemin, Besse, and Hebert installed benches made of recycled material at Harvard’s Camp Green Eyrie archery range, while Guilmette created a little library at the town beach for her project.
From top: Jane Besse, Jackie Beauchemin, and Kendall Hebert work on eco-friendly benches at the archery range at Camp Green Eyrie on Bare Hill Pond.
Natalie Guilmette poses with her little library project at the Town Beach. (Courtesy photos)
Troop leader Jessica Stone told the Press that Beauchemin, Besse, and Hebert wanted to build new benches at the archery range because the current ones were too low to the ground to be up to code for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Also, the original benches did not have enough space for everyone who wanted to sit down while waiting their turn to shoot arrows. The three girls brainstormed a plan for how they wanted the new benches to look and the materials they needed. They took photographs of the space and used a measuring tape to map out the area.
Camp Green Eyrie Ranger Thomas Stevens supervised and worked with the three girls to teach them how to safely use the tools and equipment necessary to build the benches using the plan they created. The girls learned how to use equipment such as an Alaskan mill, a chain saw, and a drill. The base of each bench was built from logs found at the camp, and the seat was built using recycled plastic.
The girls put up a sign nearby telling people that the benches were made of recycled plastic and listing what items can be considered recyclable and how to dispose of them properly. Beauchemin said the sign was added to encourage recycling in the community. She added, “I think recycling is really important because it’s our environment, and it’s our future that we have to look forward to, and if we don’t start now, then we never know what’s gonna happen in the future.”
Beauchemin said this project was important to her because she’s been going to Camp Green Eyrie for 10 years now. She said, “It’s kind of my home away from home, and I just love that camp so much.” She said she had noticed the benches were in need of repair and that they were a safety risk. She wanted to build new benches that would allow other campers and people renting the space to have a more comfortable and safe area for sitting. Beauchemin said this project helped her grow by teaching her how to work as a team through communicating and collaborating with her group to create the final result.
Guilmette organized a book drive at the Harvard Family Association’s annual Halloween event to collect books for her little library. She chose her project by combining her love of reading and her love of visiting the pond. After brainstorming for her project, she reached out to a member of the Park and Recreation Commission. The pond had restrictions on installing a little library as a wooden structure, so she improvised to create a box of books that would sit by the pond and be brought out for people to read. Stone said, “[The library] encourages people to read and to share books too. I think that that is a nice way to engage the community.”
Stone said she is proud of these four girls in her troop for their efforts to help the community. She said, “It’s been just an incredible experience to watch them evolve as people and as Girl Scouts, and I’m just super proud of them.”
Mia Guaetta is a student intern at the Press. She attends UMass Amherst.
