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To earn her Gold Award, Essex built a raised planter on wheels for the Bigelow Center for Senior Activities in Fairfield. It gives seniors the ability to garden or use herbs in the kitchen with ease.
In the planter, both flowers and herbs have been planted for the seniors to enjoy.
She held a class to teach seniors how to plant and care for the planter in order to maintain the plants and herbs.
She also provided a watering can and gardening tools for the seniors to use in the future. Seniors will continue to take care of the flowers and herbs in the planter.
Students from her high school will also maintain the plants.
Essex is currently majoring in computer science at Cornell University and hopes to pursue a career in the STEM field.
Celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, the Gold Award requires a high school age Girl Scout to spend at least 80 hours researching issues, assessing community needs and resources, building a team and making a sustainable impact in the community.
A Gold Award recipient’s accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart as a community leader. Nationally, only 6 percent of Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award.
The Girl Scouts all began more than 100 years ago with one woman, Juliette Gordon Low, who believed in the power of one girl. Girl Scouts of Connecticut are now more than 52,000 members strong. They are part of a sisterhood of 2.7 million around the globe.
“Since 1916, approximately 1 million Girl Scouts have made a sustainable impact in their communities,” said Mary Barneby, CEO of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “We are so thrilled to honor a record number of girls this year and we are excited to see how many more incredible young women will continue to change the world in the next 100 years.”
For more information about the Gold Award or how to become a Gold Award volunteer or mentor, click here.
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