Silver Award Spotlight: Save the Sea
Girl Scout Cadette Alyssa from Troop 30 is taking action to make more people aware of the dangers of plastics and debris on our beaches and in our oceans. She combined her passion for art and her passion for turtles to earn the Girl Scout Silver Award.
After visiting the Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in North Carolina with her family, she was heartbroken to learn that even a small amount of trash left on our beaches and waterfronts can make a big difference in the lives of turtles and their survival. Using her family walks on the beach for inspiration, she came up with a creative way to educate and inspire others to take action with her. She created art posters out of trash she and her family collected on the beach. After a cleaning, the trash was placed on posters in the shape of turtles. She added messaging and tips on ways to take action.
“Her efforts are to educate the public so that people will realize tossing trash can grow into very big problems, especially for sea turtles,” said her mother, Angela. “We are all very proud of Alyssa. She is very passionate, hardworking, caring, and friendly — and focused on the future!”
In addition to creating awareness posters, Alyssa reached out to several groups to arrange to have them on view such as the Virginia Aquarium, First Landing State Park, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and False Cape State Park.
Along with earning her Girl Scout Silver Award, Alyssa is challenging herself to gain more leadership skills by helping plan more troop badge work and to be a member of Service Unit 340’s Girl Advisory Board. She is also one of her troop’s top cookie entrepreneurs with more than 800 boxes sold this season.
Congratulations, Alyssa!
You can visit our partner, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, to learn all about sea turtles and earn a fun patch!
