About Me
Hello! My name is Maggie Elizabeth Harris. I am an Ambassador Girl Scout in Troop 2817. I have been a Girl Scout for seven years. I started as a Junior Girl Scout. I earned my Silver Award and the accomplishment I felt after doing so left no doubt in my mind I would do my best to earn my Gold Award! Being a Girl Scout has provided me with so many opportunities. I have gained more self confidence, learned better communication skills, time management skills, and better problem solving skills. I am proud to be a Girl Scout!
Why I Chose My Project
I chose the issue I wanted to address for my Gold Award project when I was a Junior Girl Scout. I volunteered with my troop at a local honeybee festival and was able to talk with some local beekeepers. My conversation with them taught me the importance of the honeybee and other pollinators and about some of the problems they faced. Their population was declining and that was a problem for the existence of our planet. I learned that their loss of habitat was one of the main reasons for their decline. This really concerned me and made me want to do something to help them. This is why I wanted to address this issue for my Girl Scout Gold Award. Once I started researching the issue, I realized it was not just a honeybee and pollinator problem it was also a native plant problem. It was also not just a local problem, but a global one. I met with Mr. Cody Craddock, an agriculture/horticulture agent, with Randolph County Cooperative Extension. He informed me that honeybee populations and other pollinator populations had declined. He explained how building more urban areas and destroying rural areas where native pollinator plants grew and provided food and habitat for all pollinators was not helping with the problem. During my own research on the issue I further learned several global organizations are addressing these issues. Scientists with the United Nations have noted in a report from the United Nations Environment Program that honey bee population decline is now a global issue affecting the US, Europe, China, Japan, and Africa. The report states one factor for this decline is the decline in habitat and flowering plants. The scientists suggest that farmers help restore pollinator-friendly habitats with key flowering plants near crop producing fields and each person plant pollinator friendly plants where they live. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on May 20, 2019, at their headquarters in Rome designated May 20 as UN World Bee Day. Their Director-General José Graziano da Silva addressed the issue of honeybee and other pollinator population decline in many parts of the world. He urged everybody to be more pollinator friendly by growing flowers at home to feed bees and other pollinators.
References:
https://www.the-independent.com/climate-change/news/decline-of-honey-bees-no w-a-global-phenomenon-says-united-nations-2237541.html https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/Declining-bee-populations-p
​