Editor's note: This article was originally published on WGCU.org in April. Several quotes in the story were attributed to the wrong person. WGCU is republishing this story with the correct person attributed.
The Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida have been on a mission to make the world a better place through action and service, focusing primarily on environmental issues. They have been involved in numerous environmental projects, one specifically being bee conservation.
Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida have been actively involved in bee conservation efforts, focusing on educating the community about the importance of bees and encouraging the planting of pollinator-friendly gardens.
Mary Anne Servian, who is the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, often organizes these environmental projects hoping to empower young individuals, helping them to grow into confident leaders.
“When it comes to bee conservation, our goal is to have people recognize and appreciate our pollinators,” Servian said. “We have our girls set up tables in their communities to raise awareness and address the critical issue of declining bee populations.”
Servian has developed creative and fun materials to spread awareness about such a major issue.
“We have developed educational materials like posters, brochures, and even a kids' coloring book,” Servian said. “These things are made to catch the attention of everyone of all ages, ensuring that they are aware of the issues that are going on in our world.”
The girls also created seed paper with Florida-friendly seeds that community members can plant to start their own pollinator gardens. They have dedicated more than 150 hours to bee conservation.
Three members of Bradenton Troop 521 of the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida——Isabel S., Olivia J., and Audrey C.—earned the silver award, the highest honor a Girl Scout cadette can achieve, for their project, titled “Bee The Change Bradenton,” highlighting their commitment to environmental stewardship and community education.
According to Servian, one major issue leading to declining bee populations is pesticide use. Southwest Florida’s extensive agricultural activities often involve the application of various pesticides to combat pests and diseases. While these chemicals are intended to protect crops, they can have unintended detrimental effects on bees.
Kathleen Crawford is the environmental sustainability coordinator at FGCU. She said there are ways to keep bees out of garbage cans that don't involve spraying pesticides.
"This is a burlap bag," she said while showing a photo of a trash can on campus. "This is recycling on top. This is garbage down below. What gets attracted to the nice, sweet things in garbage? Bugs. What kind of bugs that might scare you? Wasps, bees, right? We really want to protect our bees. They are pollinators. Wasps are pollinators too. This mainly for the bees. It's so that we don't have to spray horrible insecticides that aren't good for us. They aren't good for the bees."
Crawford said cherry pits also can keep bees away from garbage cans.
"Cherry pits contain cyanide, not enough to kill you or me," she said. "As a matter of fact, if we ate the pits, the pits would give us more problems than the cyanide. But the bees perceive it, and they stay away from it. If you see bees around, they need to replace their cherry pits," referring to trash cans on the FGCU campus.
Crawford said non-chemical approaches can repel bees, and keep people from wanting to spray pesticides.
"We really need to protect the bee population," she said. "Because if we lose the bee population, and we are losing bee populations, it really affects the world food supply."
Additionally, in 2019, a gold award Girl Scout named Madison Campbell, initiated the "Bee Aware" project. The gold award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouts. This project involved educating the community about the importance of bees, selling honey to benefit a local beekeeper, and distributing kits to children to support bee habitats.
Campbell toured nurseries and bee hives and presented her findings at the downtown Venice Farmers Market. She went around collecting signatures of people who pledged to be bee advocates.
“As a Girl Scout, selling honey is an incredible way to help both beekeepers and our community,” Campbell said. “It’s not just about raising funds, it’s about educating others on the importance of pollinators and how their work supports our environment.”
Beekeepers face challenges from habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change, but they also work tirelessly to ensure that bees have resources to thrive. By purchasing locally sourced honey, these small businesses are directly supported, which are vital for maintaining healthy pollinator populations. Every jar of honey sold contributes to sustaining beekeepers’ livelihoods and the important work they do to protect bees.
“I was in environmental science class and we were talking about how bees have become an endangered species and how important they are in our daily lives,” Campbell said. “Bees pollinate over 80% of our crops, so they’re really integral to our society.”
Campbell, who is now in college, reminisces on some of her favorite moments from being a part of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida.
“Being able to have the opportunity to take part in something so influential and powerful is an honor,” Campbell said. “I learned so many amazing things and met so many amazing people. I learned the value of hard work, resilience, and the impact that I can make on the world.”
Bees have also made a huge impact on Campbell’s life.
“I just love bees, I think they’re so cute and the fact that they’re so small but yet have such a huge impact on our world is incredible,” Campbell said. “When I was in middle school, I had bee decorations all throughout my room. I wanted everyone to know bees were, and still are, my favorite animal.”
Scouting is an experience that stays with these girls for a lifetime, teaching them valuable lessons like the importance of bee conservation.
“The skills and knowledge our girls gain through projects like this will inspire them to continue protecting our planet and its pollinators long after they’ve earned their badges,” Servian said.
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