My Gold Award - You Tube

Apache Foundation -- Also created this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kA5STFOKp4&list=UUUYagpwQ5b7ASLVr0GzKohA&index=1


And we had TV coverage as well --
http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/morning/stories/pflugerville-teen-helps-make-city-greener-258.shtml

My Gold Award - Thank you Apache

Girl Scout works hard to GO GREEN in Central Texas

Explore Newsletter: March 2013
4/22/2013

Apache donates trees to help revitalize community hit hard by drought.

Fourteen-year-old Sarah Young is the type of girl who likes to see the results of her hard work. With the help of the Apache Foundation Tree Grant Program, the results have been plentiful.
“(I am) making a difference right here, right now, by planting a tree. I can come back two years later and say, ‘I planted that tree, and it’s still alive, and it’s growing, and it’s making a difference within the environment,’” Young says.

Sarah Young helps 73-year-old retired minister and Pflugerville resident Alvin Meissner plant a tree she provided through her Girl Scout Neighborwoods project.

Through her Girl Scout project called “Neighborwoods,” Young is distributing trees in neighborhoods in Pflugerville that need greenery the most. Her arborous efforts recently got a big boost from Apache, which provided 550 trees to help her canopy the Central Texas town northeast of Austin.
“Without the support of the Apache Foundation and the tree grant, I could not have completed my Girl Scout Gold Award project,” Young says. “The 550 street trees will have a lasting effect on our community.”
The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting.
In all, about 14,000 trees have been planted through Discover Green, a neighborhood tree program started in 2008 by Sarah’s brother. Since taking over the program’s reins two years ago, Young has distributed some 6,500 trees.
Young is welcome to apply for more trees from Apache in the upcoming 2013-2014 planting season, says Wendy Craven, director of the Tree Grant Program.
“What’s happening in Pflugerville is a prime example of how we want to see the tree program work,” Craven said. “Efforts to revitalize the environment with trees are being led successfully by members of the community – in this case by a remarkable young woman – and the citizens and local government officials are fully supportive and enthusiastic. This is quite a success story for Apache and we’re honored to partner with Sarah and Pflugerville.”
Planting trees in Texas has never been more vital, as the ongoing drought and rapid urban growth have taken their toll, says April Rose, executive director of TreeFolks, a Central Texas charity that promotes comprehensive urban forestry practices to public, private and government audiences.
“We’ve got to educate people that we need their help to establish new trees,” Rose says.
Part of that education is recognizing which trees to plant and where. All trees from Apache are native to the areas where they are donated to ensure their prosperity. For her Central Texas efforts, Sarah received Burlive Oak, Texas Ash, Lacebark Elm, Desert Willow, Prairie Flameleaf Sumac and Cedar Elm trees from the company. She says she evaluates each yard to make sure the trees can grow properly.
Sarah vows to continue her efforts to make Pflugerville as green as possible and expand her determination to other cities. She says she will reapply for another Apache tree grant next season.
“I would like to create more cities that are green,” she says.
"What's happening in Pflugerville is a prime example of how we want to see the tree program work," says Wendy Craven, Tree Grant Program director.
Since 2005, Apache has awarded 3.2 million trees to nonprofit institutions and communities across 16 U.S. states through grants from the Apache Foundation. The trees will improve the environment and the quality of life in these communities for decades to come.


http://www.apachecorp.com/News/Articles/View_Article.aspx?Article.ItemID=3250

Bliss - Live It, Give It #4 - Dream Catcher

Writing a good story...
Finding a way to get there ...

A friend and I both had a love for creating stories and new worlds to escape to. We created, together, short stories about time traveling to the past or appearing in a whole other universe. But these were just short stories. What we both wanted was to create a full length adventure/fantasy, together.

            It started out as a map that I drew and a plot that she made. We both gave each other ideas on characters. But we couldn’t create ones that were real enough. So, we molded them after us. Sora and Danica, she was Danica and I was Sora. We put ourselves into the story, so we, as a character, could escape to the world that the ancient winds would blow us to.

            We wrote scene after scene together, it was what we did. It was never finished, but I still have it. It was a dream then and for me it is still a dream, to write a story from beginning to end, with a friend.

My way to get there was with a homeschooling curriculum "One Year Adventure Novel".  I accelerated the curriculum to write it in half a year.

Bliss, Live it Give it - The Real Deal #2

            People are like books, its cliché, but its true. You can’t judge a book by its cover and you can’t judge a person just by their looks. You have to read the story and get to know the person. Because, characteristics are The Real Deal.

            We talked about five characteristics and qualities that girls tend to possess versus ones they strive to attain. 1) Passion 2) Considerate 3) Honesty 4) Courage 5) Understanding.

 

Some of those sound familiar right? They should, some of them come from the Girl Scout Law. We talked about how each one could help the girl get to her dream. Each one can help the girl take the first step. Because, if you never take a chance, you won’t fail – but if you don’t try, your dreams cannot come true.  

Bliss - Live it, Give it - Exploring Dreams #1

            What is a dream? It is something that is desired. What is a need? It is something that is used and “needed” on a daily basis in order to survive. I discussed my interpretation of what a “dream” was versus what a “need” was.

            A need to me, is something as simple as; water and food. While a dream would be something that would enhance the needs, such as, for the water, a fruit punch mix. For the food, a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints. Those are dreams, not necessarily needs. They are wishful wants. But a real dream is something that is more than just Koolaid mix and a box of cookies. Its something that will motivate you and what will drive you to get it done.

            For me, becoming a Girl Scout Council CEO, is dream. Or becoming a Girl Scout USA Ambassador, that has the opportunity to represent Girl Scouts in different countries. Having these dreams motivate me to learn everything that I need to know… including staying in Girl Scouts.

            What are your needs and dreams?

100 Acts of Green

            I have another blog, its called www.100ActsOfGreen.org. It is primarily all on different “Acts of Green”. I encourage any of you, who have done, or are doing, an outstanding environmental project, to go check out the blog and maybe post your own project. How you organized it, your partnerships and what you did.

            I am the youth director for an environmental organization called Discover Green. We do many service projects a year, or even a month! And this year, I plan on posting the projects on this website. But it is mostly for girls who have an interest in the environment and in their community, to talk and converse about what they know, and to ask and answer questions from others.

            If any of you have questions or want to know about Discover Green, on what we do you can visit this website www.discovergreenyel.org. Or if you have question on what you can do with Discover Green, you can contact me at sarah@discovergreenyel.org.

 

           

Going For The Gold

            Hello, sorry I haven’t posted in quite a while. I’ve decided to start up the Journey again, with an Ambassador Journey: Bliss, Live it, Give It.

            But why I haven’t posted in a while was because I was taking a “Journey side adventure”. I was earning my Gold Award. The Gold Award is the highest award you can receive in Girl Scouts and it is designed to help girls picture a goal and to work hard to meet it. Or, so that it fits this Journey, they can picture a “dream” and they can achieve it.

            My Gold was environmentally based and it was on a community level. I evaluated around 1500 yards in three different neighborhoods in the city of Pflugerville, to see if any of them qualified for a free street tree. This project was and is, called Neighborwoods.

            On working towards my “dream” I learned valuable skills that will help me later on in the future. A few: People skills, grant writing, public speaking, presentation of my project and of myself and perseverance.

            I am glad that I have finished, because it gives me joy, knowing I have completed such a high award. I’m also proud, because it has shown me that I can achieve what I dream, if I keep at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kA5STFOKp4