Local Girl Scout Constructed Bat Houses for Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island

Warwick, R.I. (May 1, 2024)—Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England is excited and proud to announce that Gabrielle LeBlanc from Rehoboth, MA has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting. Gabrielle’s Gold Award project is titled Bat Houses. For her Gold Award project, she constructed seven wooden bat houses that will provide a safe habitat for the local bat species. These shelters will help give bats a safe space to live and allow them to increase their population. The houses Gabrielle created were donated to the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of Rhode Island and placed in trees in the woods. The houses were coated with weather-resistant stain to preserve them and should provide many years of use to successive generations of bats.

“This project was important to me because I have always enjoyed the field of Environmental Science. I have explored many facets of Natural Science in my badges, schoolwork, and independent study. I hope to continue studying this area of science in college, where I hope to major in Marine Biology. I knew that our local bat species were approaching critical population levels, and humans were experiencing increased amounts of pests. The negative balance of pests to bats caused increased pesticide to be used which is harmful to the environment and humans alike.” said Gabrielle LeBlanc, Gold Award Girl Scout.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award
Since 1916, Girl Scouts have been making meaningful, sustainable change in their communities and around the world while earning this award. The Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest award in Girl Scouting, acknowledges the power behind each Gold Award Girl Scout’s dedication to not only empowering and bettering herself, but also to making the world a better place for others. These young women are courageous leaders and visionary change makers. They are our future, and it looks bright!

Gabrielle will join the millions of Girl Scout alum around the world who have successfully created, developed, and executed “Take Action” projects that have positively impacted their communities and the world, earning Girl Scouts’ highest award.

Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs. The 2024 Gold Award Girl Scout class identified issues in their communities, took action, and found or created solutions to earn their Gold Awards, addressing real-life problems such as environmental sustainability, racial justice, mental and physical well-being, and gender inequality in STEM.

According to recent research, Gold Award Girl Scouts are more likely to fill leadership roles at work and in their personal lives and are more civically engaged than their non-Girl Scout peers. Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Gold Award Girl Scouts agree that earning their Gold Award gave them skills that help them succeed professionally. Seventy-two percent (72%) said earning their Gold Award helped them get a scholarship. Changing the world doesn’t end when a Girl Scout earns her Gold Award. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of Gold Award Girl Scout alums take on leadership roles in their everyday lives.

Earning the Gold Award is just one of the amazing things girls can do as part of Girl Scouts. To join Girl Scouts or learn more about volunteering, please visit www.gssne.org/join.

We Are Girl Scouts 
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs across Southeastern New England, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit www.gssne.org,  follow @gssne on Instagram, follow @GirlScoutsofSNE on Twitter, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GSSNE.