New Girl Scout Badge

On November 5th, the Badgerland Girl Scouts unveiled a new badge for their members to strive for at the MAD (Make A Difference) 4 Science Expo in the Wisconsin Dells. This new badge, called the MAD 4 Science Badge, is unique to the Wisconsin area and encourages young girls to get involved in day-to-day science through citizen science projects.

Preview of the new badge

Citizen science is a method of collecting data as regular citizens, often in collaboration with professional scientists, to contribute to ongoing projects. Our very own Jeanette Kelly from the Citizen Science Center at Beaver Creek has been involved in the development of this badge, and was invited to the expo where it was introduced. Jeanette was sought out by the Girl Scout troop because of the opportunities they saw for Beaver Creek to be involved in helping Girl Scouts earn this badge.

Recently, a group of 25 local Girl Scouts gathered to build bluebird houses at Beaver Creek Reserve. Building these houses and learning about bluebirds is one example of a citizen science project that a Girl Scout could engage in to earn this new badge.

With its one-of-a-kind Citizen Science Center facility, Beaver Creek Reserve can allow young girls get involved in the sciences by offering them the chance to help with scientific research. So far, the only similar badge that exists is one for Girl Scouts in Ohio. This is an exciting program to watch unfold because with the related STEM badge that the Badgerland Girl Scouts have already developed, it is likely that more and more young girls will be encouraged to learn about the sciences, and pursue these fields of study.

This is a citizen science project
that could earn the MAD 4
Science Badge

Local Girl Scouts building bluebird houses

You can find more information about the badge and the Badgerland Girl Scouts at www.gsbadgerland.org/ under the Council Patches tab.

The Little Free Library is open!

Cyndee Kaiser painting the
Little Free Library

Beaver Creek Reserve has installed its first Little Free Library near the head of the Storybook Nature Trail, next to the Wise Nature Center!

The Little Free Library program began in 2009, just miles away in Hudson, Wisconsin, as a way for Todd Bol, the original creator, to honor his mother, who was a school teacher. Soon after, this idea caught the attention of Rick Brooks at UW-Madison, and collaborating together, the Little Free Library program began, with the mission to “promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity, and wisdom across generations.” The program accomplishes its mission by having people leave a book or take a book from each box that is installed. Though it started with a goal to build 2,510 Little Free Libraries, the program reached in goal in August 2012, a year and a half ahead of schedule, but it didn’t stop there. As of now, there are over 50,000 Little Free Libraries around the world.

The Little Free Library at Beaver Creek was built by a local Eagle Scout as part of his final project. Cyndee Kaiser generously donated her time once again to paint the Little Free Library, after having painted the mural in the 3M Fledgling Forest in the Wise Nature Center. The idea to put a Library here was brought in by Jeanette Kelly, who wished to honor her late father, Bruce Kelly, a lover of books, nature, and kids. Donations were made in his name to help build the Little Free Library at Beaver Creek. Currently, the Library at Beaver Creek is waiting for a charter number to be assigned and added to the map on the Little Free Library website, but it is already open for use by anyone. Come on down to Beaver Creek, leave a book for someone else, and take a new book to read for yourself.

Information about the Little Free Library program gathered from www.littlefreelibrary.org.