Global Warming Awareness Fair

the problem:

My name is Sierra Knotts and I am a sixteen year old senior at Shore Regional High School. I am also a Senior Girl Scout I earned my Gold Award, the highest award I can receive. For my Girl Scout Gold Award project I coordinated a Global Warming Awareness Fair, that was held at the West Long Branch Community Center, Locust Avenue, West Long Branch, New Jersey 07764 on Sunday, April 15, 2007. It ran from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. I invited the general public through postings on the local community newspaper bulletin boards, cable channels, press releases, etc… I also specifically invited all of the Cadet, Junior, and Senior level Girl Scout troops in eastern Monmouth County.

The goal of the fair was to raise awareness of Global Warming in my community, as well as to let community members know what they could do to combat global warming on their own. “Think Globally…Act Locally” was my slogan.

I invited various organizations to set up tables at my fair, and I invited several speakers to attend as well. Every half hour in another room, I played the film, Kilowatt Ours, a documentary that was educational and intriguing. Among the organizations I invited, representatives came from Advanced Solar Products, Cool Cities, Home Depot, NJ Board of Public Utilities, NJ Natural Gas, Toyota, and the US Green Building Council. Professor Alan Robock, from the Rutgers University of Environmental Science, gave a PowerPoint speech, as did New Jersey Natural Gas, and the US Green Building Council. Over one hundred people attended the fair. As a way to ensure the success of my project, before people left the fair, I encouraged them to sign a sheet, committing them to change at least two regular light bulbs in their homes to compact fluorescent light bulbs. After two weeks, I called most of the people who had attended my fair and almost all of them had changed two or more light bulbs in their homes.

My project was a success, and the impact in my community was obvious. I was even invited to the US Green Building Council Award Ceremony, where, along with Senators, mayors, and town council members, I was awarded the Sustainable Community Awareness Award. I was featured in several newspapers, and I was able to complete my Gold Award.

Overall, it felt great to do something for my community. I continue with my environmental awareness in hopes to impact more people every day. I might have started small, with just one fair in my own town, but I hope to one day do more for the world.

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