Former Essex Junction teen earns Girl Scout Gold Award
Former Essex Junction teen earns Girl Scout Gold Award
Nora Robertson addressed awareness of red tide dangers after move to Florida
April 30, 2024
VENICE, FL – A move from Vermont to Florida led one Girl Scout to raise awareness of the dangers and causes of red tide, an issue that can affect many even if they don’t live near the ocean. Nora Robertson, formerly of Essex Junction, Vermont, and now living in Venice, Florida, has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award for her work. The Gold Award is the highest honor possible for a Girl Scout in high school.
Robertson, 18, is still a member of Troop 30136 in Essex Junction. Her project, “Increase Red Tide Awareness,” came about after having worked on many projects with environmental themes. For her Bronze Award, she created a YouTube channel for educational videos with a theme of “skip a straw and save a turtle.” Her Silver Award, “Creating a Buzz Around Plastic,” resulted in a mural at Essex High School made from plastic waste.
Experiencing Hurricane Ian after moving to Florida, which caused a red tide – a toxic algal bloom - spurred Robertson to action.
“It was so bad that people were getting sick even from my school and tourists didn't know about it,” she said. “So I wanted to go into a deep dive to understand what is red tide, and why is everyone still going to the beach with this terrible disease.”
According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, red tides result when algae grows out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds. Chemicals from farming, factories, sewage treatment plants and other sources can become dissolved in water on the land. This water, called runoff, eventually flows into the ocean and can cause algae to grow faster, leading to red tides.
“I felt people didn't understand what this was coming from,” said Robertson. “They just thought it was a natural disaster. But I was like, no, we're doing this. This is our issue, and no one is fixing this issue.”
At first Robertson thought she might get a special Florida license plate to address the issue, but ran into resistance, particularly with people who felt it was too politically hot to handle. On top of that, many people didn’t even believe red tide was an issue.
“I don't know how to explain it, but they don't think it's real!” she said. “But I view it as we are actually the people that cause red tide because we are the ones that are producing the plastic and all the chemicals that are ending up in our waters.”
Robertson worked with Rhonda Harvey of Keep Charlotte Beautiful, Brandon Moody of One Charlotte, One Water, and Jennifer Clemente of the Florida Health Department to learn more about the issue and how she could raise awareness of the dangers of red tide. Ernesto Delavega of the Clam Project took her snorkeling and showed her how embedding clams in certain areas can help filter waters of the offending algae. She also participated in an international beach cleanup at Englewood Beach.
To address the awareness problem, Robertson taught art classes at the Venice Art Center where adults used recycled plastic from the beach cleanup to create art, worked with Girl Scouts in Charlotte County to educate them on recycling and composting for their World Pin Day, and reached out to the community with a brochure on the topic.
Robertson credits her years as a Girl Scout with providing her the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to complete her Gold Award.
“I feel like I've learned so much - and skills, not just camping skills, but talking to people and creative ideas,” she said. “I think it really helps me make new friends and be able to talk to people, and just that whole experience. And you know, still, being Girl Scout now, people are like, ‘Oh, you're still a Girl Scout.’ But I'm like, ‘Nope, I'm not selling cookies. I'm actually doing projects.’”
She began her experience as a Girl Scout Daisy as a young girl in Arizona, continued after a move to Vermont in second grade, and has now finished her final year as a Girl Scout Ambassador in Florida, enjoying camp, community service, and creating lifelong friendships.
Robertson is set to graduate from Venice High School this spring, where she is a member of the National Honor Society, vice president of the Girlup Club, and captain of the varsity soccer team. She is excited to go to Michigan State in the fall, where she will major in communications.
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Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national, and global challenges. Since 1912, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. They earn college scholarships, demonstrate high educational and career outcomes, and are active in their communities.
Nora Robertson has answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change, and her Gold Award is a testament to her remarkable dedication to improving her community and the world.
About the Girl Scout Gold Award
- Gold Award Girl Scouts on average spend one to two years on their project.
- A Gold Award project must be sustainable after the girl’s involvement ends.
- The average age of Gold Award Girl Scouts is 17.
- Since 1916, more than 1 million girls have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent.
- Gold Award Girl Scouts are entitled to enlist at a higher pay grade when they join the military.
- University research indicates that noting you are a Gold Award Girl Scout on a college application is influential in the admissions decision-making process.
- Eighteen young women from New Hampshire and Vermont earned their Gold Award in the 2022-2023 membership year as part of Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.
- The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable.
We Are Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, 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 girlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.
