Sea Scouts take first place in STEM contest
Maeve Kilroy, Maeve Galla and Amy Burgy test the pH of the soil around Cahoon Creek where the seedlings will be planted. Photo by Richard Gash
A team of Sea Scouts from Bay Village has won first place in the STEM Lesson Plan Contest sponsored by Dominion Energy’s Project Plant It! program to teach youth about the benefits of trees to the environment. The three ninth-grade girls – Maeve Kilroy, Maeve Galla and Amy Burgy – with supervision by their skipper, Richard Gash, created a science lesson plan based on a project to plant redbud tree seedlings on the slope of Cahoon Creek in order to prevent soil erosion and runoff into the creek.
The idea for a STEM lesson plan about how trees can help prevent soil erosion germinated from their Sea Scout activities. The girls often put their sailboats in the water in the area of Cahoon Creek that had been cleared to build the new Lake Road bridge, leaving the area vulnerable for runoff of pollutants into the creek. In the course of their research on how to protect the creek, the girls learned about the free redbud tree seedlings offered by Project Plant It!, and they registered to get the seedlings to plant along the slope in April. The COVID-19 crisis has delayed planting until the fall. In the meantime, the team received a $200 Walmart gift card from Dominion Energy to purchase supplies for scout projects.
Bay Village Tree Commission chair Colby Sattler, president of Forest City Ecological Services, is very supportive and is in conversation with the City regarding the project. To help move the project forward Colby and the Sea Scouts are planning on holding a Zoom meeting to discuss all options to see these trees planted and flourishing. The Bay Village Green Team has also pledged support for the project.
Dominion Energy was impressed with the Sea Scouts' STEM lesson plan because it demonstrates how to support environmental sustainability by planting the redbud seedlings strategically in an area that needs special attention.
Sea Scouts is a division of the Boy Scouts of America. The difference is that Boy Scouts go tent camping, whereas Sea Scouts have their adventures on, in or under the water. Project Plant It! was established in 2007 by Dominion Energy to educate students, plant trees and improve the environment.