San Diego Girl Scouts Have Become Climate Controllers Through Food Rescue Thanks to Local Partnership
Just a year ago, a joint effort between Swinerton Renewable Energy, Girl Scouts San Diego, and Feeding San Diego led to the creation of a STEM–centric Girl Scouts patch. The “Climate Controller” patch is focused on food waste and rescue and is endorsed by both the United Nations and the United Nations Association San Diego. It addresses multiple sustainable development goals of the United Nations: climate action, no hunger, responsible consumption, and partnerships. Since its inception, the patch has proven to be an important lesson for San Diego youth on the link between hunger and food waste.
A Successful First Year
This Earth Month, we launched a new annual campaign called Feed People, Not Landfills. The Climate Controller patch fits right into this campaign as an educational piece in our local community. We’re proud to report back that over 50 Girl Scouts, from kindergarten to age 12, have earned the patch since it launched last year. One of those Scouts is 12-year-old Lila Violeta Flores, who has been a Girl Scout for seven years. We asked her how she views the world differently now that she’s earned her patch, “Now that I’ve earned my Climate Controller patch, I have a rich understanding of how I can do my own part in reducing food waste, help the environment, and how compost benefits our own home garden. I believe kids can encourage adults to help the environment and be climate controllers.”
We also spoke with Jennifer Hershman, community relations manager at Swinerton Renewable Energy. Hershman conceptualized the patch. She shares her experience of connecting with the Girl Scouts virtually due to the pandemic’s effect on in-person activities.
“They were so engaged when we did the lesson,” she shares. “They were fourth and fifth graders, and there were probably about ten girls. We did the inner beauty taste test activity where they brought ugly fruit and vegetables. The girls’ explained what they did with them, whether it was making muffins or smoothies.”
Learning New Things
The Climate Controller lesson teaches local Girl Scouts about their “foodprint.” The lesson includes a number of activities that show them how to reduce food waste. This includes conducting a home food waste audit to growing vegetables from scraps. While the majority of these activities were designed to do individually at home, as the pandemic eases and group activities are again allowed, Girl Scouts can also volunteer at Feeding San Diego to earn their patch.
When we asked Hershman what it means to her to be a climate controller, she shared: “It means that you can actually do the smallest act as an individual and have an impact on the climate. You can reuse a carrot instead of throwing it in the trash and by doing that you’re not contributing to food waste and you’re keeping it out of the landfill. You can do this even by composting vegetables. It’s just a small step in helping the climate.”
