Helping pollinators: Junior Girl Scouts install bee hotels in Lombard

Ten Lombard-area fourth- and fifth graders are making a difference in the insect world.

Members of the Lombard Junior Girl Scout Troop 55355 recently completed a two-year bee hotel project that included research, communicating with officials, assembly and installation.

COVID-19 social distancing put a delay in their initial plans, but the girls adjusted. A total of 200 combined hours were invested in the project. The Scouts say the hotels provide homes to many species of bees, bugs and butterflies that do not colonize or make hives. The girls want to help the pollinator population. Because of the pandemic, they were unable to meet in person to build the hotels. Extra funds earned from cookies sales were used to buy the pre-assembled hotels from Costco. Thanks to the park district making signs,

Quikrete donating the concrete, Lombard Ace Hardware donating the pea gravel and the Downers Grove Home Depot giving them credit toward the posts, the girls were able to stay under budget by spending only $130. In finishing the project, the girls earned their Bronze Award. Troop leader Ellen Gaynor says that award is the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can achieve.

"The Bronze Award is a Take Action Project which asks girls to go further than solving an immediate need, it asks them to solve an issue at its root cause, making a more long-term impact on a problem," Gaynor said. "The Bronze project is important because it helps the girls learn new skills, discover new passions and identify and take on an issue that is important to them, all while watching how a seemingly small action can make a big difference."

All 10 girls received the award for their efforts. Gaynor, fellow leader Dana Walden and the Scouts worked directly with a horticulturist at the Lombard Park District and an education coordinator with the Lombard Historical Society. Working in pairs, they wrote to officials detailing the project, including where the hotels should be installed. The teams scouted out locations and received approval. The hotels were installed on two weekends at four parks - Lombard Lagoon, Madison Meadows, Lilacia Park and Sunset Knoll. The fifth was placed at the historical society's Peck Homestead. Each group created a sign to educate visitors about the hotels.

"Dana and I are so very proud of our troop. This was not an easy or simple project and we are delighted with how well they all worked together to help our pollinator community," Gaynor said. "We have been a troop since first grade and we are honored to be their leaders. We love how much the girls have grown and learned from Girl Scouting. We cannot wait to see what their future holds in their Girl Scout careers."