Manalapan Girl Scout Troop 1790 Earn Their Bronze Award

Local Manalapan Girl Scout Troop 1790, raised funds through their cookie sales to meet a budget they set for their Bronze Award, “Save the Bats.” Their idea came from Ava Ross who did a little digging into the subject. They spent their year researching everything they could about the six native bat species that call New Jersey their home. Their next task was to locate a farm in need of natural mosquito control.

The girls went on a maple syrup tour given by Tim Stockel at Happy Day Farm. The girls quickly realized that Mr.Stockel had a pond and lots of trees to hang their bat houses from. The girls put together a presentation board and met with Mr. Stockel to present their project to him. He graciously accepted their offer.

The girls then researched the best bat house plans to use for his property. They spent three months building. They learned how to measure, use power tools, staple gun and how to treat the houses with exterior stain that was safe for the bats. The girls then personalized their house to identity their house when visiting the farm.

The girls of troop 1790 Abigail Pylarinos, Adalyn Hurd, Ava Ross, Cayla Fox, Gabriella Strabo, Leah Osher and Rayna Mellin, delivered all 7 houses on May 27th. to Mr Stockel at Happy Day Farm here in Manalapan. Mr. Stockel will let us know when the bats move into their new home and become mighty mosquito eating machines.