For her Girl Scout Bronze
Award project, Allyson Willis of Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay successfully
designed and implemented a petition and letter-writing campaign to persuade
Delaware lawmakers to name the channeled whelk, a type of sea snail pictured
below, Delaware’s official state shell.
Video credit: Middletown Transcript
"I realized that a lot of the states around us, New Jersey and New York, had state shells even though we have more beaches than they do," Allyson told delawareonline. "It kind of made me mad. It was almost like we weren't there."
Allyson worked closely with
Rep. Quinn Johnson of Middletown to craft the bill that became law.
"...for me,
[this bill is] more about Allyson, her classmates, and her fellow Girl Scouts
taking an interest in the environment and in the legislative process,"
Rep. Johnson told the Middletown
Transcript. "We try to listen to all our constituents, and something
like this just shows that you don't have to be of voting age to be a
constituent or to make a difference."
For Allyson, her success is still surreal.
"I thought it was just a little girl's dream that would never come true," she said.
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