Alessia Archer knew she wanted to earn her Gold Award, the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve, but she was stuck trying to come up with an idea for her project. Inspiration struck when she saw an ad in the Merchandiser for Milkweed 4 Monarchs, an Elizabethtown-based business that grows the essential food for monarch butterflies.

"I contacted Cindy Leonard of Milkweed 4 Monarchs, and I went to her farm, helped her with the milkweed she was growing, and she showed me how to make these mini greenhouses out of old milk jugs and iced tea jugs," said Alessia, who is a senior at Donegal High School. "She gave me 200 milkweed seeds for free, and I spent the whole summer making these mini greenhouses."

Alessia distributed the greenhouses at Marietta Day last May, as well as to friends and family through the summer and early fall of 2022. "When it got too cold outside, in September and October, I planned a little lesson plan for day cares, and I had a craft for them to do as well," she stated. "I went to five or six day cares in Elizabethtown, Columbia, Mount Joy and Hershey, and I gave the lesson and did a craft with the kids."

The project was a natural fit for Alessia, who said she has loved monarchs since she was a child. "Monarch butterflies are my favorite butterfly," she stated. "Ever since I was little, it's been me and my grandmother's thing to look for the monarchs."

Her Gold Award project, which Alessia titled "Saving the Monarch Butterflies," required a minimum of 80 hours to problem-solve, plan and implement. "I definitely learned good communication skills, being able to reach out and call the day cares or go and meet people to talk about my project," she remarked, noting that she also contacted the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, which donated empty jugs for the project.

Alessia has been a Girl Scout for seven years and is a member of Troop 70595. "I've learned so much from Girl Scouts," she said. "We do a lot of things I had never done before and probably wouldn't get a chance to do without Girl Scouts." This past summer, her troop traveled to Colorado, where they went ziplining and whitewater rafting and rode horses. When she's not busy with Girl Scouts, Alessia, who is the daughter of Deanna Musser of Marietta, is involved in a variety of clubs at school and was a member of the field hockey team.

Musser said she's impressed with Alessia's dedication to the project. "I'm very proud of her," she said. "She worked really hard. ... I also want to thank her troop leader, Julie Houck, and her two regular volunteers, Fran Richards and Sheila Fasig, who do an amazing job with the girls."

Encouraging other girls to earn their Gold Award, Alessia said, "Even though it's a lot of work and it feels difficult in the moment, the end is so rewarding, and all of the hard work pays off."

Alessia will receive her Gold Award at a ceremony at Bucknell University on Sunday, June 11.