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SERVICE PROJECTS

 

                 The following projects were conceived for the Girl Scouts as Gold Projects. The nature of these projects is less toward construction and more toward service and most may be repeated. While created to suit the Girl Scouts, these projects are available to all.

 

             1) Bird Watchers Big Work Day. This project is to organize a competitive bird watch from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM along the trail. The idea is to count the number of species of birds seen from the trail. These events are usually done during the spring migration. The results of the contest can be sent to the North American Migration Count to be included in their migration data. The date of the count and data required can be determined by writing the NAMC Coordinator, P.O. Box 71, North Beach, MD 20714. The rules for confirming sightings can be found elsewhere and local rules should be added. The winner of the competition will get honorable mention in the Township Newsletter and future editions of the self-guided tour book for the trail. The New Jersey Audubon Society runs the World Series of Birding in Cape May. You may reach them at CMBO, 600 Route 47 North, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, 08210.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             2) Bird Watchers Big Sit. This project is similar to the above but all sightings must be made from a confined area. Watchers may only leave the area to confirm a sighting made from within. This competition may be more attractive to those birders who don't get around as well as they would like.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             3) Other Identification Competitions. These projects are intended for educational purposes and should be geared toward younger participants. Subjects to the identification competitions could include: mammals, insects, plants, trees, or a combination. An adult should accompany children. All observations must be made from the trail. The event should be scheduled for early summer or fall to avoid wet and hot weather.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

                                                          

 

             4) Trail Use Census. This project involves collecting data at various points on the trail several times during the spring, summer, and fall. In order to be able to be able to plan future projects or apply for grants it would be helpful to know how many use the trail and what they are doing. We are interested in separating the uses into use categories including: hiking, jogging, dog walking, bird watching, biking, and ATVs. Also it would be interesting to know the approximate age groups, (i.e. toddler, elementary, high school, young adult, middle aged, or senior) using the trail. The trail points selected should be widely separated to reflect any changes due to various facilities along the trail. The weather conditions must be noted on the report as well as any special conditions such as soccer games.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             5) Bird Inventory and Box Maintenance. This project includes cleaning, maintaining, and observing bird nest boxes and birds over a one-year period. All the boxes should be cleaned in the spring and after each brood. The boxes for purple martins need to be blocked in the winter or early spring and then opened in April. A log of the use of the boxes and a list of what birds were seen along the trail will be required at the end of the project. The bird inventory should be done several times over the year so we can list the species by season or migration.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             6) Birdhouse Competition. This project is to organize a competition to build and place birdhouses along the trail. The contestants will supply the materials. The houses should be judged in a variety of classifications to insure there will be several winners.  The ability to attract a nesting bird during the spring or summer must be a part of the judging process. The houses will be installed before migrating birds arrive and will remain the property of the Township until the fall when their builders may recover them. A brief article listing the winners should be written for inclusion in the Township Newsletter.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             7) Middle Brook Trail Photo Contest. This project consists of organizing a contest for photographs taken along the trail. The contest can be broken own to categories for age and subject matter. The project will include: setting the rules, finding people to volunteer as judges, and finding a place to display the photographs. Judges should include: local dignitaries, art or photography experts, and environmentalists. A brief article listing the winners should be written for inclusion in the Township Newsletter.

                 COMPLETED BY JR GIRL SCOUT TROOP #182 FOR 2002

                 AVAILABLE NOW FOR 2005

                                     

 

             8) Township Scanner Project. This projects not part of the Middle Brook Trail system. It consists of using the large format scanner in the Township Engineering Department to scan and save plans as JPEG images into a computer to serve as an archive for several departments. There is enough to be scanned for several Gold projects or for an Eagle to organize a group of scouts to work in relays.    

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

             9) Street Light Project. This is a series of projects to create a database on all the street lights in Bridgewater Township. The data collected will be: the pole umber, street address, the utility company name, and the type light and pole. The database will be designed in Excel by the first scout and the other scouts will conform to that layout and style to facilitate copying and pasting. A uniform style is critical to predictable data sorting by: street address, pole number, and company.

                 AVAILABLE NOW

 

 

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