Girl Scouts plant letterbox in Chelsea library
Published 3:38 pm Friday, January 16, 2015
![Girl Scout Troop 33590 members Ella Harris, Bella Roshaven, Brooke Jones and Olivia Trout display the letterbox and children's book they planted in the Chelsea Public Library. (Reporter Photo/Emily Sparacino](https://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/01/letterbox-crop.jpg)
Girl Scout Troop 33590 members Ella Harris, Bella Roshaven, Brooke Jones and Olivia Trout display the letterbox and children’s book they planted in the Chelsea Public Library. (Reporter Photo/Emily Sparacino)
By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer
CHELSEA – Anyone wanting to see the project that earned four Chelsea girls the Girl Scout Bronze Award will have to find it first.
Girl Scout Troop 33590 members Ella Harris (11), Bella Roshaven (10), Brooke Jones (11) and Olivia Trout (11) designed, assembled and planted a hornet-themed letterbox, along with a children’s book they donated, in the Chelsea Public Library as part of a project to receive the award.
A letterbox contains supplies that those who find the box can use to sign their names, write about their experiences locating it and leave their mark in the form of a stamp.
Groups like Troop 33590 that make and hide a letterbox can put clues about the box’s location on the website Letterboxing.org to help those searching for it.
“Someone else is supposed to enjoy it and have fun,” Roshaven said.
Hidden among hundreds of children’s books lining the shelves at the library, Troop 33590’s letterbox holds a notepad, pen, inkpad and a hornet stamp members designed.
“It’s kind of like a treasure hunt,” Trout said of searching for a letterbox, or “letterboxing.”
The group donated an informational children’s book titled “I’m a hornet” and planted it next to the letterbox.
The girls said they chose a hornet theme for their project because Chelsea’s mascot is a hornet.
They also planned and led a letterbox workshop at their Girl Scout Service Unit campout. They helped Brownies earn the letterboxing Brownie badge and hid two letterboxes Kanawahala Program Center for other troops to find.
Karen Trout, who has been the troop’s leader for seven years, said the project was fun for everyone.
“That’s what got them doing it – because it was fun,” she said.
The Bronze Award is the highest award a Girl Scout Junior (fourth and fifth grades) can earn. The award reflects a Scout’s mastery of leadership and planning skills necessary to complete a project that positively impacts her community.