Cape Teen Achieves Girl Scout Gold Award

On a recent muggy evening, I had the pleasure of experiencing the new Goshen Farm Walking Trail with its impressive creator, 17-year-old Cape resident Corinne Bailey, as my guide.  

Corinne conceived, planned and constructed the self-guided historical walking trail as her Girl Scout Gold Award project. The informative trail provides interesting facts along an 11-point tour. 

The Goshen Farm site includes an historic house built in the 1780's, several remaining outbuildings, and 22 acres of open space that will one day be a center for history and nature interpretation.

Corinne explained that her “passion” for the property grew out of her family’s involvement with the (GFPS), which was formed in 2007 with the purpose of preserving and restoring the property for generations to come.

“It’s interesting to me to think that years and years ago, people were seeing the same things we see now," said Corinne.

Corinne has been a Girl Scout since the first grade and, in addition to the Gold Award, she also completed her Bronze and Silver Awards. For her Bronze Award, Corinne installed the flagpole and garden at the Cape Main Beach along with two other Scouts in her troop. 

Her Silver project was also a group project with two other Scouts.  They planned, coordinated, and implemented a day for younger Scouts focusing on pet care, animals that work (service animals), spaying and neutering, pet health and nutrition, etc. They called it “Pet University” and had both a representative from Guiding Eyes for the Blind there as well as a local veterinarian for an educational presentation. 

The Girl Scout Gold Award is equivalent to the Boy Scout’s Eagle Scout Award. Corinne’s project required her to spend at least 65 hours on the planning and implementation of her project – tasks that required her to invoke the leadership skills that she had been developing over the years as a Girl Scout.  

Her efforts involved coordinating with the GFPS, Anne Arundel County Facilities Department, and the Anne Arundel County Public Schools in order to complete the project. She also presented her project idea to the Anne Arundel County Council very early on in the process.  

Corinne coordinated the donation of materials and volunteer labor to install the trail markers and designed the trail guide which can be found on the GFPS website. The GFPS expressed their appreciation for Corinne’s contribution to the property. 

“Corinne’s trail has brought more positive attention to the property and our efforts, and we look forward to having Cape residents support us as we try to keep Cape history intact,” said Barbara Morgan, President of the GFPS. 

Corinne plans to continue to support the GFPS with its restoration efforts. After graduating with honors from Broadneck High School this year, she plans to enter Towson University’s Honors College in the fall.

More information about the walking trail, the trail guide itself, and about the efforts of the GFPS can be found on their website. 

If you know a special Cape teen, or other resident, who should be featured in this column, please contact me at kathleen1271@yahoo.com.