[00:00:00] Walter: The hearts of gold podcast is brought to you by the grow and share network produced by off the Walter media productions.
[00:00:13] Sheryl: Welcome to hearts of gold. Today we have Anya with us. Hi, Anya.
[00:00:19] Anya: Hi.
[00:00:19] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your girl scout gold award project?
[00:00:23] Anya: Educating, advocating, and then eventually it was changing a somewhat confusing law regarding green burials. So the main point of my project was to teach my community about the harmful effects of traditional burials like cremation on the environment and also the workers per se, that do those
[00:00:47] types of procedures and then to also teach about green burials and what green burials are. Cause a lot of people didn’t know what green barrels were and to also get them to be more accessible for people that wanted to choose that as um, what they wanted to do.
[00:01:04] Sheryl: And can you share what a green burial is and how you learned about them and why it prompted your project?
[00:01:10] Anya: Most people, when they hear about that, I’m doing this project. They’re like, how did you find out about this? Which is good question. So I started on the project. So I was a German sustainability project is what I started with with my German. And we were kind of hesitant about it at first. But then our teacher was like, well, if you win, you get to go to Berlin.
[00:01:30] And we were like, all right. So that sold us on it. So she introduced the topic to us cause she had heard about it at a conference she had gone to, we didn’t get selected for the contest, which is fine. But I was then working on my gold award project and was like, well, I had already started this work on this project and I found it really fascinating.
[00:01:51] So why don’t I continue it over? And. Use as my gold award. And then I was talking about it to people in my town and they were really fascinated by it and were like, oh, I actually wanted to do that. But I was told no by the cemetery trustees because of our current bylaws. And then. That’s what kind of sent me to work on that.
[00:02:13] Sheryl: And what is a green burial?
[00:02:15] Anya: It’s nothing really fancy and it’s nothing really new because it’s what people had been doing for thousands of years up until really the seventies, 1970s is when people started to get more particular about how burials. And introducing cremation and things like that. So a green burial is, could be something as simple as a person chooses to be buried in a pine box, not being embalmed not using any harsh chemicals, those sorts of things.
[00:02:45] Or it could be as simple as just, oh, put me straight in the ground and nothing. And that’s, that’s it. So that’s really what a green burial consists of.
[00:02:54] Sheryl: What did you learn about with the various community and state laws as you went through your project?
[00:02:59] Anya: That they were quite confusing and trying to find information about my town or the surrounding towns around me, where there wasn’t a whole lot of information and you would you would start at one point and then you would kind of.
[00:03:14] be stuck in this continuous loop, trying to find things. So yeah, there wasn’t a whole lot of information which I found could be pretty stressful. For somebody that was going through, you know, this important decision with what they want to do the final decision of their life and they couldn’t find anything about it.
[00:03:33] So that’s really what also made me decide, well, there’s gotta be something we can do about.
[00:03:37] Sheryl: Who was on your team and how did they help you?
[00:03:40] Anya: My team partner, I guess I could call him was representative Jerry Kenurk. So he’s the one that kind of, because I knew about green burials, but I had no idea about the legislation how the government.
[00:03:52] I mean, I know a little bit, but not the, not the whole workings of it. So he was really helpful. In that sense, cause he’s the one that. Drafted our bill was with me when we spoke at the Senate and the committee, but we also had Lee Webster and Josh Grodam, who were experts in the green burial fields who were a part of the team as well.
[00:04:14] Sheryl: What did you learn about working with the state legislature that you didn’t know and might be interesting to others?
[00:04:22] Anya: One that it can be messy. And then it’s, it’s a long process to get things changed. But I also thought what was kind of heartening in it was that it can be changed. You know, you can change things.
[00:04:34] And if there’s something that you feel really passionately about, or, you know, Would be good for your town or your state, you can do things to change it. So that’s what I thought was kind of nice to realize.
[00:04:47] Sheryl: In addition to working with the legislature, you also worked with a local cemetery. What kind of feedback did you get from the cemetery?
[00:04:56] Anya: Most of the feedback from them was we have always done it this way, so we should just keep doing it this way. So I was met with resistance in, in my own town, from the cemetery trustee he was not really. Apt to learning about what green burials, where he was more like, no, we’ve always done it this way and there’s no reason to change it, but we kind of had to work around that a little bit in small towns.
[00:05:22] It’s going to be like that, unfortunately. So.
[00:05:25] Sheryl: You also received pushback from funeral directors. What did funeral directors feel about your project?
[00:05:33] Anya: And didn’t think that there really would be any pushback when we proposed the bill, but in some, in some cases, funeral directors may use the. Previously existing bill that we were working to change as an advantage point for themselves to maybe push unwanted costs and procedures onto families that are, might be in a, you know, not great mental state because of things that have happened to them.
[00:06:03] And they since the wording of the old law was so. Murky and confusing. They would use it to their advantage to you know, push more costs onto people. So when we were asking to repeal the bill, they felt kind of threatened like, oh no, there’s going to be a loss of income for us. Which not all funeral directors, but a significant amount were worried about that sense.
[00:06:32] Sheryl: How did those experience working with those different groups of people, both positive and negative impact you and make you stronger for the future in communications?
[00:06:44] Anya: Everybody likes to have positive feedback. Right. So that was you know, great to hear, but I mean, even having the negative feedback, it just made us have to work a little harder and be more strategic and try to find ways around it or different people that we could talk to.
[00:07:03] So it definitely taught me to be resourceful.
[00:07:06] Sheryl: What else did you learn about yourself during your project?
[00:07:10] Anya: I am capable of doing more things than I initially thought I was. When I first started the project, I was like, there’s no way I’m going to be able to finish this. I don’t even know how, I mean, I’m going to get halfway through this.
[00:07:25] I know this is too much. I don’t know. I’ll start it, but that’s probably about as far as I’ll get and now. Looking back, I actually was capable of doing it. And if I’m capable of doing this and I’m sure I’m capable of doing a lot of other different things. So that was a big thing that I think I learned about myself maybe to have a little more confidence.
[00:07:47] And what I can do.
[00:07:48] Sheryl: Do you have a special memory from your project that you’d like to share?
[00:07:52] Anya: Well, the first time I spoke, which was at the committee hearing of the house health and elderly services, I was so nervous to going into it. And I had like practice what my testimony, what I was going to say in the car, like a million times.
[00:08:08] Me and my dad who came with me, we had like gone to the wrong building. It was like freezing out. And we’re like, oh my gosh, I’m gonna be late. And we finally got there and we were sitting down and. Shaken because I was so scared to go up and talk, but then I go up there and it was my turn to talk. And the chairman was actually a Eagle scout when he was a kid, he was like, congratulations, on doing this.
[00:08:35] And just, I was like, oh, okay. I feel better about what I’m doing now. And I gotten through and I didn’t mess up, thankfully just finishing it and sitting down. And I was like, so relieved, but I was also like, I did this and I didn’t even mess up. So that was kind of like a cool memory to have. I mean, then I did it again in the Senate and I was less nervous.
[00:08:55] I was like, I’ve been on this before.
[00:08:58] Sheryl: What did you learn about the gold award process itself that surprised you and might be helpful for future gold award girl?
[00:09:05] Anya: For me, I started at what beginning of junior year, I think, or maybe it was end of sophomore year. And I think I could have started it freshman year and still have been fine because like it takes, it takes a lot of time to do it and I think starting it earlier.
[00:09:23] And so that way you’re not rushed and, you know, trying to cram things in while you’re doing other stuff, but overall the process of like, you know, Going in front of the, what is it board to get it approved and stuff? It’s not that big of a deal. Really. They’re all really nice and all really excited to hear what you have to say.
[00:09:44] Sheryl: So what other girl scout experiences have you had?
[00:09:47] Anya: Me and my older sister, we sold like 3000 boxes of cookies or something. And we went to Europe for two weeks which was probably some of the best memories. My life so far and some of the best experiences. So we did everything from, we went to Paris to the Eiffel tower.
[00:10:06] We went to Italy and we saw the house of Romeo and Juliet was and all that cool stuff. And then another thing was through some girl scout program. I don’t remember what it was, but I get to fly a plane, which was pretty exciting. Scary. And I thought, I was like, oh my God, I’m gonna crash this plane.
[00:10:26] But but that was really fun and something that I can say I’ve done now that not a lot of people don’t get to do so. And then there’s also, you know, fun stuff. When I was a kid, I went to girl scout camp and you know.
[00:10:39] Sheryl: Do you have a favorite camp memory?
[00:10:41] Anya: So at the end of camp, because I was a program made we have to go and collect all of the mattresses from the cabins and tents and stuff, and then we’d put them in the back of the counselors car and then.
[00:10:56] Two girls. It was me and one other girl, we got to ride on the back, the mattresses, as we run around, she couldn’t pick them up. And were going over all the bumps. Yeah. That was pretty fun.
[00:11:06] Sheryl: When you went to Europe, I understand you also went to our chalet, which is one of the world centers. What was that like?
[00:11:12] Anya: That was really cool. One to see what girl Scouts or girl guides is some peoples they called. Looks like in, you know, different countries and what girl Scouts looks like there, but the place is beautiful it’s in Switzerland. Right. And I want to go back now. It’s one of my top places to go, but it’s on top of this, like almost like this mountain and.
[00:11:36] The views were beautiful, but we, we got, we got to partake in a pinning ceremony and they gave us a tour of the place and told us history of it and everything. Yeah. That was really cool.
[00:11:47] Sheryl: You were also a girl representative for your council’s board. Can you tell us about that experience?
[00:11:53] Anya: That was on two boards, girl representative on the board directors and it’s a different.
[00:12:00] Experience, because going from being kind of just a girl Scouts, just kind of going along and not really seeing the workings of everything to now being a part of the decision-making process and kind of seeing what goes on behind the scenes that, you know, you don’t really see and all the hard work that goes into These carefully crafted decisions and how much thought goes into it.
[00:12:24] It’s neat to see a different perspective of things.
[00:12:27] Sheryl: You mentioned German, and we understand how busy you were with girl Scouts. And I understand you’re also a gymnast when you were in high school, how did you balance all of your.
[00:12:39] Anya: It can be challenging at times to stay on top of everything and to keep everything balanced, but just making sure that I’m set time for certain things had a good schedule.
[00:12:50] That was always important. Having a good schedule makes sure everything’s planned out. So I know where, where I’m supposed to be at what time and everything, but there was definitely times where I was like a little overwhelmed. I’m supposed to be here and here, and I have this, I need to do and that I need to do, but I think I can thank my mom for being a big help in that sense, making sure to keep me reminded.
[00:13:14] On things and to help choose the one that’s manages the schedule too So.
[00:13:18] Sheryl: What is in your future?
[00:13:20] Anya: Few weeks left of high school and then be graduating. And then in the fall I will be attending WPI, which is Mr. Polytechnic for materials engineering.
[00:13:30] Sheryl: What do you hope to do?
[00:13:31] Anya: Maybe to graduate with materials engineering and with that, I can kind of work almost anywhere.
[00:13:38] I really want to I don’t really want to leave the new England area, but I also was a dream of mine to work at NASA, which is not in new England. So we’ll see. Maybe I’ll stay here. Maybe I’ll be far away. I haven’t decided yet.
[00:13:52] Sheryl: Is there anything else that you’d like to share with the audience?
[00:13:55] Anya: To other girls that were looking to do their gold award project, that it can seem kind of daunting. At first, in the first couple of weeks or months getting started into it, kind of. Figuring out what you even you want to do for your project and gathering a team of people that the team of people that you find that can, you know, there’s going to help you with your project is really the most important thing.
[00:14:20] Cause there’s no way I would have been able to do all of this by myself. So having that support system is really important. But once you get over that first hill, You know, getting everything sorted out is pretty much, well, I won’t say pretty much, but it’s pretty much smooth sailing from there.
[00:14:39] Sheryl: How do you make your smores?
[00:14:40] Anya: I like to do with Reese’s pieces like the cups or we, sometimes we do it with Kit-Kats. So change it up. I mean, of course I do it with the classic Hershey bar, but the peanut butter cups is the way to go. I think.
[00:14:53] Sheryl: Well thanks for joining us.
[00:14:55] Anya: Thank you for having me.
[00:14:56] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe. So you always know when new episodes are released.
[00:15:02] And don’t forget to power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:15:09] Walter: The hearts of gold podcast is brought to you by the grow and share network produced by off the Walter media productions. Thank you for listening and spreading the word on what we do. If you want to share your story of how you earned your gold award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
[00:15:27] Be sure to listen to the newest episodes on your favorite podcast app, as well as view the full video episodes on youtube.com/SherylMRobinson. That’s youtube.com/Sheryl, the letter M, Robinson. Take care, and we’ll see you next time.