Saving animals worldwide

SALEM, NH – When Girl Scout Raina Applegate moved to Louisiana, she noted that there were many animals killed in the roadways through forested areas and want to help prevent that loss of life. Her efforts to reduce animal deaths has resulted in her earning the highest honor possible for a Girl Scouts in high school, the Gold Award, for her project – How Roads Affect Wildlife and Preventing Roadkill.

Applegate, 18, of Salem, had lived recently in Louisiana, where the Red River National Wildlife Refuge is. She volunteered there and wanted to do something about this worldwide problem.She made Watch for Animals signs for the refuge and a poster board display with information on the effects roads have on wildlife and how people can avoid hitting animals. She also made pamphlets on the issue and sent them to other parks and museums around the world and created a Facebook page on the issue.

“I chose my project because I volunteered at the wildlife refuge every Saturday,” she said, “and I would walk along the side of the road and pick up trash, and you saw a lot of dead animals there, because it was right next to a highway. I wanted to educate people that went to the refuge about how that road affects the animals that live in the refuge.”

Applegate’s advisor, Bonnie Allen, who is a Louisiana-based writer and nature enthusiast who shares her deep connection to wildlife at the Red River National Wildlife Refuge, appreciates what Applegate has achieved.

“She worked hard on her project,” she said, “from research to speaking with a ranger (when one was available at the Refuge) to creating displays and pamphlets with information to signs which were displayed at the entrances of the refuge. Raina was a hard worker as she volunteered with me at the wildlife refuge. She did tasks such as litter patrol, working in our Nature Store at the refuge as well as interacting with visitors. She was an awesome volunteer! Wish there were more youth like her!”

Applegate’s tri-fold poster will stay part of the refuge’s rotating display. She is hopeful that the pamphlets she shared with other refuges will save more animals, as they were shared in six other countries.

As a child of a military family. Applegate has lived around the world but has always participated in Girl Scouts.

“I started in Louisiana, and then I went to Hawaii, then Florida, then Germany, then Louisiana, now New Hampshire,” she said, noting that being in Girl Scouts made it easier to meet people and make friends. She finished all 13 years of the Girl Scout program, from kindergarten through high school. “I enjoy doing it, and you can do a lot of different stuff. And you choose what you do, and I like earning badges, because it's nice to see on your uniform all the different things you do.”

As a Girl Scout, she has been able to visit Girl Scouts’ World Centres, like Pax Lodge in London and Our Chalet in Switzerland. Participating in the Girl Scout Cookie program helped her earn the funds necessary to make those trips.

Applegate is currently homeschooled and is in the Homeschool Honor Society. She would like to attend the University of New Hampshire to study wildlife and conservation biology.

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Gold Award Girl Scouts don’t just change the world for the better, they change it for good. The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national, and global challenges. Since 1912, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. They earn college scholarships, demonstrate high educational and career outcomes, and are active in their communities.

Raina Applegate has answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change, and her Gold Award is a testament to her remarkable dedication to improving her community and the world.

About the Girl Scout Gold Award

•Gold Award Girl Scouts on average spend one to two years on their project.

•A Gold Award project must be sustainable after the girl’s involvement ends.

•The average age of Gold Award Girl Scouts is 17.

•Since 1916, more than 1 million girls have earned the Gold Award or its equivalent.

•Gold Award Girl Scouts are entitled to enlist at a higher pay grade when they join the military.

•University research indicates that noting you are a Gold Award Girl Scout on a college application is influential in the admissions decision-making process.

•Fourteen young women from New Hampshire and Vermont earned their Gold Award so far in the 2025-2026 membership year as part of Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains.

•The Girl Scout Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable.

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We are Girl Scouts of the USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building girls of courage, confidence, and character.

Girl Scouts discover who they are, tap into the power inside them, and build the confidence to let it shine. Through programs from coast to coast and overseas, girls of all backgrounds and abilities come as they are to explore their passions, meet new challenges, and develop hands-on skills. They find their strengths in science labs and on hiking trails, at cookie booths and in front of city councils. Backed by millions of alums and a network of dedicated adult volunteers and mentors, Girl Scouts drive change to make the world a better place. Along the way, they uncover the tools they need to lead with joy, on their own terms. Join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate.

Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.