Lila Keller, rising MSMA senior, garners Girl Scout Gold Award

Rising Mount Saint Mary Academy senior, Lila Keller, is the recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award. Lila’s project, “Bring Back the Bats” was designed to combat the declining population of bats in Union County. She is a member of Girl Scout Troop 40380 in New Providence.

Habitat destruction, pollution and disease have reduced the number of bats, resulting in an increased mosquito population. To tackle the problem, Lila worked with a local wildlife biologist to determine the predominant local species of bats. They detected population of Little Brown Bats in the area based on echolocation feedback from sound recordings. Lila, a resident of Summit, constructed and installed four giant bat boxes specifically for this species in high mosquito areas of Union County parks.

She then held an informational workshop at the Trailside Nature Center to teach others about the importance of bats, and to provide instructions on making bat houses. She also filmed, edited, and produced an informative video demonstrating how to build the bat houses, which can be viewed from the center’s website.

Lila was additionally recognized by the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey with the Change Maker Award, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Girl Scouts who have earned their Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.