Girl Scouts Complete Silver Award at Community Garden at South Branch Preserve

Girl Scouts Complete Silver Award at Community Garden at South Branch Preserve

Three students from Girl Scout troop 94594, in Mt. Olive completed their Silver Award at the Community Garden at our South Branch Preserve. The Silver Award is the second highest award of the Girl Scouts, and the highest award that a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.

Scouts Olivia Walker, Vaibhavi Borra, and Zoe Gregory decided they wanted to raise awareness regarding the importance of pollinators, and the community garden was a great location to create a habitat to attract bees and butterflies.

A 3’x30’ strip located along the garden fence and a 10’x10’ plot was designated for their project. Painted rocks were interspersed among the native plants along the fence, from a rock painting event, called ‘Rainbow Rocks’ they held at the Mt. Olive public library, where they presented their project to the community. They also created a website to share their goals and experiences about their project.

Through the Pollinator Garden Program, the Scouts received a pollinator garden mix, which they planted in one of the garden’s plots. The seed mix contained milkweed, wildflower and perennial seeds, which grew to be a lovely assortment of pollinator plants that attracted many butterflies and bees over the season.

“The girl scouts were extremely enthusiastic, and it was apparent that they were enjoying the project as they learned about the importance of bees and pollinators to continue our food supply,” commented Barbara McCloskey, the Community Garden Manager.

“The Land Conservancy was thrilled to support this project and happy to see the great results of all their planting and hard work. This project was a wonderful experience that allowed the young women to develop a variety of skills while making a difference in their community,” she added.