Thea here, taking over the blog for the week to sum up my Girl Scout Gold Award project which I called “Native Plants for Restoration, Meditation, and Education. ” The Gold Award is the highest achievement in Girl Scouting and is comparable to, if not more rigorous than, the Boy Scout Eagle Award. It requires choosing an issue in the community to tackle, investigating and researching the issue, formulating a plan and presenting it to the GS Council, receiving approval on the proposal, carrying out the project in a minimum of 80 hours with help of volunteers, and showcasing the lasting impact of and reflecting on the project in a final report. I got inspired and decided to focus my project on the issue of invasive and native plants with the natural area behind the church as my project site.

Between the help of church members in the Ivy Pull, an Invasives Removal that I led the middle and high school youth groups in, and the dedicated efforts of Joe, my family, and so many others, substantial amounts of the vine mat were uprooted leaving room for natives to grow.

We were able to transplant a number of beautiful natives from my own, Joe’s, and a few church members yards.

The rest we purchased from the Earth Sangha nursery and then planted with help from volunteers.

Something that was important to me was putting a focus on choosing plants that benefited pollinators.

I also decided to build some benches with the help of my dad. There are three of them: two along the upper path and one next to the first stream.

They’re a great place to sit and mediate or just enjoy the nature and birdsong.

Last but not least, I created guides to the native plants blooming each season including photos (most of which were taken on-site at RRUUC) and fun facts. 

The Fall edition is out now!

Have a fantastic week, 

Thea