Girl Scout Troop 36211 has earned the highest award a Junior Girl Scout can earn and they did so in their first year.

The 10 girls, who are in fourth grade at Youngsville Elementary/Middle School, brainstormed on their own as an activity, and then each girl presented any needs they felt their community could benefit from.

They “took action” when it was decided they should do a community service at their school, Youngsville Elementary Middle School. The flower bed found at the entrance of the school was in need of care and one of the first things people see when entering the building. While others in the past had worked on it, it was now looking as though it needed attention. The girls approached their principal, Eric Mineweaser, with their project idea and it took off from there.

They began discussing types of plants needed, how to prepare the soil and how they wanted the garden to look with the help of Master Gardener Celia Knapp from the Penn State Extension in Warren County.

Celia showed and described to the girls the best plants, shrubs and trees for our area and the maintenance needed. She also showed the girls how to clear away any unwanted roots to help prevent weeds during one of our work bees at the school that took place.

The girls spent a total of 20 hours planning, preparing and planting with the help of parent volunteers during work bees to make the flower garden an appropriate entrance to their school for all to enjoy.

This project was planned to be a sustainable, enduring work that the girls will continue to maintain while they are students at YEMS. Plants, soil and mulch were purchased from local businesses, and used by the girls to culminate their service on Sunday, May 15 thanks to support from Girl Scouts of Western PA and guidance from the parent volunteers who gave their time.

One requirement of the Bronze Award is earning a Girl Scout “Journey” to achieved this award. The girls had 3 different Journeys to choose from as Junior Scouts. They chose the aMuse Journey where they learned all year about blocking stereotypes that people sometimes place on women and looking to the positive female role models each girl has in their life.

They had to interview a woman of their choice, who they have contact with, to learn more about them and learn from their experience. They also did many positive, empowering activities throughout the year, while exploring the aMuse Journey. In doing so, they learned so much about themselves and how to treat others. The girls decided to use some of their Girl Scout cookie money they earned this year by donating new books to the Youngsville Elementary/Middle School Library. Each girl chose a positive role model and a book was purchased to teach others about these imp ortant figures that many girls look up to daily. From Malala Yousafzai to Amelia Earhart, the girls chose excellent women who have or are making a difference in their world. These books were presented shelf-ready to their library media specialist, Caren Pence at Youngsville Elementary School on Monday, May 16 at their last meeting of the school year.

A Bronze Award Ceremony is planned to take place in June to honor and celebrate the achievements of these 10 young ladies.