ST. LOUIS – April 14 is National Gardening Day, a day encouraging everyone to pick up a shovel and plant something new. For one St. Charles, Mo. Girl Scout troop, they saw an opportunity to support native habitats and educate their community on conservation for their Bronze Award Project.
Peityn Bradford, Evangeline Cairns, Amelija Fredricks, Madelyn Gerber, Abi Kumar, Kayla Seibert, Alayna Thomas and Grace Weldy partnered with the St. Charles County Parks to plant a 2,000-square-foot native garden.
After learning about the importance of conservation and preserving native habitats, these young leaders planted more than 30 native plant species in Veterans Tribute Park to support the habitats of birds, butterflies and pollinators. The girls sowed each starter seed, added fertilizer and tended to their bio-diverse garden, including rose verbena, bee balm, coneflower and goldenrod. They also constructed bee and butterfly houses and decorated eco-education stones to shelter pollinators around the garden.
To create their native garden, the girls worked closely with Shelby Miller and Brandi Borgschulte, St. Charles County Parks horticulturalists, and Kristin and Tim Fredricks, experienced native gardeners and beekeepers, to provide guidance and volunteer their time to work in the garden. In addition to their expertise, the St. Charles County Parks Department provided tools, land and soil for optimal garden preservation and will ensure the long-term maintenance of the garden. The Girl Scouts also organized educational sessions to share the importance of gardening with their fellow Girl Scout sisters and created a blog to share their experience and inspire others to create their own native garden.
“We had several learning sessions with our troop where we learned about native plants and how they have adapted to their environment in Missouri,” troop member Amelija said. “When we grow native plants, we are providing food for the native butterflies, insects and bees.”
These go-getters also received a project grant, covering supplies and equipment funding, from The Missouri Prairie Foundation. The girls worked with their adult volunteers to submit the grant application, which included their plan to prepare the garden, their scope of work and the project budget. They also worked with their project partners to write support letters to receive the grant.
“As a planet, our pollinator numbers are getting so low, therefore, it is important to work against extinction,” troop member Evangeline said. “Building our native garden over the past three months took a lot of hard work, but it was worth it to help save monarchs and bees.”
“It is our pleasure to collaborate with Troop 1791 and see these young leaders working to better their community,” Shelby Miller, Horticulture Supervisor, St. Charles County Parks, said. “By choosing to build a native garden, they will be supporting pollinators, contributing to the beautification of our local parks, and providing an educational demonstration of native gardening. What a wonderful example they are setting for our community!”
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Bronze Awardees
To learn more about these projects and Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri Highest Awards, visit girlscoutsem.org/highestawards.
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