Local Girl Scout troop recognized by Environmental Commission

The Collierville Environmental Commission (CEC) presented a Collierville Forward Environmental Impact Recognition Award to Girl Scout Troop 13141 on Sept. 14 at Town Hall.Troop 13141 is a group of Cadette Scouts, which is girls in grades 6-8, and their highest award is the Silver Award. Troop 13141 chose to learn composting and teach it to a troop of Junior Scouts as their Silver Award project. They volunteered at the Collierville Victory Garden for two months to educate themselves, and learned how composting works, how to create it and why it’s important for the environment.The original plan was to follow this with a workshop where the Cadette Scouts taught their newly acquired skills to Junior Scouts. When COVID caused that plan to be cancelled, the Scouts had to rethink their strategy. The workshop was re-worked into a Zoom event, with needed supplies being delivered to the participants’ houses before June 22, the day of the workshop. Troop 13141 presented their program at three separate times on Zoom in order to accommodate the participants’ schedules. They played games to help their students remember the fundamentals of composting, and then used their own Victory Garden compost mixed with soil to lead the younger girls in planting a mint plant.Troop 13141 leaders said the Scouts learned a lot from just executing the project, and even more from having to adapt to COVID restrictions. Both taught life lessons in problem solving and flexibility.The CEC’s presentation to Troop 13141 took place before the bi-weekly meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and the Scouts also received a$100 gift certificate to Russell’s Farm Supply to help them with future environmental projects.The Collierville Forward Award was established to recognize town residents and groups whose efforts create an environmentally friendly project that makes a positive environmental impact in the local community through the promotion of local sustainability.