Troop 45420 earns second-highest award in Girl Scouting

ROUND LAKE BEACH – Girl Scouting’s highest awards, the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards, are a girl’s chance to make a lasting difference in the world. Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana recently honored Troop 45420 of Lake County with the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest recognition for achievement that a Girl Scout Cadette in grades 6-8 can earn.

The award recognizes girls who demonstrate individually or as a group extraordinary leadership through sustainable and measurable Take Action projects that address important community needs.

The Lakemoor-based troop of seven girls completed a total of 51 1/2 hours to finalize their project to help increase nutrition among the elderly at Oak Hill Living Facility in Round Lake Beach. All the girls were Cadettes and in eighth grade when the project was completed.

Betty Ogden, a resident and adviser who tends the gardens, was in need of volunteers to help plant, maintain and harvest vegetables for the residents. When the girls discovered the residents at Oak Hill needed help with their garden and food supply, they developed a Take Action plan to address the issue’s root cause.

The members of Troop 45420 used their strengths, talents and skills and put their plan into action to earn the Silver Award. Each girl took a leadership role. This included a chart to track and monitor duties, hours and tasks. The Scouts held several meetings to discuss their plans. They learned about growing plants from a horticulturalist, by doing research online and by visiting local gardening shops.

Each Scout was given the responsibility to plant their own container garden and seedlings and then track and monitor its growth until it was time to transfer to the garden beds at Oak Hill.

Next steps included the Scouts taking a tour of the senior facility and meeting with Ogden to discuss the overall goals for the project. While on the tour, the Scouts were able to chat with some of the residents about the vegetables they would like planted.

The Scouts put new soil in the raised planting beds, planted seeds and watered and harvested the vegetables. After the vegetables were cleaned, the Scouts helped bag them to give out free to residents.

In addition to learning about gardening, the Scouts learned how to plan and budget.

“We appreciate the efforts and help from the Girl Scouts with the garden and planting this year. The entire project was a great success and it made it easier on our resident gardener Ms. Betty and the other residents,” Oak Hill Living Facility resident services coordinator Joli Martinez said in a news release.

As part of their project goals, the troop donated plants, seeds and soil for the garden. As a token of appreciation, the Scouts painted rocks with positive messages to place in the garden beds and made a birdbath out of planters to keep in the garden area.

According to the Girl Scouts of the USA 2023 annual report, almost 50,000 Girl Scouts earned their Bronze and Silver awards in 2023.

“We are very proud of each Scout for their hard work and dedication to assist with this project,” troop leader Becky Burmeister said in the release. “It was a great way to give back while helping to increase nutrition for the elderly community.”