Gold Award Spotlight: Hugo Owens Middle School Courtyard Beautification

Girl Scout Ambassador Avery earned the Gold Award using her leadership skills, creativity, and passion for making a difference! By transforming Hugo Owens Middle School’s courtyard space into a vibrant and inviting area, Avery made a positive impact on supporting local ecosystems and promoting the importance of pollinator conservation.

To complete this project, Avery first organized a community fundraiser yard sale with the support of her church, Deep Creek United Methodist Church. With the funds earned from the yard sale, Avery had the resources to secure the building and landscaping materials needed for the renovation. After the existing garden was deconstructed, Avery was able to build two new garden beds with the help of a team of volunteers. Once established, the beds were planted with pollinator-attracting plants native to Virginia.

In addition to constructing the new garden space, Avery held two plastic collection drives over the course of her project, which resulted in more than 2,000 pounds of plastic being kept out of our local landfills! Her collection secured the donation of two outdoor benches for the garden space through the support of TREX®’s community recycling program.

“The biggest goal of my project was to make the courtyard safe and usable again for the staff and students,” Avery said. “I made it so that the environmental club at the school can keep up and maintain the area, and that teachers and students can use it for classes.”

Throughout her project, this Girl Scout gained invaluable experience as she enlisted and led a team of volunteers through the planning, demolition, and construction of the garden space. In addition to leadership skills, she gained hands-on experience using power tools and developing plans.

By pursuing the Gold Award, Girl Scouts like Avery change the world!

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