Girl Scouts Lead Farm Tour for Silver Award Project
On Wednesday, July 5th, SAHC AmeriCorps member Haley Smith and communications interns Tamia Dame and Fisayo Bashorun helped two local Girl Scouts fulfill a special goal – earning their Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can ear. Scouts Kylie and Gates had only one task left to complete before obtaining the award: leading a project which would leave a lasting impact on their community. The most meaningful way to do this, they decided, was to pass down the valuable lessons about land trust work to younger generations in a hands-on environment.
To achieve this goal, Gates and Kylie took the initiative to come and visit our Community Farm on a scouting tour to learn about the work we do. The girls hiked the Discovery Trail with SAHC staff and learned about our farm projects and why each of them is important. After preparation, they arranged to take a group of younger Girl Scouts along the same Discovery Trail and relay that information about our conservation and agricultural work back to the other girls of their program.
Kylie and Gates took turns using the interpretive signage along the trail to teach the girls about the inner workings of our farm projects. These include our stream restoration project, shortleaf pine reforestation area, invasive species management with goats, our Farmer Incubator Program, and more.
Though the day was hot and the sun was beaming, the group had a wonderful time hiking and learning from the girls, watching our invasive-plant-removing goats play, and picking and eating wild blackberries along the trail.
Our whole group, including staff, parents, and Girl Scouts, enjoyed an educational day and took time before departing to reflect on all we had learned. We congratulate Gates and Kylie on achieving their Silver Award and thank the girls for making SAHC a part of the work that they do!
Check out this brief video of the day, created by our summer City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy intern, Fisayo Bashorun:
