Anais with one of the composting bins
NEBRASKA- Three Kearney Girl Scouts are making the word a better place, starting with their passion to reduce waste at camps across Nebraska.
The eighth graders – Brianna Fick, Emma Davis and Anais Dettman – recently received a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo to start sustainable composting programs at each Nebraska Girl Scout camp.
With the funds, the girls will provide composters, collection buckets and educational materials at Lakeview Cabin (North Platte), Camp Cosmo (Grand Island), Camp Crossed Arrows (Nickerson), Camp Catron (Nebraska City) and Camp Maha (Papillion). They also are partnering with a waste management company, TerraCycle in New Jersey, to collect nonrecyclable materials, such as silver-lined food wrappers, that will be turned into new products.
After meeting with park rangers, touring the camps and collecting site data, the Girl Scouts are in the next stage of their project – waiting for the compost bins to arrive, and reaching out to local businesses for more funding that will supply lumber to build the TerraCycle bins.
“We’re going to build the TerraCycle bins, so donations will go toward buying lumber,” said Brianna Fick. The girls will build shelves or special organizers, depending on the amount of space available and the amount of waste generated at each camp.
The girls plan to place the recycling and composting stations within a reasonable distance of camp amenities.
“We feel like it’s really important that recycling and composting is convenient for the campers and staff,” said Girl Scout volunteer Cecilia Fick, Brianna’s mother. “This will be a teaching opportunity for troops and campers.”
Educational materials will show campers how to correctly dispose of waste, and rangers will use the compost that is created at their camps. Girl Scout camps are available for the public to rent. Visit www.girlscoutsnebraska.org/rentals to learn more about reserving camp cabins, zip lines and challenge courses.
About Girl Scouts and the Spirit of Nebraska Council
Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska is the largest girl-serving organization in the state with 16,000 members. Nationally, there are 2.5 million girl and adult members who believe that girls together can change the world.
It began more than 100 years ago with one woman, Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, who saw the potential of every girl. Today, we uphold her vision of building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place by helping them discover their inner strengths, passions and talents.
Right now, Girl Scouts can connect with other girls virtually or safely participate in person. To volunteer, reconnect, donate or join, visit GirlScoutsNebraska.org or call 800.695.6690.
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