Silver Award Girl Scout Sarah - Cedar Bluff Middle School; image submitted.

Silver Award Girl Scout Sarah had a unique vision: create a pesticide-free pollinator garden at Cedar Bluff Middle School to help increase the dwindling bee population.

The 520 square-foot garden utilizes local plants to attract pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and birds. Sarah’s goals for the project were to build a sustainable and healthy garden that Cedar Bluff students could maintain and learn from for years to come.

As a Girl Scout for nine years, Sarah learned about the dying population of bees on the internet and how important they are! She strategically picked the garden spot in a field behind the school, an area her science class had visited a year prior for protection.

For inspiration, Sarah took field trips to Knoxville and the University of Tennessee (UT) Botanical gardens. Her science teacher Dave Gorman was a passionate proponent, helping with school connections and permission. Linda Denton, from the UT Master Gardeners Club, was instrumental in the plant selection and planting. All the hard work paid off; the garden is now part of an outdoor, all-natural educational classroom for Cedar Bluff.

The garden was made possible thanks to many donors in the Knoxville community, and the Joyce Maienschein Leadership Grant. Donors include UT Master Gardener’s Club (Linda Denton), UT-Agricultural Extension Office (Neal Denton), Elder’s Ace Hardware, Stanley’s Greenhouse, Living Earth Organics, and Sunlight Gardens. Native flowers to East Tennessee were selectively chosen and donated as they’re better for pollinators. Non-native plants can be harmful and spread rapidly.

Sarah’s favorite part of the project was educating and teaching the Girl Scouts in her troop about pollinator’s importance and the conservation of natural resources. She is currently planning to lead a “Save the Bees” workshop. As for her Gold Award, she wants to continue working with creatures.

“I learned about so many different types of plants,” said Sarah. “I’ve seen the bees and butterflies come down [to the garden]. I’ve enjoyed it so much that I want to do something related for my Gold Award.”

Girl Scouts is the premier leadership organization for girls. Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. For more information on becoming a Girl Scout, visit www.girlscoutcsa.org/join, call 1-800-474-1912, or email info@girlscoutcsa.org.