Girl Scout Troop 35497 of Washington Twp. Elementary School recently helped obtain rain barrels for the vegetable garden at St. Andrew’s Church in Valparaiso. As part of the “World of Water” Journey project, the girls applied for a grant through the Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction office. With the help of leaders Samantha Lutin and Jennifer Rodd, the girls answered all of the questions on the grant form including where the rain barrels would be located and why they were needed there.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Valparaiso is where the rain barrels are now located. They will be used to water the vegetable garden which the church maintains to donate fresh vegetables to the local food pantry. Since they have been watering the garden this summer the church’s water bill has increased by 30%. With the rain barrels now in place, that will help conserve and reuse water as well as help those who depend on the food pantry.
The 2nd and 3rd graders of Troop 35497 also visited the Flint Lake Water Treatment Plant to learn where our water comes from and how it is cleaned in order to be safe for drinking. The girls also learned that there are many places in the world that do not have safe drinking water and people must walk many miles each day to collect their water. Each Girl Scout made a promise to conserve water by taking shorter showers, not turning the water on full blast, and not letting the water run while brushing their teeth.
Valparaiso Area Girl Scouts are part of the Girl Scout Council of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, a United Way Agency.
There are many young girls who want to be Girl Scouts but have no leaders. Please consider volunteering for the world’s largest all-girl organization. For volunteer information please contact Beth Baker at 464-2418 or su12girlscouts@yahoo.com