The Junior Girl Scouts of Troop 40036 in Mill Creek earned their Bronze Award in 2024!

The Bronze Award is the highest award that can be earned by Junior level Girl Scouts,

who are 4th and 5th graders. In order to earn the award, Girl Scouts are tasked with

identifying a problem in their community, connecting with experts and others in their

community to learn more about it, and then creating and carrying out a project to solve

the problem.

Troop 40036 had five Junior Girl Scouts last year: Cora, Harlow, Regina, Mia, and Olive.

The problem they identified was that many people do not clean up after their dogs in their neighborhoods and at their schools. They each devoted 20 hours to the project

between February and September! 

They began by meeting with Barb Heidel, a member of the Citizens Patrol in Mill Creek, to learn about current local ordinances regarding animal waste. They met with Shane Somerville, the

owner of a local pet store, to learn about what products might make it easier for dog owners to take care of their pet’s waste. They learned from the maintenance team of the MCCA, a local HOA, about the current state of dog waste in the area and how much time and money is spent providing residents with bags and trash cans. They met with Cindy Foster, Mill Creek Elementary's principal, to discuss the problem on school grounds. They met with Lisa Syravong, an environmental scientist, to learn more about the environmental impact of pet waste left on the ground. They learned from a veterinarian what kind of health issues might be involved for a pet or what kind of training might help owners keep their dog's waste contained.

Some of the facts they learned surprised them, and they concluded that some people

might not know all the facts as well and might be persuaded to pick up their pet’s waste if they

knew the truth. For example, many people might assume pet waste is natural and that the provided pet waste bags are biodegradable and therefore think leaving it off the side of a path isn’t a problem. But in truth, the bags aren't always biodegradable, the waste can contaminate ground water and transmit disease, and maintenance workers often find these discarded bags in hard-to-reach places and must work to dispose of them properly.

Armed with this knowledge, the girls put together instructional materials to present to the public over the summer with hopes of educating people on certain myths about pet waste and ultimately changing their behavior. Their project tagline was “Dog poop makes our smiles droop!” and they explained how not picking up pet waste is illegal, gross, rude, and bad for the environment and the health of other animals. Their presentation included an informational poster, a puppet show, a “poop bag” throwing game, a guessing game, and a set of “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” style trivia!

They also shared their project with several local government leaders and were gratified to receive a video response from Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, and in-person visits from State Senator John Lovick and State Representative Brandy Donaghy. 

We are so proud of these Girl Scouts for all their hard work, creativity, and perseverance! We know they will go far and learn to be leaders who make the world a better place.