Alaska Girl Scouts

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Scouts from Kodiak, Palmer earn weed warrior badges

Members of two of Alaska's Girl Scout Troops have earned their merit badges for learning about and combating invasive plants.
Kodiak Troop 242 members were the first in the state to earn the Invasive Plants Patch, which is relatively new nationwide. Blythe Brown, noxious/invasive plants coordinator for the Kodiak Soil and Water Conservation District, helped with the program.

Those girls finished the requirements this spring.

In June, Members of Palmer's Troop 455 also joined the ranks of weed-savvy Girl Scouts.

 

 

Girl Scouts Council of Southwestern Connecticut: Badges & Patches

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Palmer Scouts learn about dangers of invasive plants

Girl Scout Troop 455 from Palmer (Cadettes) spent 3 weeks this spring learning about invasive plants in Alaska. They are now able to identify bird vetch, dandelions, pineapple weed, etc. from small seedlings. The Troop chose to work on the Invasive Plant Badge because they saw that invasive plants are a real danger to Alaska’s biodiversity – but, with diligent work, can be controlled at this point.

The Troop worked with the Alaska Plant Materials Center (Division of Agriculture), Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District, Alaska Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plants Management, and Alaska Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (Invasive Plants Program).

This Invasive Plants Badge is new to Alaska. Troop 455 is the first troop to earn this badge in South-Central Alaska. The girls completed the badge by presenting a program to the Weed Awareness Workshop at the Plant Materials Center on June 10. During the summer they will continue to harvest invasive plants and double bag them. The amount of plants harvested and their volunteer hours will be added to the efforts of many different groups participating in the Alaska state wide weed pull, June 23 – 30.

— By Peggy Hunt, agronomist, Plant Materials Center

Alaska Plant Materials Center (Division of Agriculture)
Palmer Soil and Water Conservation District
Alaska Committee for Noxious and Invasive Plants Management
Alaska Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts
 

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