Contributed by Keep Prince William Beautiful
Woodbridge, Virginia (September 23, 2013) – Girl Scout Callie P. noticed that people just weren’t as worried about reducing landfill waste as they should be and she became determined to come up with a fun and interactive way to share this issue and alternative uses for waste.
Understanding the problem at hand, Callie decided to teach her community arts and crafts that utilize what would otherwise be considered waste. Once she knew what she wanted to do, she reached out to Keep Prince William Beautiful for education. “We were thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Callie on her Gold Award and have enjoyed helping her through the process. KPWB is a community resource for recycling and litter education and Callie did a great job of relaying the facts during her project sessions,” said KPWB Executive Director and Callie’s Project Advisor, Kiliaen Anderson.
Every Tuesday in April Callie worked with the art club at Westridge Elementary School to teach them how important it is to limit the amount of waste they send to landfills; followed by an interactive craft project. Students enjoyed projects such as creating a piggy bank made out of soda bottles and egg cartons, and making snow globes from jars. “The students really grasped the concept and even incorporated more trash into the projects; one student grabbed a chip bag out of the trash from snack time and cut it into strips to resemble seaweed for his fish themed snow globe,” said Callie.
Callie also organized a mat crochet workshop, utilizing plastic bags, to crochet sleeping mats for the homeless. The mats were a great addition to Callie’s project because not only did they utilize waste, but they brought the community together to do good for those less fortunate. The final product offers a water proof, light, and durable cushion for the homeless.
Despite the fun and creative atmosphere, Callie sent home a serious message that she hopes more and more people will pick up on, “If we all think before we throw, we may be able to save our community from becoming one big landfill.”
About Keep Prince William Beautiful
Keep Prince William Beautiful is a nonprofit environmental organization that serves Prince William County through partnering with residents, businesses and government to educate and inspire people to be environmental stewards and keep Prince William beautiful. For more information, visit www.kpwb.org.
The Girl Scout Gold Award
The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. Open only to girls in high school, this prestigious award challenges girls to change the world—or at least their corner of it, and to be eligible for college scholarships, too. By the time they put the final touches on their seven-step project, they’ll have solved a community problem—not only in the short term, but for years into the future.
Callie Phillips
Callie is a senior at Woodbridge Senior High School and has been an active girl scout for 13 years.
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