Refuge volunteer Sheila Hempsted shows Girl Scouts how to prepare one of the Backyard Habitat's gardens for planting at Shiawassee NWR on May 17, 2008. - USFWS photo by Becky Goche.

Seventy-two Girl Scouts and their leaders descended upon Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, May 17, 2008.  Their mission - clean up and restore the Backyard Habitat demonstration area adjacent to the refuge headquarters.  This 4-acre site was originally established in 1992 by several partners to show visitors what they can do in their own backyards to attract wildlife.  Three areas - urban, suburban, and rural are shown.  In recent years, it had become very overgrown and not much of a teaching tool anymore.  In four hours, the girls and their leaders removed enough brush to make four large brush piles, weeded and prepared three gardens, washed signs, and cleaned out a decorative pond. Altogether, the Scouts and volunteers donated 144 hours.

This project came into being late last summer when the Girl Scouts of Mitten Bay approached Visitor Services Manager Becky Goche about a potential project that the troops in their 21 county jurisdiction could help with.  They wanted a project that would be educational, provide an opportunity for girls to earn community service hours, and would continue into the future.  The Backyard Habitat was a perfect fit.  The Girl Scouts received a $5,776 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support this project in three phases.  The first phase involved Goche training 17 teenaged Girl Scouts on April 5, 2008, to teach other Girl Scouts about Backyard Habitat at a June event.  The second phase involved actually cleaning up the area in May.  The final phase will conclude on June 14, 2008, when 68 Girl Scouts of all ages are scheduled to come back to the Backyard Habitat area to do activities to earn a "Linking Girls to the Land" patch, including planting various wildlife-friendly plants in the demonstration area gardens.

After many months of preparation and planning, this project is nearing completion.  To keep this project going in the future, Goche has already coordinated with the Girl Scouts to hold at least two "Linking Girls to the Land" events in 2009!