---

In the era of Covid-19 when even the Minnesota state fair waved the white flag, two Girl Scouts found a way to forge ahead on their summer battle plan for earning a Silver Award.

Not wanting to miss out on the chance to earn the Girl Scout Gold; Aisha Roche, 13 and Kaitlin Carlson, 12, with help from their Troop 56332 met the pandemic head-on.  

After a few minutes’ conversation you can easily envision these two bounce-passing ideas between each other, preparing their approach to the second highest of Girl Scout achievements, the Silver Award.   They finish each others’ sentences and insider jokes pass silently between them as they describe their virus-adjusted plan to meet the multiple Silver Award requirements.

They came up with an educational component, and a nod to the arts, while supporting the goal of sustainable environmental activism.

And, in this time when most people are hesitant to gather or even go out in public;  they puzzled for a while on

addressing how the community could be part of what the Girl Scouts organization wants in a Silver Award project.

With hard work and creativity these Girl Scouts seem to have checked all the project boxes.

Aisha explained the awards go in order from  (Bronze) to most complicated (Gold) and that the Silver requires 50 hours’ effort.  They laughed, saying they are pretty sure that condition has been met and then some.  

The Gold Award up next, is intense, “It’s like the Eagle for Boy Scouts,” they continued.

At Moberg Park during Chisago City’s Ki-Chi-Saga Days later this summer,  look for the evidence of their toil.  

The birdhouse materials  that were picked up at the library last week will be  returned as a painted, completed object by Aug.12 to Aisha and Kaitlin, who will be at the city celebration Parks Dept. booth.

There they plan to educate about birds and explain goals behind the houses.  They will then locate good spots to hang them in Chisago parks, and will monitor these little habitat enhancers, clean them out at season’s end and give participating families updates and a map of house locations.

The Girl Scout Silver Award  required the two to work with Chisago City Parks Board, coordinate with the Library, and also involve a local company Gregory Contracting (birdhouse materials), not to mention connect with the 28 families.  

The advisor on this was Dan Lydon, Chisago City parks committee liaison.  He stopped by the Chisago Lakes Library the day the kits were being picked up to see how things were going. Lydon, whose wife Carla as the Director of the East Central Regional Library system, was really happy to have had the chance to meet Aisha and Kaitlin and get the library involved.   The benefits from the connections the girls cultivated have great promise.

---