Local Brownie Girl Scout Troop Leads by Example 

Sunday, October 22nd, was a beautiful bluebird autumn day in Front Royal. For Brownie Girl Scout Troop 14126, that meant the perfect opportunity to tackle a big community service project. With support from our local Front Royal/Warren County Anti-Litter Council (ALC), the troop set out to clean up litter across all of Front Royal’s Fantasyland Park, including the section of Happy Creek that flows alongside. 

Troop leaders Samantha Love (back left) and Sabrina Hoover (back right) pose with members of Brownie Girl Scout Troop 14126: (L to R) Kinsley Shattuc, Sonya Love, Adelyn Hoover, and her brother Nikolai Hoover.

Troop leaders Samantha Love and Sabrina Hoover were there to oversee the clean-up: “Our Troop 14126 is small but mighty. Entering the current Girl Scout year, the Brownies voted on which badges to earn. One of their selections, the Eco Friend Badge, teaches the girls how they can help our local ecosystems. The girls are learning that picking up trash in their parks and streams helps to prevent contamination within our watershed, which ultimately reaches the Chesapeake Bay and the open ocean. They have explored recycling concepts and are now focused on treating outdoor spaces with kindness while helping to make public spaces and surrounding areas litter-free for everyone to enjoy, wildlife included. The girls have big hearts and enjoy helping the community.”

The ALC’s President, Justin Proctor, usually anticipates youth volunteer litter clean-ups to last an hour or so before fatigue sets in. Not this time. “These Brownies were still going strong after 2 full hours of rigorous trash collecting,” said Proctor. “They would return to the picnic table for a quick snack and some water, and then they’d run right back out there to find more litter!” 

The Brownies ended the day with 8 full bags of garbage, estimated at nearly 125 pounds of litter removed from the landscape. Needless to say, these girls were true to their motto: A Girl Scout always leaves an area better than she found it. 

Sonya Love put in some extra effort pulling an old piece of cardboard out of the muddy bank of Happy Creek.

Adelyn Hoover demonstrates how to safely pick up an old bottle off the forest floor by using her trusty litter picker-upper!

Troop leader Samantha Love didn’t let a little vegetation stop her from collecting some wind-blown litter that had entered the surrounding forest.

If you, your family, your business, or a group you are involved with are interested in organizing a litter clean-up, don’t hesitate to contact Justin Proctor (c.justin.proctor@gmail.com) to make arrangements. The ALC can provide all of the gear and snacks to make your clean-up a success! If you are interested in routinely cleaning a street within the town, please contact Karen Williams (kwilliams@frontroyalva.com) to enroll in Front Royal’s Adopt-a-Street program.