Girl Scouts hit benchmark for community success

Proudly showing off their colorful bench are (left to right) Girl Scouts Lucy Dwyer, Courtney Mitchell, Marielle Soluri, and Rebecca Lupkas.

Lincoln Girl Scout Troop 82742 has installed a pair of six-foot-long benches at the Lincoln Mall shopping area after building them as part of a Silver Award project. 

To earn the award, seventh-grade Girl Scouts Lucy Dwyer, Rebecca Lupkas, Courtney Mitchell, and Marielle Soluri adhered to a specific problem-solving regimen that includes identifying issues they care about, exploring the community to identify needs, finding areas where needs and cares overlap, and engaging stakeholders while developing a long term solution that is also sustainable. 

The benches, made of materials generously donated by Concord Lumber, meet a community need that gives students a place to eat without interfering with other shoppers. Over the course of nine months, the Girl Scouts interviewed students, shopkeepers, landlords, and town officials about problems, researched various solutions, reviewed alternatives with these audiences and responded to feedback

Lucy Dwyer and Courtney Mitchell work on building their Scout troop’s bench.

During the construction process, they learned how to choose materials and waterproofing treatment, transfer design specifications to materials, use a radial arm saw and drills, fasten materials, and apply finishes. The award requires the project to consume more than 50 hours of effort each, which was easily surpassed.

The troop installed the benches at Lincoln Station and are continuing to work with the Rural Land Foundation to add additional bins for trash, recycling, and possibly compost as well as signage for the bins, which was also an identified need.

— Submitted by Carolyn Dwyer and Tara Mitchell, leaders of Troop 82742