Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Tech student cultivates Gold Award

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

An urban wasteland became a cultivated garden for the elderly thanks to the legwork and paperwork of a New Mexico Tech student this summer.

Freshman Ashley Geerts, of Albuquerque, earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by restoring the garden of the Roma House, a soon-to-open assisted living center in Albuquerque. The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest achievement in the program, similar to the Boy Scout Eagle Scout Award. She also became the first person in the state to present her Gold Award project via distance education technology on Sept. 24.

Tech Professor of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Deidre Hirschfeld, a member of the Gold Award committee, said 2 percent to 3 percent of Girl Scouts earn the awards.

"For the girls to get them, it takes quite a bit of work," she said. "It's not just everyone who does it."

The finished garden pleased Geerts.

"I'm sure that the patients will love it, and I'm pretty positive they're going to use it quite a bit," she said.

Geerts was nervous about being the first person to present a Gold Award project with distance education equipment, provided by Tech, but she said it was "cool" technology to use.

"It made it a lot easier than traveling up to Albuquerque on a Wednesday night," she said.

With the exception of Hirschfeld, the members of the Gold Award committee met in Albuquerque.

"It was really weird because there's about a 10-second delay between everything I'm saying and everything they're seeing and hearing," Geerts said.

The timing for her slides and statements didn't match. The sound also cut out when the committee members were giving comments.

On a good note, Geerts' father and grandparents were able to watch over the Internet.

To earn a Gold Award, Girls Scouts must spend a certain number of hours on various activities, including 30 hours earning a Leadership In Training badge and 40 hours of career investigation. The crowning piece is the community service project, which must take at least 60 hours. Geerts' venture took 100.5 hours.

"It has to be a really big project that has a lasting effect on the community," Geerts said.

Geerts and several other members of her troop decided to focus their projects on the elderly.

Geerts' aunt works for the owners of the Roma House, which had historically been used for medical purposes but had been left in disrepair. The new owners restored the house, but weeds, bare ground and a large ant colony filled the backyard.

After Geerts' aunt introduced her to the Roma House owners, Geerts received approval to restore the back garden from the Gold Award committee at the end of June. She aimed to create a safe outdoor space where assisted living residents could enjoy nature, meet family and have time to themselves.

Working with members of her troop, family and friends, Geerts removed weeds, garbage and old clothesline poles that had been set in concrete.

"And we had to try and get rid of all the ants," she said.

Albuquerque businesses donated blue paint for a wall, plants, rock, bricks and garden furniture. Other funds came from Geerts' personal Girl Scout account and her parents.

The team created a flower garden around a small pear tree, and scattered other potted plants around the area.

"I wanted to put in a pond initially, but I couldn't get a pond donated," Geerts said.

Instead, she installed a small fountain.

The group installed brick for a patio area and around plants and the fountain, and covered the rest of the space in gravel. Geerts designed separate seating areas so more people could sit and chat without being in the way of anyone else.

Upon Geerts' request, KOAT-TV Channel 7 filmed her and others in her troop working on their Gold Award. She wanted to educate people about Girls Scouts, their community service and the Gold Award.

After Geerts thought she was finished and was preparing to move to Socorro, she received a call from a business wanting to donate rock. Since she already had rock, the business donated decorative boulders and a flagstone bench.

The assisted living residents and the surrounding community gained from the beautified area, Geerts believes.

"But also through this project, I learned a lot about myself," she said.

During the project, Geerts said, she learned about how much people do not know about Girl Scouts.

"But more importantly, I learned that if I'm doing something for the community, I know I'm doing it, so I don't need the recognition of others," she said.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version