Girl scouts start garden

As some families find it increasingly difficult to provide healthy food options for their loved ones, members of Girl Scout Troop 72049 of Fredericktown jumped in to help.

Tucked away, near the center of Fredericktown is a quiet little place that not many people realize is there. Located just off of North Mine LaMotte behind NAPA, The Garden is open to everyone.

Members of the troop have made it their mission to make “The Garden” a place the entire community can be proud of by volunteering their time and hard work.

“Our idea is to make The Garden a place for people who can’t afford to buy vegetables so they can come get what they need,” Troop Leader Samantha Musket said. “Then we will donate the rest to the local food pantry.”

Musket said every year the Girl Scouts are asked to complete a community project. She said the girls took a vote and decided this was what they were going to do this year.

Girl Scout Autumn Musket said she likes being a part of The Garden because she loves getting to be a part of a team project which is also helping the community members who for whatever reason are not able to afford vegetables.

“The girls are responsible for cleaning up, weeding and maintaining The Garden,” Musket said. “They also planted the seeds and transplanted some of the plants, and when it comes time to harvest, they will take the lead. The will do the harvesting and start spreading the word to the community on what vegetables are available.”

The Garden currently has corn, green beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, squash and beets planted.

“Our goal and hope is for our Girl Scouts to learn some life lessons,” Musket said. “One, it takes teamwork to accomplish a big project. Two, the food we eat is not always at our fingertips, that someone has to take the time to grow it. Three, one little project can make a big difference in a community.”

Musket said it took the girls a long work day starting from 9:30 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m. to get all the weeds pulled, trim bushes, transplant flowers, fill the beds with fresh soil and plant the seeds.

“The girls are so excited, especially the younger ones,” Musket said. “They love the fact they get to play in the dirt.”

Musket said the older girls have a better understanding when it comes to the purpose of helping the community and what free vegetables can mean to a family in need. 

Girl Scout Jaice Reichard said she thinks The Garden is awesome.

“The Garden will help our town and make people not starve,” Reichard said. 

For more information about The Garden, contact Juli Kline at 573-561-3715 or at juli.kline@gmail.com 

Girl Scouts and their families pose for a group photo after all their hard work at The Garden.

Jaice Reichard, Henry Musket, Julie Baker and Erika Jordan get their hands dirty planting vegetables for the community.

Holly and Adrian Huckaba enjoy the day together helping the community. 

Victoria Kemper is a reporter for the Democrat News. She can be reached at 573-783-3366 or at vkemper@democratnewsonline.com