Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois (GSEIWI) recently was named Outstanding Youth Program by the Iowa Urban Tree Council during the 32nd Annual Urban Forestry Awards Ceremony last month at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa, the organization’s leaders announced.
Girl Scouts, in partnership with the Elliott Wildlife Values Project, American Forests and Johnson & Johnson Foundation, are launching a bold tree planting and conservation initiative to plant five million trees in five years while protecting and honoring new and existing trees, according to a GSEIWI news release.
“Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois and the Girl Scout Tree Promise is an outstanding example of Iowa’s urban forestry youth programs,” Emma Hanigan, Urban Forestry coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said in the release. “The work of this program benefits our future leaders.”
Girl Scouts, families, staff and campers are participating in the national Tree Promise initiative, which teaches Girl Scouts to identify tree species and native trees before providing them with the opportunity to plant trees at Camp Liberty near New Liberty, Iowa, the release states.
Local Girl Scouts planted and recorded 893 trees in 2021, and 932 trees in 2022, GSEIWI said.
