Jane Powell
October 18, 2025
For many of us, when we think of Girl Scouts, we think of cookie sales, campfires, and a sash filled with sewn-on badges. There is so much more — think community service and pollinator gardens. That’s right, Girl Scouts garden.
On the westside of Charleston, nestled into the private entryway of the Black Diamond Girl Scout building, is a new pollinator garden. It’s quite lovely and has a fun story of how it came to be.
What was once home to a lone rose bush is now a “buzzing” garden of pollinator favorites. This project began nearly three years ago when Charlotte and a friend, members of Troop 1839, began their Sustainable Community Project.
A blank plot of land can be intimidating, but not these Girl Scouts. When I asked Charlotte about the thoughts behind starting the garden, she said, “I chose the pollinator garden for my project because I noticed that our pollinators were struggling because of climate change, and I wanted to do what I could to help them. I also wanted to help preserve the beauty of our state insect.”
Thanks to their research, the young gardeners understood which plants would thrive in the sunny space and which would attract insects, bees, and caterpillars to the garden. In 2022, they started with a small corner of the garden planting asters, anise, lavender, chives, sage, and tickseed.
With care and attention, these plants grew and became the anchor of the garden. This meant watering and weeding after school to keep the young plants healthy. Charlotte stuck with it and, encouraged by the growing garden, made plans to expand the plantings.
After a large, overgrown rose bush was removed, Charlotte was offered the larger space in the fall of 2024. This was a dream come true for the young gardener. She added butterfly bushes, milkweed, coneflower, catmint, boxwoods, and black-eyed Susans. Each year, a front border of marigolds has been planted to give the garden a burst of color from the colorful annuals.
Along the way, sponsors stepped up with financial support, product and material donations, and in-kind labor and advice.
The girls extend their special thanks to Home Depot, Charleston (Store #4802), Psychological Consultation & Assessment (Cross Lanes), Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council, and Kenny Williams.
They also received guidance and support from Caitlin Persinger of Gritt’s Farm, Allison Verey, Sara Hoblitzell, and Natalie Shelton.
The afternoon I was invited to tour the garden, Charlotte was excited to show off the caterpillars munching away on the fennel plants and butterflies landing on garden blooms.
She has documented the progress and the approximately 50 hours dedicated to this community project over the last three years. The gleam in her eyes tells me that the hard work and time committed have been worth it to see the garden flourish.
“Charlotte’s Girl Scout Silver Award is making a lasting difference here in Charleston. By identifying a need in her community and taking action to protect pollinators, her project not only supports vital ecosystems—it also reflects the Girl Scout commitment to the outdoors, where challenge-seeking, leadership, and environmental stewardship come to life,” said Beth Casey, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council. Through this work, she’s helping both pollinators and people thrive.”
The rhyme for perennials comes to mind, that over the first three years, “they sleep, they creep, they leap”. I know this garden will continue to flourish and greet guests who visit this lovely courtyard. I have a feeling the same rhyme applies to these scouts as they begin to travel through their life of community service.