After the Fourth of July weekend, girls from across America came to the Smokies to learn and work and improve what they found.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently benefited from the hard work of eight Girl Scouts who completed 80 hours of service in the park to rehabilitate trails, clean campgrounds, remove invasive plant species and provide educational programs to visitors.
The high school girls came from across the country to participate in a “unique service opportunity” offered through the Student Conservation Association and the Girl Scouts of America, the park said in a news release Thursday.
“This collaboration between the Student Conservation Association, the Girl Scouts of America and the National Park Service has given these young women the opportunity to live and work in an incredible park like the Smokies while exploring career opportunities in conservation and park management,” Sarah Long, crew leader from the Seattle area, said in the GSMNP statement.
The crew performed critical cleanup work at one of the busiest campgrounds in the park following the July 4 weekend. They also rehabbed the trail surface and cut back brush along Trillium Gap and Kanati Fork trails to improve conditions for hikers.
“This trip has made me realize that all the park workers and volunteers work so hard to keep the Smokies fabulous,” said Pennsylvania Girl Scout Lizzy Fischer.