CONWAY — Ahead of Conway’s June celebration of 250 years, local Girl Scouts spent Sunday installing planters near the center of town.
The planters are in the shape of letters and numbers, spelling out the word “Conway” and “250” Where the “250” is vertical and the “O” in Conway acting as the zero in 250, like a crossword puzzle.
“We’re trying to beautify it for the 250th anniversary,” said Patrice Moriarity, one of the twelve Girl Scouts working on the project.
The girls are from two different Girl Scout troops in Conway and are all fourth, fifth and sixth graders at the Conway Grammar School. Through this project, they are earning their Bronze award, the first of three community service-oriented awards Girl Scouts can receive.
Parents and families were on hand Sunday, helping the girls unload soil donated from Bear Path Farm in Whately. They had already built the planters during a previous weekend.
Christina Richards, one of the moms in attendance on Sunday, said the group of girls is a special bunch and that a lot of the families have known each other for a long time.
“This is their first, the Bronze award,” Richards said. “So I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.”
The project started about a year ago for the girls, when they began to brainstorm what project they wanted to do for the award.
The girls walked around town with their troop leaders and tried to think of what they could do to improve the public spaces. They settled on the flower beds because they felt the town needed more color. Heidi Flanders, one of the troop leaders, is also organizing the 250 anniversary celebration, so the two projects fit nicely together.
“The point of the Bronze award is to do something that betters your community,” Flanders said.
The girls were eager to get their hands dirty and spend about an hour and a half on Sunday putting the flower beds in position. They are continuing to collect donations for flowers, which they plan to plant on May 21.
Reach Miranda Davis
at mdavis@recorder.com.