Creating a Healing Space
This summer, Mollie Parker and Karenna Senske, alumni of the Child Educational Center’s Infant-Toddler, Preschool, and School-Age Programs, got to go back to preschool. Along with friends Riley Lowes and Jacqueline Yipp, they completed their Girl Scout Silver Award project by planting and landscaping a “healing garden” in the CEC’s Oak Grove preschool yard.
“We had so many great memories here, and we wanted to give back,” said Mollie Parker about her inspiration in working with the CEC to complete her Silver Award Project.
Making use of an overgrown plot next to the vegetable garden beds, the Girl Scouts set out to transform the unused area into a calming space the preschool children could explore and enjoy while engaging with the many interesting scents and textures of healing herbs and plants.
The Healing Garden now in full bloom!
After creating a landscape plan and collecting donations from local garden and hardware stores, the girls defined the area, planting a variety of herbs known for their healing properties, including: lavender, sweet marjoram, and lemon thyme. Also featured in their design are symbols of the four major elements: a wind-chime to represent air, a bird bath to represent water, bright yellow-orange marigolds to represent fire, and the soil itself representing earth.
The girls hope the garden will provide symptom relief, relaxation, stress reduction, learning and exploration opportunities, and most importantly, fun! The garden has already attracted a host of butterflies, bees, and other visiting pollinators that have been exciting for the preschool children to observe.
“It warms our hearts to see CEC Alumni stepping up as young leaders and giving back to their communities,” stated Elyssa Nelson, the CEC’s Executive Director.
Please join us in congratulating these accomplished young women in their commitment to service in completing their Girl Scout Silver Award!
Do you know of other young CEC alumni making an impact in their community or school? We’d love to hear about it! Contact us at Alumni@ceconline.org to tell us what you’ve been up to or to learn more about how you can give back to the CEC.
Left to right: Mollie Parker, Riley Lowes, Karena Senske, and Jaqueline Yipp