After the Los Angeles wildfires in January, various communities have undertaken efforts to support those affected, while also implementing strategies to help prevent fires in the summer.
Girl Scouts Brownie Troop 70572 is among those making a difference: With the help of the city of Santa Clarita, the troop planted over 70 fire-resistant plants on Chuck Pontius Commuter Trail in Canyon Country on Wednesday.
“They decided to do an ‘outdoor journey’ this year — they’re first-year Brownies. Part of the ‘journey’ is they have to do something called a ‘Take Action Plan,’ and that’s where they learned about solving a problem in the community that needs a sustainable solution,” Troop leader Katie Goldman said. “They hadn’t really heard of that word before, so they were throwing out ideas and we were writing them down.”
According to Goldman, the members of the troop, who are 8 years old, initially wanted to put fences around flowers to protect them. However, when the wildfires occurred, Goldman and her co-leader, Nicole Meraz, diverted the project to planting fire-resistant plants.
“I went to City Hall, and now [the city] is helping us. The girls sold cookies to earn the money to pay for the plants,” Goldman said.
“Anytime we sell anything, whether it’s the fall product or cookies, the money that they earn goes to the troop, and then the troop decides what to do. Every year we do something like that. This year, we landed on outdoor stuff and started out with flowers and ended with fire-resistant plants,” Meraz said.
The funds are often split between something fun for the troop and giving back to the community. According to Meraz, $600 was spent on buying computers for students in need last year. This year, roughly $500 was spent on the plants.
“[The girls] wanted to build houses for people, but I’m like, ‘We have to start small,’” Meraz said. “Our girls really love the community. They love the community they live in. They love playing.”
Gustavo Ruiz, groundskeeper for the city of Santa Clarita, assisted the troop members, while teaching them techniques to plant properly.
“I basically maintain the city parks and trails. For me, in particular, I’m on the trails team, and we maintain all the trail systems — we have about 100 miles of trails. I’m in charge of the plants themselves, the irrigation systems, the trail systems, the fencing that we have all around, and the overall safety and aesthetics of our park systems,” Ruiz said.
While this isn’t Ruiz’s first time assisting a volunteer group, this is his first time helping a Girl Scout troop. Ruiz encourages residents to assist in their own ways, as well.
“In our parks or in our trail systems, we host various events where we host volunteer groups, even with kids,” Ruiz said. “With [summer approaching,] residents can maintain their landscape to ensure that any dry brush is away. If they see something, or even brush clearance that they know is city property, they can fill out a request through the Santa Clarita Mobile App, that way city staff can prevent or reduce the risk of a fire hazard.”
The troop members gathered to watch Ruiz remove the plant from the pot in an upside down manner, use a hand rake to spread out the roots, and even press down on the soil once the plant was planted, before doing it themselves.
“I like that I’m helping the community and the animals that live here. [I like science], and I did enter the science fair. My project was a homemade lava lamp,” troop member Diya Arun said. “It’s really fun to plant.”
“I think this is really fun because my grandma’s really into gardening. Every time I go to their house, I get to help her,” troop member Riley Griffith added. “I feel really lucky because I like helping people with things, and I just like gardening a lot.”
