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Miami Palmetto High School senior Ashley Baxter completed her Girl Scout Gold Award this fall. She developed the Pinecrest Gardens Composting Curriculum, and worked with the Little Lizards program, teaching the September classes, which was Soil Science Month.
“I made a specific curriculum combined with activities,” she says.
Each week she taught 10-12 students about food waste and composting.
“Any groceries or food products that go into garbage gets thrown out,” she says. “That contributes to climate crisis. It could be composted for beneficial effects.”
Baxter says composting turns left over food waste and organic products into food rich nutrients and minerals for the soil. Some people worry composting will be stinky and attract pests. But Baxter says that’s not the case.
“If composting is done correctly, the only pests you attract are good ones like earth worms,” she says. “Composting is usually done in a sealed boxed so it’s hard for rodents or icky bugs to get into it.”
In fact, the only time there might be a hint of odor is when you open the compost container when you add to or remove the compost materials such as food wastes or recyclable materials such as newspapers, coffee grounds, banana peels or orange peels.
Baxter learned about composting while at Palmetto Elementary School.
“While I was there, they initiated a garden program with a compost bin,” she says.
When she was in ninth grade, her Girl Scout troop contributed and helped out with the gardens at Palmetto Elementary as a special project. She and her fellow scouts looked at what was being grown in the gardens and tried to formulate simple recipes that the kids could use.
For their Silver Award, which is done as a troop, the girls created a mobile butterfly garden for the East Ridge Retirement Community.
The Gold Award is an individual project.
At Palmetto, Baxter is in drama. She’s in the seventh period comprehensive theater class and is a member of Thespians and the Improv Club.
This year is vastly different than last year for theater students, with in-person classes and a new Black Box theater to work in. There had been hopes the auditorium would be ready but it’s still under construction. Nevertheless, the theater program continues to shine.
At the district Thespian competition before the holidays, Baxter participated in two events, including the large group competition. That piece not only won a superior rating but also won a perfect score, or Top Honor.
The students are now working on a production of Sponge Bob, which will run at the end of February. Baxter is part of the ensemble in that production.
Baxter is contributing to the Miami Dialogue, a new student led publication.
“It has short articles, history, mythology, a whole plethora of student conversations on a whole range of topics,” she says. “It’s a ‘for students, by students publication’. I’m currently a contributor to world religion series. Me and my collaborator will have short 10–15-minute discussions about religions of the world.”
She says she chose religion because she’s always been fond of history in general.
“It gave me the opportunity to explore cultures around the world and learn about religions that I typically wouldn’t know about or study,” she says.
Baxter has been accepted to the University of South Florida but is still waiting for several more acceptances before she makes a decision as to where she will attend. She’s considering a pre-law track with a major in psychology. She’s also interested in international law, international relations and foreign affairs.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
