San Diego Girl Scouts' Environmental Sustainability Program
On Thursday, on November 5, 2009, I attended a tour for the Girl Scout Environmental Sustainability program to see what kinds of projects the Girl Scouts have been working on in the San Diego area.
The San Diego Girl Scout headquarters is located on 11 acres of long-term leasehold property on Balboa Park grounds. With 30,000 Girl Scouts and 12,800 volunteers in the San Diego region, many environmental projects are currently in action on the park property.
When I first arrived, Girl Scout CEO Jo Dee Jacob gave us a brief introduction discussing many of the current projects the Girl Scouts have been working on to achieve environmental sustainability. These projects include: the installation of California drought sensitive landscape beds, developing systems for reclaiming condensate water from air conditioning units, and establishing a composting system using eucalyptus debris and other waste materials. “We’re much more than just cookies, crafts, and camping!” Jacob jokes.
After our introduction, we were introduced to Landscape Technician Alan Mathews, who started the tour of the Girl Scout grounds by showing us the reinvented planting beds just outside the main Girl Scout lobby. The drought sensitive landscape beds featured California native plant species that promote water conservation, as they require lesser amounts of water to maintain. According to Mathews, the transformation of the plant beds was made possible by a $5,000 donation from Qualcomm to cover the cost of plants and supplies, along with the help of many volunteer workers.
From there we made our way to the compost bins located just a short walk around the building, under a grove of eucalyptus trees. The great and interesting thing about these bins is that they can be created with zero cost. The bins are constructed from recycled wooden pallets and lined with cardboard boxes to help contain the compost and mulch. There were about eight different bins that contained various waste products including layer upon layer of recycled paper, eucalyptus debris, horse manure, and pine needles, among others.
Next, we visited two large greenhouse tents that contained
plants for various zoo projects. Here,
Mathews informed us that the plant projects use a mixture of soil and compost,
which comes straight from their on-site compost bins. The plant projects include eucalyptus plants
being raised for the San Diego Zoo pandas and giraffes, and corn, squash and
other vegetables to produce food for the San Diego Zoo elephants.
We continued to walk around the Girl Scout grounds, visiting their activities buildings, playing fields, campgrounds, and climbing walls before heading back to the main lobby.
After returning to the lobby, Mathews pointed out their drainage system that serves to collect rain and condensate water from their air conditioning units, to be recycled as free water to be used anywhere on the property. A built-in drainage pipe is located on the corner of the building that feeds into an underground container. The water is then pumped underground to three different barrels located above ground about 100 yards away. The system is most beneficial on hot days when the air conditioning unit is constantly running or on rainy days. On average, the systems produces about 50+ gallons daily.
At the close of the tour, I was able to speak with Mathews one-on-one to ask questions regarding the Girl Scout sustainability projects. Here’s what I learned:
KC: What is the cost of creating the composting bins?
AM: $0. Other than the volunteer labor, all of the materials we use to construct the bins are recycled from other things. The pallets and boxes are often recycled from Girl Scout cookie shipments.
KC: What do you do with the compost?
AM: We use the soil for quality things, like the vegetable bins, our first priority. But eventually we will use it for the lawns as well.
KC: What are the advantages of using compost?
AM: Unlike chemical fertilizers, minerals, and pellets, compost is richer in nutrients and contains microorganisms and bacteria—living processes—that are more beneficial for plants.
KC:What are the biggest obstacles to get people to separate compost, or use the reclaimed water?
AM: Habit. The American people have an irrational fear of different ways; it’s against our culture to change our habits and routine. It’s also hard to get people to compost because it stinks.
The Girl Scout tour was a great educational experience as it featured many simple and practical ideas that you could put into action to achieve environmental sustainability on your own!