Members of Fire Station 69 celebrate with Girl Scout Troop 1811 over the new landscaping.
This story started in March. One of the parents of a Troop 1811 Girl Scout brought cookies, Girl Scout, of course, to Fire Station 69 on Carey Street in Pacific Palisades. The parent told Captain Jeff Brown, “the girls would really like to do something for the station and firefighters.”
As the parent looked around, she saw burned and dead landscaping, the turf out in front of the station had melted. An idea was born to have the girls help redoing the exterior landscaping.
Izzy said the girls, who are now sixth graders at Carlthorp an elementary school in Santa Monica have been together since second grade. With energy and enthusiasm they started fundraising, and October 6, they met at the fire station at Carey and Sunset to celebrate the results of their work with firefighters.
They had raised nearly $10,000 and as one Scout told CTN “We had lots of fundraisers.”
One of the major events was held at The Cooks Garden, 1033 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. click here. Other children were invited and paid $25 for entry, pizza and the chance to paint a rock.
The 10 girls in the Troop then partnered with Teryl Ciarlo of Teryl Designs Landscaping in Pacific Palisades, click here.. Ciarlo, a landscaper, donated not only her time, but that of her crew.
At the station on Monday, Troop 1811 members chimed in about the project. Kate said, “The most fun on this project was creating all the art.” Rocks were painted by the Girl Scouts and friends and are placed around the yard, near trees and between the plants, which include salvia, star jasmine and ceanothus. They also painted a mural for the Fire Station, which was presented.
Brady said the hardest part of the project “was raising the money. We talked to the principal about putting up posters.”
Sofia explained that the artificial turf in front of the station had burned and to replace it was going to be a “little more expensive,” which she said meant they had to raise more money.
Ciarlo said that the turf used, Cocoturf, was made with cork, sand and coconut husk and is PFAS and PFOAS free and designed with fire retardants.
Brynn said the Troop helped select plants with Ciarlo’s help and that they “could stand a high degree of heat.” In the back of the station an herb garden was planted and includes thyme, basil, sage, parsley oregano and cherry tomatoes.
Because each firefighter is tasked with cooking a meal, one of the firefighters said they cook with the herbs and “the cherry tomatoes are getting a lot of use.” He also pointed out a humming-bird feeder in the middle of the herb garden. The girls had hand painted large clay pots that held the herbs.
Captain Jeff Brown said, “The girls did an amazing job.” And he presented them with a special rock that was engraved “Girl Scout Troop 1811, Thank you for supporting Fire Station 69.” The rock was placed in the landscaping as a reminder of all they had done.
After distributing rocks and final look at what they had accomplished, the girls went to the kitchen and were treated to popcorn, fruit and peanut butter bars.
