NAHANT — Five cadettes of Girl Scout Troop 62860 were joined by town leaders to cut the ribbon on their four cleanup stations throughout Short and Tudor beaches on Tuesday afternoon at Short Beach.
The stations, located near trash receptacles, provide baskets and other supplies for beachgoers to collect debris and dispose of it properly. Baskets can be retrieved at one station and returned to another.
The completion of the project earned the five scouts their Silver Award, the highest achievement the Girl Scouts of the USA has to offer.
“We love helping people,” Ione Byam Miller said when describing what motivated her and her fellow cadettes to join the Girl Scouts. “Being a Girl Scout is all about helping others and putting the community before yourself.”
The five cadettes who were responsible for the installation of the stations are Eliana Uzcategui, Violet Powell, Julianne Sheehan, Maeve Nugent, and Byam Miller.
The $2,200 project was fully funded by Nahant Safe Waters in Massachusetts. President Vi Patek said that she and her organization’s directors were happy to support the girls’ efforts.
“It was a unanimous vote,” Patek said. “It’s the most ideal way to support this program.”
Selectmen Rob Tibbo, Gene Canty, and Town Administrator Tony Barletta all lent their congratulations to the group. Tibbo was pleased to learn that the Girl Scouts are “alive and well” in Nahant.
“We hope this project encourages beachgoers to be mindful of beach litter and want to help our community keep our town beaches clean,” Nugent said.
Each basket has a unique hashtag that the scouts encouraged collectors to use on social media, which can help track the amount and types of trash that are being collected.
