SWAMPSCOTT — Town officials and community members gathered across the street from Swampscott Middle School on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the unveiling of the newly-enhanced Muskrat Pond conservation area — which was transformed from a disregarded parcel into an open space community area — courtesy of local Girl Scout Effie Cobbett along with help from Swampscott Conservancy and the Department of Public Works (DPW).
Once everybody had gathered in the open space — which featured a bench and tree stumps styled as makeshift seats — Cobbett had the honor of commemorating the milestone by leading the ribbon-cutting for the event.
She is also the recipient of the Conservancy’s first $1,000 Environmental Focus Award Scholarship, designed to support young leaders pursuing environmental or related fields. A graduate from the ‘25 class of Swampscott High School, Cobbett took upon the mission to clean up the area to achieve the Gold Award, which is the highest award Girl Scouts can earn.
Cobbett explained how she started the project by scanning for invasive species of weeds and plants throughout the area. Then, she worked to remove old rope equipment that was used for kids to play with, courtesy of help from the DPW.
Once the area was cleared of the old equipment, Cobbett got to work removing Oriental Bittersweet and Japanese Barberry — which are both invasive plant species — took out some burning bush in the area, and cleaned up heaps of trash.
This fall, she will be attending Purdue University as a Biological Engineering Major and studying plant-based applications such as bioplastics and bioenergy.
“It means a lot for me to be here today, because I’ll be going into a field in college where I hope I can change the world, and to be able to make an impact in my community is very exciting,” Cobbett said.
When she was asked what she hoped the community took away from her efforts to clean up Muskrat Pond, Cobbett said it’s about knowing that “the world around us is something to be respected and helped.”
Select Board Chair Katie Phelan thanked the community for coming together to celebrate the hard work done to revitalize the area.
“We’ve had so many wonderful youth coming forward to celebrate Gold Awards, Silver Awards, Eagle Scouts… What a tribute to the families in this town and the kids who put in so much time and energy to this community, it’s really spectacular,” Phelan said. “It’s incredible, and I hope it’s a legacy that keeps thriving in town.”
Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta and Director of the Department of Public Works (DPW) said he thought it was a great idea to transform the area and that he was very happy to support her efforts.
Select Board member MaryEllen Fletcher said that it was a great day seeing Cobbett cut the ribbon for the unveiling.
“Effie (Cobbett’s) achievement of the Girl Scout Gold Award is something that the entire community can be proud of,” Fletcher said.
Swampscott Conservancy President Tonia Bandrowicz said that the conservancy has been working hard to get involved in projects that benefit nature and open space.
“When Effie (Cobbett) came to us with the idea, we were fully behind her… I think it’s great, and it’s opening up something in town that some people probably didn’t even know about,” she said. “We’re very, very proud.”
Swampscott Conservancy member Suzanne Hale, who is also Cobbett’s Girl Scout Gold Award Advisor said Cobbett was a joy to work with.
“She needed very little guidance in any way, shape or form… She knew what she wanted to do, and she went after it,” Hale said. She added that she was really “proud and impressed” at how far Cobbett’s come in her mission.
