LYNNFIELD – The Conservation Commission discussed the Gold Star Project, including an expansion to include Re-Create Studio’s “Village Parklet Project” at its meeting on Nov. 18.
The original part of the project is to add a picnic area to the Beaver Dam Brook Trail Head area. This facet has been spearheaded by Girl Scout Lorelei Eckhardt for her Gold Award. There will be picnic tables, a trash/recycling receptacle, and signage. She also plans to organize bird walks from that trailhead in the spring.
Eckhardt has set a timeline to finish her portion of the project by the overall Gold Award deadline in March. Between now and then, she plans to fundraise over the winter and complete the actual labor in late February and early March.
Heidi Reynolds, co-president of the Lynnfield Art Guild and owner of Re-Create Studios, has been looking for permanent homes for a series of art installations named the “Village Parklet Project.” She has grant funding from the Essex County Community Foundation and the Lynnfield Cultural Council, but until now she had not determined a permanent location for the installation.
The Village Parklets would include a miniature art gallery, a miniature history museum, and a free little library where people can take or leave books. It will also include seating, solar lighting, and a pollinator garden, which is where it ties in with Eckhardt’s Gold Award project adding seating and signage to the trail head.
Reynolds said she aims to address “the lack of community and gathering spaces” that she sometimes hears about in Lynnfield. According to her presentation, the project aims to make art more accessible and to “bridge multiple generations and demographics through shared experiences, history, and collaborative projects.”
The projected timeline shows that this parklet will be installed after Eckhardt’s portion, but Reynolds stated that she is flexible and can “move things up a bit” if Eckhardt needs. According to Eckhardt’s Girl Scout Troop’s Service Coordinator Diane Courtney, “if (Eckhardt) can meet her goals by March, then she can just continue working with you” without changing the Parklet’s timeline.
The Girl Scouts website notes that the Gold Award is the “most prestigious award in Girl Scouting.” According to the Gold Award Guide, awardees are eligible for scholarships and a higher starting pay if they decide to enlist in the military, and the process of getting it helps scouts to build their professional network and learn important professional skills.
