Stillwater Girl Scout Receives Gold Award For Anti-Pesticide Project
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A local Girl Scout is on a mission to help some small, but beautiful insects that are quickly disappearing -- monarch butterflies.
Andrea Rustad convinced the Stillwater City Council to put more pollinator-friendly plants in area parks. On Saturday, she used part of a $5,000 grant to do just that.
The plants she put in the ground will help butterflies and other pollinators survive.
"It's actually very important, because they help with so much of our food production and growth," Rustad said. "Honestly, it would be really bad if we lost them, and since they are a threatened species, it's very important to help them by creating habitat and promoting education about them to make sure people don't use pesticides and cut down milkweed, things like that."
Through her work, Andrea earned the Girl Scout's Gold Award -- the highest achieving award in the organization.
Rustad plans to attend Boston University next year to study chemistry and French.