Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois recently congratulated Ava Scherle of Waterloo for becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout, a designation she earned by leading a community recycling project while also enhancing the GaGa pit she installed to earn her Silver Award. 

In 2021, Scherle worked with her church, St. Paul United Church of Christ, to install a GaGa pit. Local youth have been enjoying the new game, but she realized it needed a few upgrades. 

She decided she could teach her community the importance of recycling by leading a campaign to create benches for the GaGa pit from recycled bottle caps. She thought if she could show a real-life example of how they could make a difference, community members would be inspired to recycle more. 

Scherle set up a collection drive for the bottle caps at St. Paul UCC and other locations in town. She cleaned and prepared the lids, then had them made into benches. In addition, she attended a class to learn how recycled plastic can become new benches. 

When the benches were complete, she had them installed at the GaGa pit. 

Throughout this project, Scherle also educated local youth groups and community organizations about recycling. 

The Gold Award is earned by girls in grades 9–12 who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in developing sustainable solutions to local, national and global challenges. 

Since the highest award was established in 1916, Girl Scouts have answered the call to drive lasting, impactful change. The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkable.

“I learned that I am able to ask for help from my community when needed,” she said. “I also learned that public speaking is possible with preparation.”  

Ava is the daughter of Alaina and Joshua Scherle. She is a senior at Waterloo High School and plans to attend college at Oklahoma State University next year to pursue agricultural related studies. Ava is a Trifecta Girl Scout who has earned the Girl Scout Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards.