LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - Ten-year-old Evelyn “Evie” Bowden from Live Oak has received one of the highest honors a Girl Scout Junior can achieve – a Bronze Award. The scout won the award for her hard work in a project that created a wildlife garden for animals being displaced by the Live Oak Hwy 99 widening project.

Bronze Award Projects seek to fill needs within communities by which scouts can help leave a lasting positive impact. Evie hoped that her garden would not just become a wildlife haven but invite the public to enjoy a little one-on-one time with nature. She says, “With increased construction, we want to be sure our wildlife friends have places to rest and find haven,” so she designed her garden around bird, butterfly and bee attracting plants.  Evie also took into account sustainability, choosing plants that were drought tolerant and perennial.

She was granted a home for her garden at Live Oak Middle School’s campus. After knocking on many doors seeking sponsorship, she found a willing partner in Lowes of Yuba City. She drafted a proposal for her plan, outlining her needs to Lowes, which they approved and awarded her with generous donations of plants and materials.

The project itself took over a year from conception to completion and over 20 hours of labor and detailed planning. Evie shares that there were many “bumps” along the way to creating her community wildlife garden, including a lot of “no’s” when searching for sponsorship and support. She shares that she refused to allow herself to get discouraged by that or any of the other hurdles she encountered - including plants arriving too early, delays due to the sprinkler system breaking and more.

She says, “I learned some valuable lessons… It’s okay when people tell you NO. You shouldn’t let it discourage you because someone else is excited about your project and can’t wait to tell you YES!” and “It’s okay to ask for help, especially with big projects like this where I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about where to get started or how long it would take.”

Typically, Evie would be honored at a special ceremony where she would receive a certificate, badge and pin for winning the Bronze Award and her huge accomplishment. Due to COVID-19, that will not happen as award ceremonies are cancelled. We wanted to make sure this amazing young woman is recognized for her hard work. Congratulations on your award Evie!