The four high school freshmen admit it wasn’t their idea. They had brainstormed and were still looking for a project for Girl Scouts when an outsider offered a suggestion.
It happened last December while the girls were decorating the Christmas tree at the hospital in Cornwall. Wondering what they should do for their Silver Award, they got some unexpected help from Kate Dabroski, the hospital’s director of Marketing and Public Relations.
“Why don’t you work on Hollie’s Garden!” she suggested. The teens were surprised. They hadn’t heard of the garden and didn’t know where to find it.
It’s not hard to understand. You can’t see the garden from the street or the parking lot — or from the porch in front of the building. Named for the late Hollie Atzrott, the garden is nestled in front of the Littman Cancer Center. It’s a place where patients or their family members can escape for a few moments and relax in a tranquil setting. They can listen to the waterfall in the center of the garden, and admire the bright sculptured sunflowers that greet visitors at the entrance.
Once the Scouts saw the garden (it’s not hard to find when you know where it is), they were anxious to work on it. They raised money, planted flowers, and returned often to water them and remove the surrounding weeds.
On Sept. 16, the four girls (Jackie Boyer, Christina Coppola, Sophia Harding and Emma Mozgiel) returned to the garden to describe their work and discuss their ideas for the future.
Although the four were due to become Senior Girl Scouts on Sept. 30, they wanted to continue the work they started. They talked about a bird house, underground sprinklers and getting permission to start a publicity campaign — perhaps creating posters to let people know where the garden can be found.
