Renee Lumia has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award. The Gold Award is the Girl Scout equivalent of the Boy Scout Eagle Award.

Globally, less than 6 percent of Girl Scouts earn this award annually. Renee’s Gold Award project accomplished three main components: removing trail overgrowth and eradicating noxious weeds from an existing trail at Glacier Park Elementary School, identifing and installing native plant identification markers, and developing trail and plant identification guide curriculum booklets for the Tahoma School District.

For Lumia’s Gold Award, she chose to create a program which addressed Maple Valley’s relationship with Native Americans, their use of native plants, and the sustainability of a nature trail she contributed to.

Lumia and her parents, Michael and Lora, want to say thank you to everyone who helped Renee complete her Gold Award Project — Patricia McPhetridge, Patrice Lindgren, and Stephanie May for guiding Renee in her first years of Girl Scouts, Donna Daisley-Harrison for being there for Renee throughout her entire Girl Scout journey, Ankie Stroes and Dianne Farris for identifying plants and providing garden tools, Kurt Bayer for widening the trail with his weed whopping machine, all of the volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 594 and Girl Scout Service Unit 024, and Maple Valley Cedar Grange for hosting Renee’s fundraiser bake sale. A special thank you is warranted to all future scouts and community members for adopting this special trail.