Decorah girl earns Gold Award by restoring local cemetery

A Decorah girl has earned the highest award in Girl Scouts through her dedication to serving her community.

Ashley Darling has earned her Gold Award by cleaning gravestones at the Bluffton Community Cemetery.  Ashley noticed that some of the gravestones in her town's cemetery were being neglected and falling into decay. She organized a workshop day at the cemetery to teach community members the method for cleaning gravestones.
 
"I created a book of the history of the cemetery, where I found and compiled all of the obituaries of the people buried in Bluffton Community Cemetery. This will have a long term effect in that it will help later generations to remember the people," Darling said.
 
Ashley hopes the success of her project will spread to other communities and that there will be a change in the way people perceive of caring for cemeteries.

Before and after

Ashely Darling