Fort Atkinson girls earns a Girl Scout Gold Award for her work at the Winneshiek County Fair

A Fort Atkinson girl has earned the highest award in Girl Scouting by rebuilding educational play barns for children at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds.

Jessica Schmitt has earned her Gold Award with a project that educated kids about the importance of agriculture to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.  She decided that she would organize a group to repair the play barns at the fairgrounds and fill them with educational materials.  Schmitt took action by asking her Girl Scout troop and community to help her with repainting, building new floors and repairing deteriorating tin roofing.

She also wrote to many farm councils in Iowa to ask them for donations of books, posters, coloring books, and other materials that would make learning about agriculture fun for kids.

Said Jessica, "I worked with a lot of different people. . .gained relationships and a stronger sense of self. . .I believe that I am tackling a worldwide problem."