Mount Vernon Girl Scouts clean up beach for Earth Day

Members of Girl Scout Troop 2096 in Mount Vernon gathered on the Town Beach to observe Earth Day, Monday, April 22. Representatives from the 7 Lakes Alliance joined the girls and explained the effects of single-use plastics on our waterways. Each girl signed a Plastics Pledge, promising to decrease their personal use of single-use plastics, and then worked together to collect garbage from the lake shore, beach and roadside. Two large bags of trash were collected and properly disposed of. Items collected included food wrappers, cigarette butts, disposable diapers and plastic silverware. Although there was quite a bit to pick up, the girls were encouraged by the fact that they collected less garbage than during last year’s cleanup efforts — an entire bag less. Troop 2096 includes 35 girls from the Mount Vernon and Vienna area ranking from Daisy to Cadette. (Submitted photo)