Girl Scout troops work to keep beaches clean, help local wildlife

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - One of the missions of Girl Scouts is to help make the world a better place. They did just that in South Mississippi on Saturday.

One by one, Girl Scouts and their parents from across the state grabbed tools and did their part to help coastal beaches. Girl Scouts like Harper Thames came from Branson to clean trash in order to help local wildlife -- especially sea turtles.

“I love that their so colorful, they’re big, and they can live up to 160 years old,” Thames said.

Thames said she was determined to pick up as much trash as she can.

“Because all the animals in the water may not survive,” Thames said.

Her mother Victoria Thames said she’s hopeful that her daughter being a role model will spread amongst her peers.

“I’m extremely proud of her. I hope that she continues to do well and then be an example for other girls they see what she’s doing to help the community out,” she said.

Troop 4010 co-leader Cassandra Peters brought her daughters as well. She said Girl Scouts is a mix on bonding, working hard and gaining new experiences.

“Cleaning up the beach, going to the aquarium, robotics, all kinds of fun stuff that they just enjoy learning and doing. Girl scouts is also very girl-led, so we do what they want to do,” Peters said.

Thames said even though the Girl Scouts are making a difference today, she wants to see others do the same even if they aren’t a part of the organization.

“We can see if we can get even more people interested in coming out and cleaning up the beach, and get this initiative started. This would be something good if they can do it every year,” Thames said.

After the cleanup, troops went to the Mississippi Aquarium to learn more about marine life.

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