Scouts Hello, my name is Samantha Fujiwara and I am a junior at Citrus Valley High School, making me an Ambassador Girl Scout , which is the highest level of Girl Scouts. I have been in Girl Scouts at San Gorgonio Council since I was a Daisy in kindergarten. Ever since my first day of Girl Scouts, I fell in love with the skills and opportunities I found through different events, camps, and badges. Girl Scouts also gave me lifelong relations that I will forever cherish. I also became determined at a young age to take action to help our environment, so when I heard about the Girl Scout Gold Award, I knew that was what I wanted to focus on. Girl Scouts has always been my favorite activity, which is why I plan to stay in it all 13 years. I have already received my Bronze and Silver Award and just completed my Gold Award project. I also earned my Summit Pin for every level of girl scouts because of my completion of all of the Girl Scout Journeys. I am so grateful for all of the lessons I learned and I hope to use them to make the world a better place and inspire others to do the same.

I have attended Redlands First United Methodist Church my whole life and it has always been a special part of me. I knew that it would be a great opportunity to do my Gold Award at the church because I would be able to easily reach out to a large scale of people from all different ages and backgrounds. Along with the church's congregation, there is a Phase 5 Lab School and Girl Scout troop that currently utilize the space, all while being located in the middle of Downtown Redlands. Everyone in the church helped contribute and were very gracious from the very beginning. Bags and bags of plastic trash were donated towards the project along with people contributing their labor in helping make the eco-bricks. Everyone came to me with open minds and allowed me to share my knowledge with them about my project and how to take a step forward in preventing plastic pollution.

I am especially grateful for Bob Reid, a member of the RFUMC congregation, who graciously volunteered his time, materials, and talent in executing the construction of the eco-brick bench frame. He worked with me in designing my vision to have a long-lasting sustainable bench.