FREEPORT – Jessie Minieri of Pownal and Katelyn Rouleau of Freeport have built a community garden outside North Pownal Methodist Church and donated the produce to the church’s food pantry, in their effort to earn the Girl Scouts Silver Award.

Minieri and Rouleau, members of Girl Scout Troop 3222, will learn in October if they have won the Silver Award, the highest honor bestowed on Cadets, who are junior high-aged Scouts. Rouleau, 13, is a student at Freeport Middle School and Minieri, 12, is home-schooled. A total of 50 hours is required.

“I really would like to get it,” Minieri said. “It’s one of the most important things you do as a Cadet.”

Rouleau’s mother, Silver Award troop leader Stacey Rouleau, provided the girls with the idea of building a community garden, Minieri said. Last March, the two girls were contemplating what they could do as a Silver Award project.

Rouleau and Minieri used exactly $97.84 of the $100 the troop provided for the venture, Minieri said. They purchased fencing, shovels, spray paint and stakes in April, then they planned the garden. On May 24, the girls dug up the grass in the plot outside the church, put in good soil and planted zucchini, pumpkins, string beans, sugar snap peas and tomatoes. They weeded and watered the garden, and by late June began harvesting the peas.

“At the end of July we got a lot of string beans,” Minieri said. “We are still getting tomatoes. We had gardens at our houses, but we’ve never had one on our own before. It took a lot of dedication.”

Every Wednesday morning, Rouleau and Minieri donate their produce to the church food pantry.

“They’re really grateful,” Minieri said.

Troop 3222 includes 23 girls from Freeport, Durham and Pownal.