Girls Scouts start baking cookies to save the coral

Two Girl Scouts from the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida created a special recipe for the restaurant. Concerned about the destruction of coral reefs, the girls leveraged their ongoing partnership with the Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) to raise awareness.

“Our generation is basically the generation between destroying the coral and keeping the coral alive, so it’s up to us to destroy the coral or help the coral, and I choose to help the coral,” Girl Scout said, Olivia Galvan.

Galvan and fellow Girl Scout Alejandra Jimenez embarked on a week-long research project with coral scientists from CRF and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla., to learn more about the ecosystem beneath -complex marine. They found that if immediate action is not taken, 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs could disappear over the next 30 years. Armed with this new knowledge, the girls returned home determined to find a tasty solution.

“To get people’s attention, we need something fun, we need something engaging,” Galvan said. “People love Girl Scout cookies. Why not make a coral-based Girl Scout cookie with flavors of the sea? »

With guidance from professional chef Ignacia Valdes Novik, Galvan and Jimenez developed a recipe and prototype before baking their first batch of two dozen fluorescent blue coral-shaped cookies made from spirulina, an algae superfood, and decorated sea ​​salt caramel. With their invention in hand, they were ready to present their idea to five board members and community partners of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.

“This is a generation of girls who have no choice but to solve the climate crisis, and if they need to use something like Girl Scout cookies or any other type of cookie, to create a awareness, enthusiasm and knowledge about the importance of the coral reef, so I say let’s do it,” said Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.

The girls’ culinary journey was filmed by the Wormhole TV environmental documentary team. The episode will air in the coming months.

“Sometimes having an adult learn about this thing from a younger person can have a huge impact,” said Roxane Boonstra, learning ecosystems administrator at the Coral Restoration Foundation.

To learn more and follow the progress of this collaborative effort to raise awareness and protect coral reefs, click here.