Two Girls Scouts from Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida created a special recipe for restoration. Concerned about the destruction of coral reefs, the girls leveraged their ongoing partnership with Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) to raise awareness.
“Our generation is basically the generation in between the destruction of coral or the liveliness of coral, so it’s up to us to either destroy coral or help coral, and I choose to help coral,” said Girl Scout, Olivia Antillon.
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Antillon and her fellow Girl Scout, Alejandra Jiménez, embarked on a week-long research project with coral scientists at CRF and Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida to learn more about the intricate underwater ecosystem. They discovered that, unless immediate action is taken, 70 to 90 percent of coral reefs could die off within the next 30 years. Equipped with this newfound knowledge, the girls returned home determined to come up with a tasty solution.
“To get people to pay attention, we need something fun, we need something engaging,” said Antillon. “People love Girl Scout cookies. Why don’t we make a Girl Scout cookie based off of coral with flavors from the sea?”
With guidance from professional chef Ignacia Valdes Novik, Antillon and Jiménez developed a recipe and prototype before they baked their first batch of two-dozen, fluorescent blue coral-shaped cookies made with seaweed superfood Spirulina and decorated with sea salt caramel.
“Coral cookies combine our passion for restoring the reefs with everyone’s favorite cookie,” said Jiménez.
With their invention in-hand, they were ready to pitch their idea to five board members and community partners of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.
“This is a generation of girls that has no choice but to solve the climate crisis, and if they need to use something like the Girl Scout cookies or any kind of cookie, to create awareness, excitement, and knowledge around the importance of the coral reef, then I say let’s do it,” said Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida.
The girls’ baking journey was captured by the environmental documentary team at Wormhole TV. The episode will be featured in the coming months.
“Sometimes having an adult be told about this thing by a younger person can be so impactful,” said Roxane Boonstra, Learning Ecosystems Administrator with Coral Restoration Foundation.
To learn more and follow the progress of this collaborative effort to raise awareness and protect coral reefs, click here.