Cori Davis could have done her Girl Scout Gold Award project anywhere, but she said she wanted to improve an area close to home.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement possible in the Girl Scouts. It requires girls to create and implement a plan to improve the community.

Davis, who graduated from Mehlville High School in June, called different parks and found out Jefferson Barracks Park needed a lot of love at its Lewis and Clark interpretive panel.

She organized volunteers from Girl Scout Troop 2970 and the Friends of Jefferson Barracks, spending three Saturdays working in the park.  The team removed evasive honeysuckle and spread mulch in the area.

“The area was very weedy, so we went in and took it all out and also the railings in the pavilion had graffiti, so we painted over that,” she said. “It looked a lot nicer.”

Davis will attend St. Louis Community College at Meramec on an A+ Scholarship and eventually wants to become an art teacher.

She also joined forces with Matthew Schneider, who is with Boy Scout Troop 780 and working toward his Eagle Scout Award.