Girl Scout Phoebe Lingan takes on invasives at Laguna Gloria

Phoebe Lingan shares her experience volunteering at Laguna Gloria

Like many lucky kids in Austin, I attended art camps at Laguna Gloria from the time I was 5 through middle school. I looked forward to creating things here every summer, and my family still has several pieces I made displayed inside our home and mosaics in our garden. I loved spending summers seeing the beautiful grounds at Laguna Gloria and walking around looking at the statues and installations with my family.

I am now a senior in high school and this summer at Laguna Gloria, I spent several weeks removing Cat’s Claw (Dolichandra unguis-cati). Cat’s Claw is an invasive species that has infiltrated all across the grounds. The groundskeepers of Laguna Gloria have supplies to remove these plants. You take a shovel and remove the tuber at the end. This process can be tedious however when you finally get it out it is rewarding.

So what’s the point of removing invasive species? Invasive species pose a threat to the native plants in an area. Invasive species adapt quickly, stealing nutrients from local plants and multiplying quickly which reduces biodiversity. Biodiversity is essential to keeping an environment healthy and thriving.

I did this project for my Girl Scout Gold Award project. It has been a rigorous process requiring hours of labor, paperwork, and outreach to other scouts to help. I am very grateful to Liz Brewer and Paustian Hajek for helping me through this project and allowing me to do my project here. Laguna Gloria is an oasis filled with rich art and the greenery gives it character and a sense of peace.

Thank you so much to Laguna Gloria for this opportunity and I am so happy I was able to help. Below I have photos from the project.

BEFORE and AFTER

From The Contemporary Austin’s Liz Brewer and Paustian Hajek:

In the late Spring of 2024 Laguna Gloria had the honor of hosting a local Girl Scout, Phoebe Lingan. Phoebe had chosen Laguna Gloria as the nucleus of her Gold Star Project, the highest achievement within The Girl Scouts of the USA. Only 5% of eligible Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award and after meeting Phoebe it was clear she would be bringing home the gold.

As a kid Phoebe attended Laguna’s summer art camps and family events and through the years the museum had found a special and lingering place in her heart. And the grounds beckoned once more when she felt called to create and execute her Gold Star Project with us. She decided to volunteer with the horticulture and grounds team for 3 weeks in a tremendous effort to remove invasive species at Laguna Gloria.

Phoebe set her sights on the catclaw vine (Dolichandra unguis-cati). This insidious and prolific vine grows all around town and Laguna Gloria is no exception. The trouble with catclaw vine is that it is drought tolerant, grows very fast, and forms dense mats that can cover the forest floor and smother native vegetation, including whole trees. We’ve been working to eradicate the vine for years and were elated that Phoebe wanted to be involved in the mission.

Monday through Friday at 7A sharp Phoebe arrived to work on her project. She toiled in sweltering conditions with her shovel and bucket digging out the catclaw tuber by tuber. One morning a surprise storm rolled in dropping big, heavy rain. Phoebe, Anne, and our usual Wednesday volunteers all ran to the Temple of Love to seek shelter until the rain ended. When the storm had turned to light mist Phoebe turned to us and said, "Okay, I’m going back out there.” She had no intention of stopping in unsavory conditions. Her dedication and rigor were inspiring to see. She had caught the restoration bug.

Phoebe saw her project through start to finish and filled many buckets up with catclaw. The grounds are better for it and her effort, determination, and dedication to her project are appreciated and applauded.

Thank you, Phoebe!