The City of Boulder has partnered with Bryn Rodgers and Girl Scout Troop 70007 to create a space to practice mindfulness that earned Rodgers a Girl Scout Gold Award.
The City of Boulder has partnered with Bryn Rodgers and Girl Scout Troop 70007 to create a space to practice mindfulness that earned Rodgers a Girl Scout Gold Award. The project began in 2021 and was completed at the beginning of August 2022.
The new mindfulness zone is located at the corner of Wonderland Hill and Linden avenues along a greenway frequented by cyclists and runners, and was created to help educate and create a space in nature to practice mindfulness with a tranquil seating area and instructions for a “one-minute mindfulness session”.
Rodgers worked closely with the city’s Volunteer Services Program Coordinators to bring the project to life and achieve the Gold Award. She submitted a detailed project proposal, which was reviewed and approved in 2021. The project included city utilities maintenance crews moving several large boulders to the greenspace to create a seating area and installing the mindfulness instructions, which were created and donated by the city. Girl Scout Troop 70007 also cleared a path to the seating area and laid gravel.
The Gold Award is the highest achievement that a Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador (grades 9 through 12) can earn. To become a Gold Award Girl Scout, they must identify an issue that’s important to them, then develop and carry out an innovative and sustainable solution with measurable impact. Gold Award projects require a commitment of at least 80 hours.
Rodgers selected mindfulness as a project to bring improvement to the neighborhood and the space by creating a spot where community members can learn something new and socialize with one another. Rodgers also wanted to help children learn mindfulness to use in their schooling, especially with test anxiety. After the project was complete, Rodgers shared that she, “really appreciated all the help and time the City of Boulder gave to helping make The Mindfulness Zone a reality.”
"We are honored to have helped bring Bryn’s vision of a mindfulness space to life,” said Rene Lopez, City of Boulder Volunteer Services Program Manager. “Our hope is that this space will have a positive impact on our community and be a place of respite for those who wish to use it.”
As part of the city’s Volunteer Adoption Program, the area will be maintained by Girl Scout Troop 70007. For more information about the adoption program, please visit the city’s website.