Girl Scouts create rock garden at Copperas Cove library

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

Have you ever stumbled across a painted kindness rock hidden throughout the city? Finding one of these painted rocks just got easier with the inclusion of a rock garden in front of the Copperas Cove Public Library.

As part of the Girl Scouts’ ongoing project to beautify the library, the girls officially started a rock garden Monday at 10 a.m. They placed a large rock in the center with a brief description “Kindness Rocks. Take a rock for Inspiration. Share a rock for Motivation. Create a rock for Preservation. Leave a rock to help the Garden Grow. @copperascoverocks”.

Several Girl Scouts and members of Copperas Cove Rocks (a local group that paints and hides rocks for others to find) contributed a large number of rocks to help get the garden started. The rocks were placed in front of the description rock. Throughout the morning, the scouts also had a table where anyone passing by for the day could paint a rock to add to the pile. They also left several blank rocks for prospective rock painters to take home to paint and potentially add to the garden.

The painted rocks are part of the Kindness Rocks Project which invites people to paint rocks with motivational messages, words, drawings, or designs in order to spread kindness throughout the community.

“I think we can always use more creativity,” said Jess Taylor, service unit events director for the scouts. “It gives you a sense of community. When you find a rock—especially when a kid finds one—they’re so excited.”

The Girl Scouts have been working towards earning their bronze award, an extra project for Girl Scouts which requires them to put in 20 hours of work on a project with a sustainable and lasting impact. The girls chose the beautification of the library.

“They chose a community beautification project for the library because the library helps the Girl Scouts out a lot,” said Jess Taylor, service unit events director for the scouts.

The girls began by working on cleaning out the planter in front of the library, pulling weeds and clearing it out. They came up with a variety of easy to maintain plants that they plan to fill the planter with, but the Texas summer has been prohibitively hot, and fears that anything they plant will simply wither and die has put a halt on that part of the project until fall.

It the meantime, the girls came up with the idea of starting a community rock garden and thought that the library would be the perfect place.

“I really like rock painting because it’s fun, and it gives me something to do. You can paint so many different colors and designs on the rocks,” said Denise Cooper (10) who painted a few rocks for the garden. “I think it’s pretty cool because we can show off all our rocks at the library and they can take a rock and leave a rock if they want to.”

Scarlett Taylor (11) said that she found her very first rock when she was about 7 back in her previous home at Peach Tree City in Georgia where they have an avid rock group. She said that she enjoys finding rocks and hiding them too. 

“I like painting…and I think it’s pretty cool to find one and to hide them,” said Scarlett Taylor. “It’s like an adult scavenger hunt.”

Those who want to learn more about rock painting are invited to join local rock group, Copperas Cove Rocks on Facebook.

For more information about the Girl Scouts or becoming a member, email Kaitlyn Moss at gsdoublecregistrar@gmail.com or Shauna Seale at shaunas@gsctx.org