These Girl Scouts baked new cookie in effort to save coral reefs

article

Girl Scouts featured on television show showcasing their new cookie. (Credit: Wormhole TV)

MIAMI - Two Florida Girl Scouts came together recently in a ‘sweet’ way to raise awareness of coral reef destruction.

Olivia Antillon and Alejandra Jiménez, from the troop Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida (GSTF), serve as youth ambassadors at the Coral Restoration Foundation.

The two girls learned from scientists how coral reefs protect shorelines from storms, that 25% of marine life rely on coral reefs at some point in their life cycle, and that without immediate action, 70-90% of coral reefs could die off within the next 30 years.

"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," Antillon shared in a statement.

Olivia Antillon and Alejandra Jiménez with chef Ignacia Valdes Novik. (Credit: Teneramie Jimenez)

According to GSTF, the Girl Scouts then leveraged their research to develop and pitch a potential idea of how a new Girl Scout cookie could elevate the need for awareness.

"To get people to pay attention, we need something fun, we need something engaging. People love Girl Scout cookies. Why don’t we make a Girl Scout cookie based off of coral with flavors from the sea?," Antillon continued.

Jiménez and Antillon developed a coral-themed cookie prototype with guidance from professional chef, Ignacia Valdes Novik. They prepared two dozen fluorescent blue coral-shaped cookies decorated with sea salt caramel and algae superfood Spirulina.

The girls pitched their concept to five board members and community partners of GSTF.

"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," Chelsea Wilkerson, CEO GSTF, said reflected on the Girl Scouts’ presentation.