Kimberly O'Donnell-Pickert, a senior at Westfield High School, Westfield, New Jersey, was recently honored by the Westfield Girl Scouts for her initiative in bringing together businesses and science experts to discuss what ordinary citizens can do to reduce pollution and use more energy-efficient products. She organized the Energy Awareness and Solutions Expo as her Gold Award project--the Gold Award is the Girl Scouts' highest honor, equivalent to the boys' Eagle Scout.
In addition to receiving the Gold Award, O'Donnell-Pickert was also honored Jan. 9 by the Garden Club of Westfield, which gave her an Award of Distinction for her effort. Her reasons for setting up the expo were simple. "If we expect generations to be on this planet, there's really no use in trashing where we live," she said.Kimberly is following in the footsteps of her environmentally-conscious parents, Mary O'Donnell and Tom Pickert. When they lived in Queens before the days of curbside pickup, the couple would load their recyclables in their car and drive them to Manhattan. The family recently had solar panels installed for their home and now owns a hybrid Prius.
As for college plans, Kimberly is considering majoring in communications and minoring in environmental science.