Girl Scouts prepare ‘Rainbringer’ site for Community Blessing

Jacobrown has invited the girls to participate in the formal blessing ceremony at 2 p.m. Aug. 13. Members of the Suquamish tribe and Kwakwak’wakw First Nation in British Columbia will be attending. The girls will participate, along with other island youth, with the giant beach plastic Sea Monster to be constructed from plastic beach debris at KiDiMu next week.

By Connie Mears • August 5, 2011 4:43 pm
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Last December, Craig Jacobrown, the artist who created “The Rainbringer” sculpture at the roundabout, installed a replacement for a section damaged in a car crash. He’s been adamant to get as many young people involved as possible in next Saturday’s Community Blessing of the piece. One such group is Girl Scout Troup No. 50539.

On July 29, scouts Lizzie Nigash, Gabi Frank and Tia Stauffer particpated in re-landscaping the site across from the roundabout where the sculpture is installed.

Working with the Bainbridge Island Garden Club, the girls researched and learned about native plants, specifically, drought tolerant plants that can take full sun. Their plan was designed to be low-maintenance and features kinnikinnick, a native ground cover, salal and lady ferns which they added to the existing Oregon grape shrubs.  More than 15 large trash bags of weeds and overgrown plants were removed, uncovering the original “The Rainbringer” plaque from 1991 when the sculpture, the first in the city’s Public Art program, was installed.

They also discovered a basalt rock retaining wall which had been hidden from view. The girls decided to add a dry stream bed of rock and added bark wood chips supplied by the Metro Park District.

The girls earned the National Garden Clubs Native Plants Patch while working on the project, as well as their Silver Award, the second highest award in Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout leaders Robin Nigash and Sundi Stauffer guided the girls throughout the project, which included help from Lizzie’s grandparents, Ron and Linda Reisdorf, Alec Stauffer, Ronnie Nigash, Chuck Nigash, and garden club members Lauri Herman and Carol Westover.

Jacobrown has invited the girls to participate in the formal blessing ceremony at 2 p.m. Aug. 13. Members of the Suquamish tribe and Kwakwak’wakw First Nation in British Columbia will be attending.  The girls will participate, along with other island youth, with the giant beach plastic Sea Monster to be constructed from plastic beach debris at KiDiMu next week.

The girls also will prepare an exhibit of photos taken before, during and after the project for the Bainbridge Island Garden Club Flower Show Sept. 16-17.

For more information about the blessing, visit www.artshum.org.