Christina Lawton and Natalie Schafer of Groton have earned the Gold Award, Girl Scouts’ highest honor.

To earn their Gold Award, Girl Scouts in grades 9-12 have to spend at least 80 hours conducting research and assessing community needs to make a sustainable impact in their area, reflecting leadership and citizenship skills. Only about six percent of older Girl Scouts earn the Gold Award.

Lawton created a rosary garden at her church to give people of all faiths a place to come together and meditate or pray. She is a third-grade religion teacher at her church, and she brings her students to the garden for comfort and prayer for world peace.

Schafer created “buddy benches” for local elementary schools, where students can sit and find someone to play with at recess. She also went to students to teach them about the benches and founded programs at the elementary and high schools to promote compassion, empathy and inclusion.

For more information, visit gsofct.org.