By JOYANNA LOVE/ Sennior Staff Writer

Girl Scout Troop 424 in Clanton is looking for girls in kindergarten through 12th grade to join as it starts a new year.

An informational meeting will be held on Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. in the Girl Scout Hut at 502 Fifth Avenue.

Right now, the Troop has about 20 girls ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade.

Troop leader Selah McBride said the meeting for girls and their parents will outline when the meetings are, dues and other general information.

“The girls will be working on coming up with what kind of things they want to do as a troop,” McBride said.

She said this is part of Girls Scouts being a “girl-led” program.

“This group (based on last year) seems to be very interested in outdoors, camping, that kind of thing,” McBride said.

One of the end of the year trips last year was a sleepover at the Birmingham Zoo.

“They got afterhours tours and learned some things about the zoo,” McBride said.

She said there are numerous options for the girls to choose from.

“With it being a new year, there are new possibilities,” McBride said.

Some of these include new outdoor Journeys focused on learning about the environment and badges for robotics, programing and other STEM activities.

McBride said the STEM projects are done from a different approach than in school. Since it is all girls, a girl may be more comfortable to “step up” and really thrive with the project, she said.

If someone cannot make it to the Sept. 6 meeting, a Girl Scout Courageous Character Recruitment Event will be held on Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at 502 Fifth Avenue in Clanton.

McBride became a leader in Girl Scouts when her daughter joined a troop 20 years ago.

As a leader, she enjoys watching the excitement as the girls learn new things.

For more information on either event, contact McBride at (205) 706-9198.