Scouts bring imagination to Morton Arboretum's scarecrows

Oh, what groups of energetic kids helped by creative adults can do with a stick-person frame, recycled clothing and props, and a lot of imagination.

That's why before Carrie Day became the leader of Brownie Troop 190 in Downers Grove, she loved going to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle during October to see the scarecrows that area Girl Scout troops had decorated.

Now, for the second year in a row, Day's troop has its own clever creation on the Scarecrow Trail around Meadow Lake, behind the Visitor Center.

“Every Birdie Needs a Home” features a pleasant-looking scarecrow face with birds nesting on her head, birdhouses made of painted half-gallon cartons running up and down her limbs, and photos of 11 Brownies posing as birds ironed on the T-shirt covering her upper body.

Last week, Day's troop went out to see their creation along with the 42 other scarecrows surrounding the lake.

“They love going around the lake and looking at all the scarecrows and voting on their favorite,” Day said.

The second-graders examined scarecrows that included two Harry Potters, a Statue of Liber-tree and a McScarecrow looking like a burger and fries. They named “Angry Bird,” “Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head” and, of course, “Every Birdie Needs a Home” among their favorites.

“I'm voting for ‘Angry Bird' because I love that game. My mom has it on her cellphone,” said Maddie Pearson. “They're really awesome.”

Fall attraction

The Girl Scouts aren't the only ones who love the scarecrows. Now in their eighth year, the scarecrows are a popular attraction among October visitors, said Anne Stratton, visitor programs coordinator.

“People have been calling, wanting to know if the scarecrows are up,” she said.

Each year, roughly 40 scarecrows are decorated by youth groups, primarily Girl Scouts and Brownies. This year's 43 scarecrows also include one fashioned by a Cub Scout troop and another by an ecology club.

Some groups decorate a scarecrow once and some return year after year, Stratton said.

“It's their fall project,” she said.

The groups are asked to submit a theme by July 1 and pick up the scarecrow frames in early September. The stick people are dressed in all their finery and returned to the arboretum about a week before their official debut on Oct. 1.

Throughout the month, visitors can vote for their favorite scarecrow. The winning group receives a guided overnight adventure at the arboretum.

Nature plus

The scarecrow decorators are asked to incorporate nature elements in their theme, but beyond that it's up to their imagination. Last year, Day's troop members took second place for their “Princess and the Frogs” scarecrow, taking their inspiration from the Disney movie that had been released the year before. The troop received a behind-the-scenes tour of the arboretum for its efforts.

The girls vote on the theme in the spring and parents of troop members pitch in to help.

Parent Sharon Phillips, who works with Day, admits last year's creation took some doing. They painted a frog mural to go with the princess and fashioned an extension over her head. Phillips said she still hears comments from people who saw it.

“It was so totally cute,” she said. “This one was so much more manageable than last year.”

That doesn't mean “Every Birdie Needs a Home” didn't require a large amount of creativity and effort. The face came from last year's princess.

“The idea of both years was to recycle,” Phillips said. “This year's head is from last year's princess.”

But the body is quite a different story. Phillips took photos of each of the troop's 11 girls wearing a beak and doing bird poses to print on iron-on transfers for the T-shirt the scarecrow is wearing. Then she obtained a black bird cage from a parrot rescue to put over the shirt.

“The girls are the birdies in the cage, which is my favorite part of the whole thing,” she said.

The girls painted and decorated 11 half-gallon cartons for birdhouses that are attached to the scarecrow's two arms and the upper part of one of its legs. On each carton is written a word from the Girl Scout promise. Painted Popsicle sticks serve as perches.

Making the birdhouses was troop member Ella Campbell's favorite part of the project.

“I really like it because it's about nature,” she said.

A mom bought the birds nesting on the scarecrow's head on sale. Miss Scarecrow wears recycled, striped tights on her wooden legs. Her shoes are painted half-and-half containers bearing the words “Troop” and “190.”

“They (the girls) are out-of-their-minds excited about it,” Phillips said, admitting that the adults get excited too.

“It's a labor of love,” she said.

If you go

What: Scarecrow Trail

When: 7 a.m. to sunset daily in October

Where: Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle

Cost: Regular admission $11 adults ages 18-64, $10 seniors 65 and older, $8 children 2-17 ($7/$6/$5 on Wednesdays), free for children younger than 2 and members

Info: mortonarb.org or (630) 968-0074