Kayla Vanderbeek achieves Girl Scout gold

West Milford — Kayla Vanderbeek worked tremendously hard last summer on her Girl Scout Gold Award service project: improving a well-used trail from Westbrook School to the high school fields. It's a project that will provide lasting value to the community Kayla's called home all of her life. This summer, Kayla received her Gold Award at a ceremony at Upper Greenwood Lake School - a place she chose herself because she said it was where she started. This winter, she was honored at a township council meeting by Mayor Bettina Bieri and the council for her service project. Kayla's community service project came about because of a personal need. When her disabled grandfather had difficulty getting to her sister's field hockey games, Kayla decided to make the trail her project. The existing trail was grown over and had deep ruts making it unpassable for anyone with any sort of walking disability. With the help of her family and friends, including girls from her troop #125 and kids from the United Methodist Church youth group, Kayla finished her project, widening the trail and clearing out the debris. Kayla attended Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School, Macopin Middle School and graduated from West Milford High School in 2010. She finished her first year of college at the University of Delaware, where she is majoring in elementary education and specializing in special education. Kayla is the daughter of Todd and Angela Vanderbeek.