Where You Are

Lasting Impact

Teen gives time, talents to support, improve her community

Story by Susan Collins-Smith • Photos by Kevin Hudson

Demi Johnson is just 15 years old, but she is already impacting her community through 4-H and Girl Scouts.

The oyster gardening project that helped her earn her Girl Scout Silver Award also landed her in the top 15 finalists of the National Geographic Slingshot Challenge, which seeks ideas from 13- to 18-year-olds for solving environmental issues. Her 1-minute video about the project won the Challenge’s Significant Achievement Award. She also received $1,000 to support her oyster garden and an invitation to the National Geographic Explorers Festival in Washington, D.C.

“When I found out, I was a little surprised, but I was happy,” Demi says.

It didn’t surprise Mikkah Davis, Demi’s Extension agent in Harrison County. Davis, along with 4-H volunteer leaders, helps deliver the Mississippi State University Extension Service’s 4-H youth development program.

“Demi is an extraordinary teen,” Davis says. “She knows she has a larger responsibility to her community, and that is a characteristic 4-H’ers share. She is a great example for others who want to join our organization.”

As a Harrison County 4-H’er, she volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club, the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup Program, Feed My Sheep food pantry, community cleanups, and other 4-H clubs.

“4-H is different than Girls Scouts,” Demi explains. “I can connect with different ages and interact with both girls and boys, which is a different dynamic that I like.”

Demi, now a ninth grader, began oyster gardening 2 years ago. She visits her five oyster cages once a week to clean them and remove any predators, like crabs and fish, that can destroy them. Working with Emily McCay through the Mississippi Oyster Gardening Program, she’s grown more than 1,000 oysters for restoration efforts.

“I didn’t really know anything about oysters when I started the project,” Demi explains. “I didn’t know they were endangered. I thought they were going on people’s plates.”

Throughout her project, she’s had a lot of support, from her mom, scout leader Jean “Babs” Pfarrer, and eighth-grade science teacher Angela Lee.

Another person Demi says she owes a special thanks to is Creola James, a program associate with the Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral program. The program is operated through MSU Extension and offers free educational resources to children and childcare providers at multiple locations in the state.

“I was able to use the computer and other things there when I was working on my Girl Scout project,” Demi emphasizes. “Mrs. James would proofread my work for me, too.”

Because her project was so successful, Demi was invited to enroll in the Master Oyster Gardening Program <https://oystergardening.org/master-oyster-gardening/>, which certifies volunteers to do advanced oyster restoration work. She’s the program’s first youth participant.