Shout-out for the Girl Scouts

This week there was a great story on NPR about how the Girl Scouts of the USA have updated their system of badges (patches) to make the activities more meaningful. Very impressive.

They retain the traditional badges – like the Cook, Athlete and Naturalist badges – but now they have added Digital Movie Maker, Website Designer, Locavore, Computer Expert, Financial Literacy, Product Designer and so on. These aren’t fluff either – the level can be adjusted from easy to demanding, while allowing for opportunities for the girls to customize their own projects. The challenge for troop leaders is how much to overlap with what the girls are studying in school (that can become repetitive and too easy) and whether to offer something that cannot be found elsewhere.

From a green point of view, one of the highlights (and it’s a popular activity, I hear) is the Cadettes-level Journey Awards and BREATHE activities, which: “engage all five senses as they clear the air—their own and Earth's. Girls learn to assess air quality inside and out, getting an aerial view of everything from cigarette smoking to noise in the air to deforestation. Along the way, they try some scientific experiments.”

Wow! If you have a girl who might like to join the Girl Scouts in Encino, contact Victoria Garcia at (626) 677-2326 or via email vgarcia@girlscoutsla.org.