Ten activities to introduce girls to plants, camp, and the outdoors.

A Girl Scout Brownie’s GuideA Girl Scout Brownie’s Guideto the Environmentto the Environment

Learning to respect and take care of the world around us is an important part of the Girl Scout experience.

Use this guide to introduce girls to the wonders of the world around them. It’s a great tool to use before taking girls on their first hike, or heading off to Girl Scout camp.

Many of the activities in this booklet can help Girl Scouts earn badges and awards—they are listed on the top of each page.

Let’s get started!

#1 Pick the Right Gear for an Outdoor HikeThis activity fulfills step 3 of the Brownie Hiker badge.

Just like you can’t play sports without the right

equipment (playing soccer without a ball would

be pretty tough!), you can’t hike

without the right gear. By the end of this

activity, you should have your hiker backpack

ready.

Visit an outdoor store or ask an experienced hiker what they pack for a hike.

Questions to ask:

Clothes: What will I need for cool days? For

warm days? For weather unique to my area?

Shoes: What kind of shoes will be best for my

hike?

Backpack: How do I know it fits me? How

much room should it have for supplies?

First-Aid Kit: What should I put in it?

Water: What will I carry it in? How will I keep it

cool?

Try It! Camp Fashion Show

Make a pile of all types of clothes and pick the best and worst ones for camping. Then show them off to your

friends or family and see if they can tell which are the best for camping and which are the worst and why.

What else might you put in your backpack to bring on your hike?

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#2 TrailmarkingThis activity fulfills step 2 of the Brownie Hiker badge.

Trail Signs

this way

or

or

or

keep going

go ten stepsthis way

campthis way

wait here for next direction

end of the trailI have gone home

turn around and go back

split your group. half go left, half go right

stop, go another way

danger

Hikers use trail signs to leave messages so another group can

find or follow them in the woods. They can be made using sticks,

stones, or other available materials and should be placed where

they can easily be seen by other hikers.

It is important when making trail signs that any wood or plant

materials you use are “dead and down” before using them. You

want to make certain you are not directly disturbing any visible

habitats, or creating opportunity for excessive erosion or other

dangerous situations.

When going on a hike, be sure to:

• Go with an adult

• Use known trails

• Carry a trail map, compass, water bottles, first-aid kit, and

other supplies

• Dismantle trail signs once you have finished using them

Practice making trail signs

Create your own trail through your house

or yard for your friends and family to

follow. Remember to use materials

naturally found in the habitat.

Trying it inside? Mark your trail using

pencils, pens, the remote, a hairbrush, etc.

Trying it outside? Mark your trail by

writing in the dirt or snow, using fallen

twigs, rocks, etc.

Remember to put everything back when

you are done!

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#3 Make it RainThis activity is part of the It’s Your Planet—Love It! Journey.

Try this activity to create your very own water cycle. Have an adult help you do the experiment below.

Condensation

Runoff

Evap

orat

ion

PrecipitationAs the air cools, the teeny-tiny droplets get bigger and heavier and fall to earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

The amount of water on earth is always the same, but it is constantly moving from the

oceans to the air to the land and back again.

The vapor turns into a cloud, which is a group of teeny-tiny

water droplets. The wind carries the cloud over to the land.

The water that falls on the land goes

into the rivers and lakes and then flows

back into the oceans.

The

sun

shin

es o

ver t

he o

cean

and

heat

s th

e w

ater

, whi

ch

beco

mes

a v

apor

.

Supplies:

• A drinking glass or glass jar

• Plate

• Hot water

• Ice cubes

• Index cards

Instructions:

• Pour about two inches of very hot water into the

glass container.

• Cover the container with the plate and wait a few

minutes before you start the next step.

• Put the ice cubes on the plate.

• Wait and watch what happens.

What’s happening?

When the plate gets cold it causes the moisture in

the warm air that is trapped inside the container to

condense and form water droplets. So you just made

it rain!

This is the same thing that happens when it rains

outside. Warm, moist air rises and meets colder air

high in the atmosphere. The water vapor condenses

and forms droplets (precipitation or rain) that fall to

the ground.

The Water Cycle

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#4 Go on a Water in the World Scavenger HuntThis activity fulfills step 5 of the Brownie Hiker badge.

A scavenger hunt is a great way to exercise your mind and your body. Gather in small

groups and look for the items listed below. You might decide to look just inside, just

outside, or both.

See if you can find all of the items from the water list!

� Drop of water on a leaf

� Birds using water to take a bath

� Water in another form (steam, ice, snow)

� People using water

What are they doing?

� Animals using water

What are they doing?

� Vegetable garden or other food source that needs water to grow

� Children having fun playing in water

� Puddle

� Stream, river, pond, or lake

� Animals that live in or around a pond or lake

What animals?

� Someone using water to stay hydrated

� Flowers that need water to grow

If you found every item on this list, WOW! you’re good! See if you can come up with any

other water-related items to look for on your own.

P.S. If you’re thirsty from running around looking for all these Wonders of Water, you should drink lots of fluids. Drinking water is part of keeping up your Energy Balance. Water is not only important to our world, it’s important to our bodies. You need water to help boost your immune system, which helps keep you healthy. You also need it for good digestion. And every cell in your body depends on water to function properly. So drink up!

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#5 Paint with Kool AidThis activity fulfills step 4 of the Brownie Painting badge.

Think of your favorite water place or your favorite kind of water. How do you like to enjoy water? Keep that idea in your

mind as you use Kool Aid crystals to paint a beautiful picture of your favorite water place or activity.

Supplies:

• Watercolor paper or regular paper

• Spray bottle

• Kool Aid packets in a couple of different flavors

• Paintbrush or Q-tips

• Table cloth or something to cover your work surface

Instructions:

1. Begin by making sure your work surface is covered.

2. Sprinkle different colors of Kool Aid powder on your

paper.

3. Activate the colors by using a spray bottle to add water

to your picture. The goal is not to soak the paper, but to

spray just enough so the colors show up.

4. Add more sprinkles of Kool Aid powder if your picture

needs it or use a paintbrush or Q-tip to move the colors

around or make shapes.

Water is a very precious resource. It’s something that

we have a limited quantity of

here on earth. That means

that when we get water

dirty—by adding chemicals

and other contaminants—we

can’t just throw it away and

get new water. Water all over

the earth is connected: It’s

all the same water so let’s be

sure not waste a single drop!

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#6 Make a Water PromiseThis activity fulfills the LOVE Water and SHARE Water award from the It’s Your Planet—Love It! Journey.

Show that you love water by making a water promise! Name two things you know and love about

water and make one personal promise to protect it.

What I Love About Water

I thought about all the things I like to do in and with water. Then I picked my two favorite things that

I love about water:

1.

2.

My Water Promise

This is how I’m protecting water:

Share Water

Educate others about your water efforts, inspire them to join in and ask them to

commit to a water promise, too.

I educated and inspired these people and they promised to:

People

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Promise

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Across3. As you walk along the beach you see beautiful shells and driftwood. You stop to look at them

but do not take them with you.

5. Before you leave, you learn the rules of the park you are hiking through and you put your juice in a reusable plastic bottle because they don’t allow glass.

6. When you are finished with your snack, you put your wrappers in your backpack to put in the garbage when you get home.

7. A frog hops in front of you as you hike. You want to take a closer look so you move quietly and watch from a little ways away.

Down1. There is a family walking behind you on a trail. You step to the side and slow down so they can

pass and walk ahead of you.

2. You hike until you find a campsite with a fire pit.

4. You take the trail to the beach instead of through the woods.

#7 Learn How to “Leave No Trace”Before you go hiking, camping, or exploring, pledge to “Leave No Trace!” These seven important tips will help you keep

nature safe when you are outdoors.

Using the clues below,

fill in the crossword with

the correct tip, including

spaces.

The seven principals of

Leave No Trace:

1. Plan ahead.

2. Stay on the trail.

3. Carry out what you

carry in.

4. Leave nature as you

find it.

5. Be careful with fire.

6. Respect wildlife.

7. Be considerate of

other visitors.

1

2

3 4

5

6

7

1

2

3 4

5

6

7

e

e

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#8 Make a One Pot MealOne way to cook outdoors is in a pot or kettle. One pot meals are easy to cook over a fire. Everything goes in the pot and

then the pot sits over a fire or in coals to cook.

Try a one pot recipe at home on the stove with an adult.

Bags of Gold• 1 can tomato soup• 1 can water• 1 can refrigerator biscuits• 1/2 lb. cheese (Velveeta, American, Cheddar)Put soup and water in pot and slowly heat. Cut biscuits into quarters, cut cheese into 20 cubes. Wrap dough around cheese, drop balls into hot soup, and cook covered until dough is done.

What are some “one pot meals” your family makes at your house?

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#9 Get Ready for Camp with a SongThis activity fulfills step 1 of the Brownie Girl Scout Way badge.

Girl Scout summer camp promises hot days and one adventure after

another for girls. Learning new things and developing life skills as a leader

is what Girl Scout camp is all about! Songs and games are a tradition at any

Girl Scout camp. Get ready for camp by learning these songs and games.

With an adult’s help, go online to learn a few more Girl Scout songs and

games: www.youtube.com/GirlScoutsWISE

Alive Awake Alert

I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic

I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic

I’m alive, awake, alert

I’m alert, awake, alive

I’m alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic

Brownie Smile

I’ve got something in my pocket

It belongs across my face

I keep it very close to me

In a most convenient place.

I’m sure you couldn’t guess it

If you guessed a long, long while

So I’ll take it out and put it on

It’s a GREAT BIG BROWNIE SMILE!

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#10 Track Some AnimalsHave you ever seen animal tracks when walking or hiking? With an adult to guide you, take a hike in a nearby park, forest, or

nature area and see if you can find any of the tracks below.

Beaver

Raccoon

Fox

Squirrel

Deer

Skunk

Duck

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If you enjoyed the outdoor-

themed activities in this

book tell your parents or

troop leaders! They can

go to gswise.org and sign

you up for lots of outdoor

adventures with Girl Scouts.

From summer camp, to rock

climbing, to archery, we

have tons of ways to get you

outside! We’d love to see you

exploring the outdoors with

us this summer!

Finish what you’ve begun and earn Girl Scout Awards!

Some of the activities in

this booklet are from the

Brownie Hiker badge,

Brownie Painting badge,

Brownie Girl Scout Way badge, and It’s Your Planet—Love It! Brownie Journey. You c an

complete the remaining

requirements on your

own to earn the awards.

Get Outside with Girl Scouts!

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