Connecting with Nature

Nature Day – Eco Heroes

Our youngest Girl Guides, aged 5 to 10, have embraced the outdoors at the Nature Day event organised by our volunteer Leaders.  Although scheduled on a date in the early winter season, we were fortunate to experience the last hints of autumn weather. The event was filled with a wide range of engaging activities aimed to encourage a respect for nature while providing a platform for learning, exploration, and friendship.

The Guides donned gardening gloves, grabbed their trowels, and eagerly planted 200 trees on the Lingbogol campsite.  The significance of this effort will be apparent in years to come.

Throughout the day the Guides participated in a variety of activities that included hands-on projects to create their own bird feeders and bee hotels for use in their backyards.  They spent quite a while exploring the bushland in an observation game, searching for hidden “animals”.  They were lucky enough to observe a real rosella resting in a tree branch and hearing the calls of the resident kookaburra. Discovering mushrooms was an exciting bonus … red ones, brown ones, purple ones.

Engaging their creativity, the girls decorated their own sit-upons, providing them with a comfortable spot to sit during the event and for future outdoor adventures. They also personalised nature-bash bags with the colours from fallen leaves, providing a practical place to carry the items created on the day.  And somewhere to pin their special Eco Hero badge.

In a display of artistic expression, the young Guides each contributed to painting a floral mural on a plain external wall, leaving a lasting mark of their special day.

As this was an event with members attending from throughout Central Highlands Region, it was lovely to watch the girls liaise with others from different units and to enjoy the activities with new friends.  This emphasises that Guiding extends well beyond the walls of our own Guide halls.

A word from our Guides

Imogen

It was the bestest and the 10 out of 10 thing was the animal search where I got to keep the butterfly.

Sally

I loved painting the mural of the butterflies