LEAVE NO TRACE - Rainbows
Tell Girls: There is an important idea about taking care of the outdoors. It’s called minimal impact. It means that we need to take care of the earth – especially the natural and wild lands (like the woods in Maybury!). It also means that when we are finished with our walk or cookout or camping trip or playing on the playground, and we leave, there should be no way of knowing that we were there! That is, we have used the outdoors gently, not leaving anything behind like trash or pulled up flowers or left a messy site. This is especially important for a camp this large!
Activity: 1) Ask the campers to make a circle on the ground with a piece of rope (there are several pieces so you can have 3 or 4 campers per piece of rope). 2) Ask them to look in the circle and take turns saying what they see. (Grass, weeds, dirt, ants, insects, flowers, leaves, etc.) 3) Point out how different it would be if they did this in the woods, and NOT on a path. (More things to see!) 4) Explain that we want to be careful about where we put our foot or our tent, and where we play. We need to choose the places that have fewer organisms. How do we protect the ground? (By walking on established paths, camping in established campgrounds, etc.)
Discussion:Do you have some ideas about what WE ALL could do at camp so we have minimal impact on Maybury State Park? (The girls may respond with the items below. If they don’t, tell them!)
Take home our trash that we bring in, like our lunches
Recycle our disposable water bottles at the capitol
Leave what you find where you find it (Don’t pick flowers/leaves or take rocks –
leave them there for the next person to enjoy)
Stay on the paved roads and established paths
Prepare ahead so you have all you need
Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints
Tell Girls: The best way to remember what minimal impact is and how to take care of theenvironment is to always try to behave like a BUTTERFLY. Butterflies are very light and gentle on their environment. When a butterfly leaves an area, you can’t tell that it was ever there! We’re going to try to be like butterflies this week at camp. We’re going to be very careful, light and gentle at Maybury State Park, and we’re going to try to LEAVE NO TRACE and be like a butterfly.
And since a Girl Scout ALWAYS leaves a place cleaner than she finds it, we will ALL do our best to LEAVE NOT TRACE at camp this week by taking care of all of our recycling while at camp and cleaning up everything – even the smallest candy wrapper!
Take this butterfly memento so that all week you will remember to touch Maybury State Park as lightly and gently as a butterfly!
LEAVE NO TRACE – Older Campers
Ask Girls: What does minimal impact mean? (Taking care of the earth) What does a Girl Scout/Boy Scout do when they leave someplace? (Always leave a place cleaner than you found it!) How many people does it take walking over a single spot to make a path? (Two. Once a path is made it can take months or even years to return the earth to it’s natural environment.) Why do we care? (It is our responsibility to take care of nature – and have as little impact on it as possible.)
Activity: 1) Ask the campers to make a circle on the ground with a piece of rope (there are several pieces so you can have 3 or 4 campers per piece of rope). 2) Ask them to look in the circle and take turns saying what they see. (Grass, weeds, dirt, ants, insects, flowers, leaves, etc.) 3) Point out how different it would be if they did this in the woods, NOT on a path. (More things to see!) 4) Explain that we want to be careful about where we put our foot or our tent, and where we play. We need to choose the places that have fewer organisms. How do we protect the ground? (By walking on established paths, camping in established campgrounds, etc.)
Discussion: Do you have some ideas about what WE ALL could do at camp so we have minimal impact on Maybury State Park? (The girls may respond with the items below. If they don’t, tell them!)
- Take home our trash that we bring in, like our lunches
- Recycle our disposable water bottles at the capitol
- Leave what you find where you find it (Don’t pick flowers/leaves or take rocks – leave them there for the next person to enjoy)
- Stay on the paved roads and established paths
- Prepare ahead so you have all you need
- Take nothing but pictures; leave nothing but footprints
Tell Girls: There are 7 things to remember about leave no trace whenever you go outside.
1)Know before you go – check what is allowed/safe BEFORE you go there
2)Choose the Right Path – The right path is the one that is already established!
3)Trash your trash – Take your trash back home with you OR put it in a trash can
4)Leave what you find – DON’T pick anything off trees or the ground
5)Be careful with fire – Know the fire safety rules!
6)Respect wildlife – Remember, you are in their home, not the other way around
7)Be kind to other visitors – Leave what you see for other visitors and don’t disturb them
Remember that butterflies are very light and gentle on their environment. When a butterfly leaves an area, you can’t tell that it was ever there! Take this butterfly memento so that all week you will remember to touch Maybury State Park as lightly and gently as a butterfly!