Happy National Great Outdoors Month!
Many Girl Scouts will tell you that camping trips are one of their favorite parts of their Girl Scout experience – and not just because it’s fun! Being outdoors allows girls to try new things and get real life experiences first hand that can help empower girls for a lifetime! Girl Scouts is happy to say that we have had a long and successful history of getting girls outdoors – and since it’s National Great Outdoors Month we thought we’d celebrate some of the best things about the Girl Scout experience in the outdoors!
When girls spend quality time outdoors they thrive physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Here’s how!
Girls discover that they can better solve problems and overcome challenges.
Spending time outdoors allows girls to interact with challenges hands on! Our Girl Scout Innovators can find thousands of ways to solve the challenges they’ll encounter while they’re exploring nature – each solution as unique as the next! From learning the best way to pitch a tent, or how to navigate a canoe – being given the opportunity to work out problems themselves helps girls to build confidence. Better yet, facing challenges head on outdoors helps give girls the confidence to face new challenges everywhere!
Girls develop leadership skills, build social bonds, and are happier overall.
Allowing your girl to take the path less travelled and try something she hasn’t done before can help her to develop her leadership skills too! All Girl Scouts are Leaders at heart, and that doesn’t change when a girl sets out to explore the great outdoors. Whether she’s testing her hand at archery for the first time at camp, or helping to lead the troop on a new hiking trail, your girl will learn how to make decisions that help her to grow. As an added bonus, it’s a great opportunity for girls to spend time building friendships!
Girls become team players and care more about protecting our environment.
While girls are spending quality time with friends outdoors they’re learning to be team players too – and not with just each other during a game of soccer! Being outdoors helps girls learn how to be a team player with everyone – nature included. It’s up to all of us to help keep our environment safe and clean, and when girls spend time outdoors, they gain the knowledge and skills to help keep our planet healthy!
Are you ready to celebrate Great Outdoors Month like a Girl Scout?
Keep the adventure going all summer long by accepting one of our #gsoutdoors challenges! For each week of June, Girl Scouts will be releasing a new challenge to help push you to explore the great outdoors in new and exciting ways! By participating in one of our many #gsoutdoors challenges, and posting a photo showing off how you took on an outdoor challenge with the tag #gsoutdoors, you could win BIG! At the end of each challenge, Girl Scouts will randomly select one lucky winner (four total) to receive an awesome prize from The North Face!
Visit GS Outdoors here to learn more about #gsoutdoors challenges, or check out all the different ways you can get started on your own great outdoors adventure with the #gsoutdoors challenges linked below!
Show us how you take the lead by accepting the #gsoutdoors challenge!
For more great times even once #gsoutdoors challenges are over, check out all the Outdoors Badges you can earn as a Girl Scout!
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