I’ve been talking about Take Action projects instead of Service Projects. The idea is this: service projects are one time projects that benefit something occurring now. Take Action projects are sustainable projects that benefit the community over time. For example, picking up trash at a park is a service project, but creating awareness about pollution and taking action to stop it is a Take Action project. Get it? Personally, I really like the new title. It makes me feel good about myself. Discover. Connect. Take Action. Gosh, Girl Scouts are great!

Still dissecting these books to write the program curriculum. And I think I’m having a little too much fun with it… it has consumed my entire life! If I’m not sleeping, chances are I am thinking about Journeys. Activities I’m thinking about so far:

Daisies: Make a petal car (you’ll have to read the book); make sea glass mosaics; origami paper seed starter boxes; osmosis experiments; make paint from flowers; sand art; salt water experiments; make rainbows; Take Action project

Brownies: design and make a water filter; water experiments; awareness posters; build plastic boats; make a turbine; Take Action project

Juniors: make recycled paper; paper beads; aluminum jewelry; plarn bags; energy audits; Take Action project

That’s all I’ve got so far. Ideas?

Working on dissecting the Journeys and planning activities for them. We are going to incorporate a lot of STEM activities into each level which will be really awesome! I’m thinking we should make a water turbine… (I say dream big)!

Found a new grant opportunity today that I really hope we get. It is for STEM curriculum in middle schools. Was brainstorming (more like day dreaming) with Michelle earlier and if we get the grant, we are going to build a Green Wall! Yep, you read it right. A Green Wall. A Vertical Garden. A wall made of plants! Wouldn’t that be the neatest thing ever to hit Tucson? I think so. We will build it at our Hacienda Environmental Learning Center. (on one of the bathroom walls)…(because the outside bathroom is ugly) So, we will take a Middle School who is doing the Breathe Journey and the green wall will be their Take Action project. It will improve air quality, control solar gain, make the bathroom look nice and grow pretty things. How cool is that? We will build it in April on Global Youth Service Day, so all girls are invited to come help out!

Think these Cadettes are up to it? I think so!

Kristen C likes my celebration idea! Woo! Can’t wait to dig in and start working on it with her. BUT she is leaving for Nicaragua on the 10th! She will actually be doing the Journeys with the girls in Nicaragua this summer as our council’s first Virtual Pathway! (super neat) She is keeping a blog while she is there, check it out: http://sgscnicaragua.wordpress.com/

Had a great idea for the end of journey celebration today! (at least I think its great… it may not be) I’m thinking a Love Your Planet Expo where we can show off all of the Take Action projects that the girls have come up with during their journeys. We could maybe invite community members to come and see what we are all about and make it a celebration of everything they’ve done and are going to do.

Another idea too: The Brownie Journey is called “Wonders of Water” and is all about saving, loving and sharing water. I think that when we get to the part about water pollution we will build boats out of plastic bottles and other junk that gets left to endlessly float and contaminate and then we can race them in the pool!! I think that sounds really awesome… I hope 2nd and 3rd graders think that is cool too!

Journey books were on my desk when I arrived this morning. I can’t stop looking at them. Truly amazing! I think it is really cool that each book incorporates something from Southern Arizona. I think that will make it a little more personal and interesting for all the girls.

Reading through the Journey grant. Everything looks very doable! I can’t wait until the books arrive and I can actually see what these brilliant Girl Scout minds came up with! The 1st Journey was pretty awesome and I think I did it with every one of my troops (or at least elements of it). Timalee gave me a journey sneak peak folder and it totally has me drooling!

We got word today that we were chosen as one of the councils to pilot GSUSA’s 2nd Leadership Journey, “It’s your planet ~ love it!” We are all super excited about it. There are 6 different Journeys, one for each level of Girl Scouts and all focused on a different environmental theme. This is fantastic because we are already doing so many green activities and this is the perfect companion curriculum for our current projects.

Challenge: deliver the Journey to 100 community troop girls and 100 traditional troop girls and then have a huge party at the end! Can we do it? YES WE CAN!