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Opportunities for Girl Scouts
Linking Girls to the Land
If you're a Girl Scout or Scout Leader looking for great outdoor places sure to provide fulfilling experiences, BLM's public lands can offer a huge variety of settings for day hikes, overnight campouts, and hands-on service projects. Through such projects, girls can develop outdoor skills, learn about the land through environmental education and ecology studies, and explore careers in the outdoor and environmental fields. Girl Scouts regularly assist BLM with a variety of conservation and improvement projects, ranging from National Public Lands Day projects to those that continue throughout the year. BLM specialists can also help Girl Scouts work towards achieving a variety of merit badges.
Whatever the activity, getting to know your public lands is fun and educational. Want to find out how you can join in? Contact your nearest BLM office via the "Offices and Centers" pull-down menu at http://www.blm.gov or contact a BLM Volunteer Coordinator via the e-mail links at http://www.blm.gov/volunteer/contacts/index.html.
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"Linking Girls to the Land" Program
Begun in 1995, "Linking Girls to the Land," a multi-agency program, encourages national and local partnerships between Girl Scout and Federal agency representatives in order to offer joint conservation and outdoor programs to 2.6 million girls nationwide. Workshops for Girl Scout leaders are a key component of the Linking Girls to the Land program. These one- and two-day workshops link Girl Scout representatives with Federal agency personnel to create relationships that enhance Girl Scout programs and also benefit the agencies. Interested Girl Scout Leaders should check back at this website frequently for information on upcoming BLM Leader workshops. Project grants for local councils are also part of the Linking Girls to the Land program.
"Leave No Trace" Outdoor Ethics Training
BLM staff members have served as leaders in the implementation of the Leave No Trace outdoor ethics program, which was developed by the National Outdoor Leadership School. Leave No Trace has been endorsed by both the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA, and is the premier outdoor ethics training program taught by Federal agency personnel. LNT is taught by trained BLM masters and a cadre of volunteer trainers to those who request instruction. For more information, contact your nearest BLM office via the "Offices and Centers" pull-down menu at http://www.blm.gov and ask to speak to the Leave No Trace Coordinator.
In 2002, the Girl Scouts of the USA, through the "Linking Girls to the Land" Program (see above), is offering approximately 20 scholarships for those interested in becoming Leave No Trace Master Educators. The targets of this scholarship program are adult Girl Scouts interested in communicating and integrating Leave No Trace outdoor skills and ethics message into their councils' outdoor programs.
Leave No Trace program
Includes information on Leave No Trace training courses and educational materials
http://www.lnt.org
Information on Leave No Trace Girl Scout scholarships
http://www.lnt.org/Masters/pdf.course.info/scholarship_info_gsusa_2002.pdf ;
Scholarship application form
http://www.lnt.org/Masters/pdf.course.info/scholarship_app_gsusa_2002.pdf
National Outdoor Leadership School
Provides information on wilderness education training courses and materials -
http://www.nols.edu/NOLSHome.html
Girl Scouts at Work on Public Lands
BLM-Eastern States
"Cool Happenings: Girl Scouts in Florida": BLM Jackson (Mississippi) Field Office's wild horse activities with Florida Girl Scouts
http://www.es.blm.gov/archive/kids_new/cool/pages/gsfl.html
BLM-Nevada
Partners Against Weeds page: how volunteers, including Scouts, can help stop the spread of invasive plants
http://www.nv.blm.gov:80/Resources/noxious_weeds.htm
BLM-Oregon,
"Loon Lake: Looking for Friends": description of improvements performed by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Eagle Scouts at a popular recreation area
http://www.or.blm.gov:80/coosbay/newsreleases/fy2000/04-loonfriends.htm