Partners: Girl Scouts of the USA

National Public Lands Day, September 25, 2010

Get Involved

• What Can Girl Scouts Do on NPLD?
• Ways to Participate
• What materials do girl scouts receive by participating?
• Girl Scout Camps
• Get Involved Guide: How to plan an NPLD event

What can Girl Scouts do on NPLD?

Install bird boxes. Plant trees and flowers. Restore wildlife habitat. Clean up trash. Collect native seeds. Repair stream banks. Clean or build trails. Remove invasive plants. Paint picnic tables. Learn about and enjoy nature. Find out about environmental careers. Go hiking, bicycling or swimming. Take photographs. And much more! 

Ways to Participate

Girl Scouts are encouraged to participate as a troops, a council, or an individual scout or family.

See examples of how to participate as a 

• Girl Scout
• Family
• Troop
• Council 

What materials do girl scouts receive by participating?

Girl Scouts that register for NPLD by September 9,  2010 will receive free NPLD brochures and promotional posters, as well as certificates for each participating Girl Scout. Each registered troop or council will have their event listed on the NPLD website. Note that it is required to register in order to receive the materials.

Girl Scout Camps

Coming Soon.

How to Plan an NPLD Event

There are two ways for scouts, troops and councils to participate in NPLD:

• Join an existing NPLD work site. Find an event organized at a park near you. Contact the site manager to make sure that there are age-appropriate projects. You can also see what other Girl Scout troops are doing.
• Organize your own project at a park or other public land area. See below for a step-by-step guide.

Get Involved Guide

Step 1: Find a Park      

Search out a nearby public land site such as a national, state, county or city park; a forest preserve, public beach; playground; schoolyard; walking trail; or bike path.

Step 2: Connect with a public land manager

Contact the park or other person in charge of that space (i.e. the principal of a school, or a city superintendent for parks, the park volunteer manager) and ask about volunteering opportunities. Work with that person to determine what improvement projects are needed and what age-appropriate work activities your troop might perform on NPLD.

Step 3: Register

In order to officially participate, Girl Scout leaders should register their troop, council or individual scouts with NPLD. Register by September 9 and you will receive free NPLD promotional materials, certificates for your Girl Scouts, and your event will be listed on www.publiclandsday.org.

Step 4: Plan the Day

Work with the park manager to plan the volunteer workday.

• Decide on the time of day and number of hours the Girls Scouts will work
• Work with the public land manager to divide up work projects and duties
• Be prepared! Create a checklist of all the things you will need. Consider bringing snacks or lunch, water bottles, sun block, sunglasses, wide-brimmed hats, hiking boots or other sturdy shoes, work gloves, a first aid kit, and of course a camera!
• Are tools, materials, equipment or preliminary work needed?  Determine where to obtain food and necessary materials. If appropriate, ask for donations from the community. Consider asking a hardware store to donate the materials that you will need, and a restaurant to donate your food and drinks.
• Try to increase your impact by recruiting more volunteers. Promotional posters, brochures, and volunteer certificates for Girl Scouts. You can request materials when registering.
• On the day of the event, make sure that you follow the safety guidelines in Safety Wise, which you can find on the Girl Scout website or in Girl Scout Shops at councils everywhere.
• Get your cameras ready to take great photos. Enter them into the NPLD volunteer photo and video contest!
• For more help with organizing your event, download A Manual for Site Managers.

Step 5: Environmental Education

NPLD is a great opportunity for Girl Scouts to learn about the natural world.

• Search our Educational Resource Library for activities and educational curricula around themes such as climate change, water, trees, wildlife and invasive plants
• Develop a project for NPLD that can enhance the experience of a Girl Scout leadership journey, such as It’s Your Planet- Love It!  Learn more about the journeys.
• Work with the public land manager to engage a naturalist or other environmental expert to engage the Girl Scouts in an educational activity during the workday.

Step 6: Have Fun on National Public Lands Day!

Have a successful NPLD with Girl Scouts helping to care for public lands and learning more about the natural world.

Step 7: Follow Up

•  Award your girls with Girl Scout certificates
• Share your story! Submit an evaluation and photos.
• Have the Girl Scouts submit photos and videos from the event for our annual photo and video contest.
• Come back! Keep in contact with the park manager and plan to visit the park again, to volunteer or simply take a hike! Try to develop a sustainable project where Girls Scouts can make a long term contribution to the park.