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Important Information for Out of Council Troops

Girls Go Green Patch for Daisies & Brownies

	The program is intended to raise the girls' awareness and concern for the wellness of the planet. We hope that all troops will participate in this council-wide project.
Leaders: Please do these activities to the level that the girls are learning and enjoying the experience. Make it appropriate to your troop. There is a list of many good "green" websites (Girls Go Green Links) that you can refer to for more activities, tips, facts and more.

The requirements include four parts:

Talk About It
Practice It
Have Fun With It
Commit to It

Talk About It

Start a discussion by asking:

What do you think it means to Go Green?
What do these words mean?
- Earth
- Environment
- Pollution
- Global Warming
- Recycle
- Reuse

Some things that are happening to our planet when we are not careful are:

Half the people in the United States live where air quality is considered poor. (Do you know anyone with allergies or asthma?)
People of the United States use nearly $1 million worth of energy every minute.
In the United States, we throw away into the landfill 29 billion water bottles a year. (That number has 9 zeros- it's a million times 29 million or 29,000,000,000)
Half of all the world's trees have been cut down.
One third of all our food is thrown away.
People in the United States use an average of 600 lbs. of paper a year. (About the same weight as twelve 2nd graders.)
Over the past 50 years, the population of Antarctic emperor penguins has declined by 50 percent.

Practice It

A Recycle Activity
Have the girls guess what can and cannot be recycled. You may choose to show samples of these items. Challenge them with some of these items (or substitute your own choices):

Item	Recyclable?
Plastic milk carton	Yes
Cardboard milk carton	No, because the wax coating keeps it from being recyclable
Water bottle	Yes
McDonald Happy Meal toys	Yes, donate
Detergent containers (HPDE#2)	Yes, items with HDPE#2 or PETE#1 in the "Recycle Triangles"
Grass clippings	Yes, according to pickup instructions
Paper plates	No
Tin cans	Yes
Computers	Yes, according to instructions-usually one Saturday
Sweaters	Yes, either textile recycling or donating
Leftovers	Yes, either by reheating to eat or composting to add to the soil

County Recycling Programs:
Somerset County Recycling
http://www.co.somerset.nj.us/recycle.html

Hunterdon County Recycling
http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/depts/swr/hcua.htm

Have Fun With It

Choose a related activity, game, story, or quiz from the Girls Go Green Links or one of your own.

Suggestions:

Make a penguin to remind them of hte melting Antarctic. See http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mpenguin.html
Plant a tree (seedling)
Color a picture (See some easy ones at http://www.hippoworks.com/kids/coloring/

Commit to It

At this point, please ask each girl what she will do to become a "Greener Girl Scout," sort of a Green Pledge.

The Patch

Rolling Hills Troops: When you have completed the activities, download and complete the Girls Go Green Patch Form. Take the form to the Council Shop to purchase the patches.

Out of Council Troops: Go to the Out of Council page and follow the instructions for ordering.

A United Way Agency