Are you a Girl Scout Ranger with the National Park Service?
Do you love the outdoors? Do you want to explore them as a Girl Scout Ranger? Then it’s time you checked out the Girl Scout Ranger program from the National Park Service!
What’s the Girl Scout Ranger Program?
The Girl Scout Ranger Program gives girls like you the opportunity to participate in fun and educational projects at at national park sites. You could go on a guided hike, help build a bridge, participate in wildlife restoration, and many more awesome outdoor activities and projects!
You can choose an already organized educational or volunteer opportunity at the park or design your own experience or project to fit with badges you’re earning, Journey awards you’re pursuing, or a Highest Awards project you’re planning. It’s girl-led at its best!
What are the steps?
There are 5 simple steps outlined for the Girl Scout Ranger Program by the National Park Service. Check them out below or at the Girl Scout Ranger Program page.
1. Choose a National Park Service site.
Visit the National Park Service website to choose a national park, a monument, or any of 407 sites protected by the National Park Service. Explore nature, learn the history and read the stories to discover why it is important to preserve your park.
2. Imagine yourself in a National Park.
Brainstorm activities that you might want to experience at a national park. Consider working outside with a geologist or inside identifying fossils. Maybe wildfire restoration, building a bridge, or a night sky project interests you.
3. Contact the park and make a plan.
Call the park (the phone number is on the park’s website under Contact Us). Identify yourself as a Girl Scout. Ask if there is someone who works with the Girl Scout Ranger program or a volunteer coordinator. Express your ideas to the coordinator. Together, plan a project to help the park and fulfill your goals!
If your park does not have a volunteer program or is too far away to visit, create a Take Action Project.
4. Go to the park and have fun!
Once all the logistics are set up, go and have fun with the Girl Scout Ranger Program! Feel free to keep track of your participation in the program by using the downloadable Girl Scout Ranger Activity Log! Once you completed, print your certificate.
5. Share the experience.
Share your best shots on Instagram and Twitter using #gsoutdoors (don’t forget to tag @girlscouts and @girlscoutswoh!) and you can be part of the largest Girl Scout photo collage in the world!
What sites are available in our council?
There are several sites in western Ohio where you can work on this program. Check out some of our favorites below or follow this link for a full list of Ohio’s National Park Service sites.
North Country National Scenic Trail:
Across seven states, including Ohio
Come to the North Country. Trek the hills and valleys. Lakes and streams remain from glaciers that molded the landscape 10,000 years before. Experience clear-flowing water, the red and gold of autumn, a fairyland of snow, tall grass prairies, and distant horizons. From New York to North Dakota, you’re never far from a great outdoor adventure. Experience your America at a walking pace.
Dayton Aviation Heritage
Dayton, OH
Three exceptional men from Dayton, Ohio — Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright and Paul Laurence Dunbar — found their creative outlet here through accomplishments and failures, and finally success. However, these men offered the world something far greater, they offered the world hope, and the ability to take a dream and make it a reality.
Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis
Toledo, OH
The battle of Fallen Timbers was the culminating event that demonstrated the tenacity of the American people in their quest for western expansion and the struggle for dominance in the Old Northwest Territory. The events resulted in the dispossession of American Indian tribes and a loss of colonial territory for the British military and settlers.
Perry’s Victory & International Peace
Put-in-Bay, OH
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace among Great Britain, Canada and the U.S. The Memorial, a Doric column, rising 352 feet over Lake Erie is situated 5 miles from the longest undefended border in the world.
William Howard Taft
Cincinnati, OH
High atop one of Cincinnati’s most prominent hilltops stands the two-story Greek Revival house where William Howard Taft was born and grew up. Hard work, a good education, and an interest in civic duty are attributes that made the Taft family outstanding leaders over the years. The environment that shaped Taft’s character and philosophy is highlighted on a visit to the site.
So what are you waiting for? Get on your way to becoming a Girl Scout Ranger today!
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