With the changing of the clocks lighter evenings are now here and summer camps and sleepovers are being planned. This month we have gathered some of our favourite outdoor challenges to inspire you for light evenings, camps, or anytime you want to celebrate the great outdoors.
Updated in 2021 the Anglia Outdoor Challenge is still as popular as ever. With an easy-to-view format and challenges that can be picked by your unit and tailored as you need, it can last as long or as short as you like.
For something more in-depth try the feel-good-in-nature challenge written by a volunteer project group in partnership with the RSPB. Find the Anglia challenges and partnerships in the resources section.
Learn orienteering. British Orienteering has clubs all over the UK that can help you get started with orienteering. Want to have a go yourself? The British Orienteering website has lots of guides and activities to learn the basics as well as introductory videos.
If you have an outdoor site with your meeting place you can apply to them to set up a mapped course or visit one of their many permanent courses for free.
Want to find a whole library of challenge badges and support units to raise funds? Search for and join the Facebook group ‘Girlguiding Unofficial Challenge Badges For Leaders’. All the badges listed are updated annually and are easy to find in the files section. One of our units loved the look of the Wildlife Challenge and will be completing it during camp this spring.
Feeling creative? Girlguiding Scotland has an out-and-about challenge that can be as simple or complex as you and your unit would like. You can even use it as a takeaway challenge for unit members over the holidays.
Whatever you do we’d love to hear about and see your activities so please share with us and tag us on social media. And if you have an amazing idea for a challenge or partnership why not get in touch?
Return to the member support page
Visit last month’s blog on International Women’s Day
Hautbois Activity Centre, a part of Girlguiding Anglia, has been awarded funding for youth organisations to visit the centre during the Easter holidays 2023. All costs covered including a travel bursary can be covered.
This opportunity is funded as part of UK Youth’s campaign to raise awareness of the devastating impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on youth organisations and young people.
They have funding for a limited number of spaces for:
1) activity days including 4 outdoor activities and lunch.
2) A 2-night full board residential stay including 8 activities.
Eligibility criteria
Full funding is available for young people who are:
- carers
- young parents
- in rural isolation
- experiencing mental health challenges
- have behavioural, emotional and social difficulties
- black, Asian, minority ethnic or traveller communities
- at risk of being not in education, employment or training
- disabled
- within the care system
- experiencing or at risk of the criminal justice system
- experiencing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- experiencing homelessness
- LGBTQI+
- from low-income families
- refugee or asylum seekers
In order to qualify for funded places you will be asked to provide monitoring and evaluation information for the UK Youth funders.
This information will cover:
- A leaders survey for each organisation which outlines demographic data on who the bursaries have reached and feedback from individual group leaders regarding their assessment of the benefits of the programme to their young people
- A young people’s survey which includes personal reflections on the programme
We have also been asked for three images of the delivery in action. Please note all images submitted may be used by UK Youth to support the promotion and evaluation of the programme, including submission in our final evaluation report, so we will be asking for relevant consent from at least some of the young people.
Apply or find out more
If you think this criterion applies to your unit or group and are happy to agree to the reporting requirements please contact the Hautbois Activity Centre team to discuss your booking further.
With warmer weather on its way and nature showing us how winter twigs make way for spring buds it’s amazing how much changes in the garden and the park, on our window boxes and out in the countryside.
Whatever the season life often changes around us whether we are ready for it or not.
How do we help ourselves roll with the waves and connect with the meaning of our volunteering choices? Do we know that we matter and that we make a difference to the whole we are part of?
The Action for Happiness website has this useful article on 10 keys to happier living and how meaning matters for a fulfilling and happy life. Something we can all relate to as volunteers.
Return to the member support page
Visit last months wellbeing topic of starting afresh
This month has International Women’s Day on the 8 March. Celebrate during the month and explore this year’s theme #EmbraceEquity.
WAGGGS has been a partner of International Women’s Day since 2017 and has produced an activity pack for ages 6 and onwards. Pick and choose activities from the pack, including some that are easily adaptable for 4 and 5 year olds as well.
Find the pack here on the International Women’s Day website.
Below are some of our favourite activities for each section from our own units, alongside UMAs you can incorporate into your International Women’s Day celebrations.
There will also be an International Women’s Day 2023 badge available from Girlguiding or your local trading depot. It could be your unit’s first badge in the new brand design and will be launched in the online shop to buy from 8 March.
Rainbows
Warm-up and explore fair play with the 15-minute fun and fair UMA from pack 5.
Want to challenge a stereotype? Find out what it takes to be an astronaut with the 30-minute Astronaut academy UMA from pack 6.
Some time left? Print the inspirational colouring sheets from the International Women’s Day website or they could draw their own inspirational women.
Brownies
From the age of 7 children’s gender stereotypes can be fully formed. Open the conversation using the understanding gender – at work activity from the WAGGGS activity pack (page 4).
Want to take it further? A ‘Shero’ is a female hero, a role model who inspires girls. A Shero can be a family member, friend, community leader or famous role model. Take ideas from the activity on page 16 of the WAGGGS activity pack for inspiration.
Guides
If your group are younger or newer to the idea of equity have a go at the UMA equal everything in pack 3. Here they will start to explore if equal is always fair.
You could then introduce them to the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day with the first section of this short video explaining what equity means.
To relate the theme to their everyday lives try the 20-minute understanding gender – gender lightbulb activity from the WAGGGS activity pack (pages 5 and 6).
Want to take it further? Create a full exhibition from the Shero activity from the WAGGGS activity pack. Or if your unit wants to focus on climate change, the gender and climate change activities – we’re all in this together (pages 18 to 24) or powerful chain (pages 25 to 27) could be just what you’re looking for.
Rangers
If equity is a new idea for your unit you could start with the UMA equality vs equity in pack 7. A practical way of exploring if equity can promote equality and fairness for all.
This short video introduces this year’s theme by explaining equity and how this translates into action understandably for the Ranger age group
Next, you could take a look at the 30-minute understanding gender – stereotype buster activity in the WAGGGS activity pack (page 7). Or if your group likes to debate then check out the gender and climate change – speak up for women activity (pages 28 to 31).
