How volunteers are making adventure happen
How volunteers are making adventure happen
How volunteers are making adventure happen
From low-cost, low-resource nature trails to adventures on the high seas
Adventure comes in all shapes and sizes, and we’re celebrating all the ways volunteers have been making it happen.
Recent research from our Girls Attitudes Survey shows that girls’ happiness has hit an all-time low. Only 17% girls and young women aged 7-21 said they feel very happy in 2023. Girls also told us that being outdoors makes them happy. More than three quarters say they’d like more opportunities to be outdoors, have adventures and try new things. So, it’s never been more important than now to encourage girls to get active and have fun outdoors.
In 2021, over a third of young people associated terms like ‘adventurous’ and ‘brave’ with boys more than girls. But we know adventure is for everyone – including girls.
Adventure means a lot to guiding
Girls have been having adventures in guiding for over 100 years. There’s even stories of the late Queen Elizabeth II hiking, making campfires and going on scavenger hunts as a young Guide in 1937.
It’s been the bedrock of girls’ experiences for a long time - which is one of the reasons we created our beautiful set of adventure badges.
Our adventure badges cover 5 themes in each section: height, land, snow, water and sport
As a volunteer, you have a huge impact on girls’ lives by planning activities that keep them discovering new things every day.
‘If girls are able to have an adventure that challenges them, they can get to know their minds and bodies a lot better.’
- Sally Kettle, deputy chief guide and adventurer
Whether it’s water sports, scavenger hunts or trips abroad, we met with volunteers who’ve run brilliant outdoor activities to help inspire your own unit adventures.
Getting stuck into nature
Exploring nature is a great way for girls to uncover their adventurous side. For Rainbows and Brownies, you can take them on a walk to a local park and get them collecting different things along the way.
One Rainbow unit based in Watford explored the area around their unit meeting place. Leaders gave them a bag to collect leaves and sticks before sticking their newly found treasures onto pieces of paper to make natural art.
Even small adventures like this that don’t break the bank or take a lot of time to organise can be big, bold and exciting for girls.
White water rafting and treasure trails
As an end-of-term celebration, volunteers from Tay and Ochils took over 100 Guides, Rangers and young leaders on a thrill-seeking white water rafting adventure along the River Tay. The girls were split into groups and those who waited to board rafts explored Aberfeldy on a murder mystery treasure trail … while the first group set off on their adventure. That helped to build flexibility into the day as there was less pressure on the girls’ arrival time.
‘Building flexibility into your trip also means you have time for a post-adventure debrief before everyone goes home – we had hot chocolate and doughnuts!’
- Moira, a Guide leader in Tay and Ochils
The trip leaders started planning their adventure through our adventure finder and found that white water rafting worked perfectly for a large groups, because 6-8 people could fit in one raft. This meant more girls got to wave their paddles in victory as they tackled the rocky waters, and everyone was awarded a water adventure badge!
One volunteer from Tay and Ochils county has mapped out a 3-year cycle of events for their county, so that girls always have a new adventure to look forward to. They plan to do 1 wet and wild experience per year - either white water rafting, canoeing or visiting an aqua park. After they’ve ticked off all 3, they’ll repeat the cycle again for new girls.
This approach to adventure means leaders are familiar with the risk assessment for each activity and they feel more confident running the adventure for a second time.
Sailing away on a yacht adventure
Fancy making a splash? Girlguiding South West soaked up some vitamin sea chartering 2 72ft challenger racing yachts. Since there were seafarers onboard, no sailing experience was necessary, so the trip was open to all Rangers.
The yachts sailed away from Gunwharf Quays for a week of stowing, helming, handling sails, and working as a team. But it wasn’t all about learning new skills. By tackling an extreme adventure at sea, the girls discovered a lot about themselves too.
‘In true guiding spirit, a boatload of strangers became good chums by the end of it. They sang campfire songs on rainy days, learned how to crack on, be brave and challenge themselves.’
- Sarah, a Guide and Ranger leader in Hampshire
This was a county event, but you could make a sailing trip work for your Ranger unit. Get in touch with a local sailing trust to see if they have a smaller boat to accommodate the size of your unit.
Beasts, bats and birds - oh my!
If high-adrenaline water sports aren't an option for you, there are plenty of adventures worth seeking out on land! A unit in Stockport planned a ‘night of nature’ in a field attached to their local unit place.
Splitting themselves up into small groups, the girls rotated between different activities like painting with dandelions, bird watching, bat detecting and mini beast hunting. All the activities needed nothing but pen, paper and keen eyes, meaning it was really easy for volunteers to organise. The leaders awarded those who spotted the most wildlife with a sweet treat and our ‘I love adventures’ and ‘I love camping’ badges.
The same unit also went on a A-Z nature scavenger hunt around their local area and found some alpacas along the way!
Scavenger hunts are a brilliant idea that can be adapted for girls across any sections who want to earn a land adventure badge.
Urban excitement in The Big Smoke
Do you struggle to find green space near you? If you can’t find any nature parks or water reserves within reach, don’t worry – cities are jam-packed with opportunities for adventure!
One Ranger unit based in the Scottish Highlands, swapped mountain ranges for sparkling city lights and travelled to London on a girl-led adventure.
'When planning city trips, Google and social media are your friends! Get girls to search stuff on Instagram and TikTok to see what other people are doing to make the adventure feel inspiring and girl-led.'
- Anna, Ranger leader in Inverness
From navigating the tube and organising café crawls to visiting Pax Lodge, the girls were empowered to take the lead and work out what they wanted to do themselves and make it happen! They even made their guiding promise at the top of the London eye, the perfect chance to claim their height adventure badge.
Magical moments in Morocco
International trips take extra planning, but they’re worth it for the guiding memories. This July, 16 Rangers flew to Morocco to embark on a walking expedition across the Atlas Mountains. The group teamed up with a company specialising in expeditions who were on hand to support volunteers with itinerary planning and risk assessments if needed.
The girls visited Marrakesh and bonded over a unique experience trekking mountainous terrain. They even built a recycling centre for the local area and got a chance to spent time in local villagers' homes, listening to music and celebrating the end of their incredible trip.
'If you want to plan an overseas trip, my advice would be to start planning early and take a team with you that you can share the admin load with. When you have someone for each task, it’s completely do-able! The trip itself massively outweighed any prep and I’d do another international adventure in a heartbeat.'
- Rachel, a lead volunteer for Team Morocco
Your lasting impact
The time you spend planning adventures for girls makes a difference. It doesn’t matter if the adventure happens in your unit or somewhere far away, the guiding memories will last a lifetime – which makes all the planning worth it.
Being a part of Girlguiding has a huge impact on girls’ and young women’s lives. We know that girls in Girlguiding are up to 23% more confident than the UK average, and the influence Girlguiding has on girls’ confidence more than doubles between early and mid-adolescence years.
Some girls are even going on to have their own adventures, thanks to the support and encouragement given to them by their local leaders when they were younger. By building their confidence through fun adventures, you’re having a lasting impact and lifting girls’ spirits when our research shows their happiness is at an all-time low.
This summer, a young leader represented Team GB in the Junior Roller Derby World Cup which took place in Valence, France! Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by 2 teams of 5 skaters.
Charlotte, who was a Guide and a Ranger and went on to become a young leader, speaks about how important guiding adventures were to her:
'Being a part of guiding 100% made a difference to my confidence to take on an adventure. Guiding has made me so much more open to take part in new and scary things, especially with a group of others. It’s also taught me how to make friends with ease, which meant that during the world cup I was able to make friends with players from Canada, Denmark, and more.
'There are many leagues across the UK that would be so happy to work with Girlguiding and teach girls what roller derby is. Outside of that, roller derby can be adapted into a non-contact sport to accommodate for safety regulations. A roller disco could also be a great way to involve girls in skating!'
Finding inspiration for adventure
You can find ways to adapt adventure to your unit by mapping urban or rural walks, creating your own treasure trails or even encouraging girls to fundraise for a personal challenge. Whatever you choose to do, a special adventure badge could be waiting for them at the end.
'If you’re struggling to find inspiration, have a chat with the girls and ask them what they think would be challenging! Demystifying an activity helps, so you can invite a guest to the unit to share their experience or let girls explore what they might like to do in pairs or groups.'
- Sally Kettle, deputy chief guide and adventurer
Or you could start by checking out our adventure finder. From stone skipping and stargazing to skiing and paddleboarding, there’s something for every girl.
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