In 2012, the organization Girl Scouts will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting in the United States. To mark this milestone and honor the founder, Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts of all ages are engaging in a nationwide, annual, signature community action project called “Girl Scouts Forever Green.” Girl Scouts of all ages are pitching in and sharing the good news about the community. Reusing and recycling to make art or crafts encourages creative thinking and problem solving. Kids are challenged when they’re presented with solid waste as art materials.
One such group, a little like resembling the idea that the smallest child can make the greatest impact, is a Daisy troop out of Northview Elementary in the North Kansas City School District. Troop co-leaders Debi Kennedy and Ann Stepp wanted to see what their girls in troop 2094 could do to help the environment. They picked up trash at a local park. Kennedy took the trash and sorted it for use in an art project. She also disinfected the pieces. Some of the pieces that worked included bottle caps, water bottles, old pens, and candy wrappers. Kennedy created a wooden pumpkin and the girls decorated the piece with the trash and then painted everything.
Their daughters, who are first-graders, talked about their art. Ainslee Stepp, Grace Kennedy and Madison Swafford, another friend, all liked picking up trash. Grace says the work was tiring, but cool. Ainslee says their actions are helping to save the planet. Grace says the world is a little cleaner.
“Art is a chance for exercise for your hands,” Ainslee says. Madison says she likes to paint and draw. “It’s worth letting the girls see what art can mean,” Stepp says. Kennedy says the school staff will hang the pumpkin to demonstrate what the Daisy troop has done.
