According to a new study by the
Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI), More Than S’mores (2014),
girls benefit immensely from time spent outdoors. Girls who regularly spend
time outdoors eclipse their peers who spend less time outdoors in environmental
stewardship, more readily seek challenges, and are better problem solvers—all important
traits in twenty-first century leadership.
Outdoor experiences are also particularly
beneficial to girls of comparatively low socioeconomic status (SES). More
Than S’mores finds that lower-SES girls who have regular outdoor
exposure through Girl Scouts are likely to credit Girl Scouts with helping them
become leaders.
Additionally, outdoor experiences through
Girl Scouting, such as camp, are beneficial to girl leadership development across
ethnicities. Latina (38 percent) and African American (40 percent) girls are more
likely than their peers (28 percent) to say they overcame a fear of the
outdoors through Girl Scouting; seventy-nine percent of Latina girls say they
first tried an outdoor activity in Girl Scouts, and an overwhelming 59 percent
of Latina girls say Girl Scouts has offered them outdoor activities they would
not have otherwise had access to.
“In this study, we
expected to see that girls were having fun in the outdoors,” says Dr. Kallen Tsikalas, lead researcher on
the study. However, we were surprised by just how important it was for them how
much they appreciated having opportunities to take on challenges and build
skills in a socially supportive environment. Girls really want to feel
like they are accomplishing something and growing as a person, and the outdoors
is perfect place for them to do this.”
As noted, girls learn environmental
stewardship through outdoor experiences. Girl Scouts are twice as likely as non–Girl
Scouts to say they take action to protect the environment (51 percent versus 23
percent) and that they’ve had a personal experience in nature that has made
them appreciate it more (49 percent versus 29 percent).
“Girl Scout camps transform a girl’s
understanding of and appreciation for nature, while helping her build a unique
set of skills and boosting her confidence in ways few experiences can match,”
says Anna Maria Chàvez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA. “Camping has always been
one of the cornerstones of Girl Scouting, and the research is clearly showing
that there is a connection between the camp experience and girls’ understanding
of their leadership potential.”
Girl Scout camp is a tradition central to
Girl Scouts since 1912 and is still available to girls in all 50 states. Today’s
camps are highly evolved, matching the interests of twenty-first-century girls.
Girl Scouts moves at the speed of girls, which is evident in its wide range of
camp offerings—everything from STEM camp and surf camp to Hogwarts camp, farming
and sustainability camp, and Camp CEO. Girl Scouts is committed to pursuing its
mission through the camp experience, offering an astounding array of
innovative, fun, and memorable camp activities that allow girls to build
courage, confidence, and character, and make the world a better place.