Teach Your Brownies Outdoor Skills with These Fun Activities

Taking the young members of the Brownies and Girl Guides out into nature provides an unparalleled opportunity to develop their skills while having fun outdoors. Enjoying the great outdoors not only helps develop an appreciation for nature, but also helps Brownies gain confidence and practical know-how that will serve them throughout their lives. This article suggests some activities tailored for 7-10-year-olds that allow Brownie leaders to impart outdoor education in a safe, engaging way.

Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt

A nature scavenger hunt encourages Brownies to explore the outdoors with all their senses while working together on a Brownie pack holiday or day trip. To set it up, compile a list of natural items for teams of Brownies to locate, such as different coloured leaves, seeds, flowers, pinecones and feathers. Ensure teams take pictures of items as proof. To add friendly competition, the first team to complete the list or find the most items wins. As well as bonding through teamwork, this activity improves observational and identification abilities. Most importantly, it connects Brownies with nature in a fun way.

Learn How to Read a Map

What outdoor skills are complete without learning how to read a map? Provide teams of Brownies with simple maps of your location with markers indicating treasures or treats to find. Ensure maps use easy-to-understand symbols and grids. You can make it as easy or as challenging as appropriate for your group’s abilities. As teams use their maps to locate treats you’ve hidden, they’ll pick up on vital navigation concepts while enjoying a tasty reward! This engages spatial reasoning and orientation skills essential for any outdoor activity.

Cook Outdoors

Combine camping and cooking with a tasty outdoor lesson! Have Brownies help gather kindling and wood for a campfire (with supervision of course). Provide simple ingredients and let their creativity shine through deciding what to cook. Foil parcels of vegetables and meat, or fruit crumbles wrapped in foil packets allow for easy campfire meals. You can even bring campfire doughnuts or baked apples for dessert. Outdoor cooking not only provides basic cooking know-how but brings invaluable lessons around fire safety, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. What’s more, eating around the campfire often provides some of the most memorable moments for Brownies.

Play Outdoor Observation Games

Outdoor observation games take nature walks to another level by challenging Brownie’s attention skills. One simple activity is Nature Bingo. Create bingo cards with items commonly found outdoors, like pinecones, acorns, squirrels or various plant types. As Brownies walk through nature, they search for items on their cards and cross them off when spotted. The first with a complete row or filled card wins. This sharpens observation and identification in a competitive, engaging way.

The great outdoors provides an ideal venue for Brownies to pick up new talents while having a fabulous time with their unit. The activities above allow Brownie leaders to seamlessly impart important outdoor education including orientation, teamwork, and camp craft skills.