This week on Guides' Own, we talk about the future and Space! In celebration of Space day, Astronomy day, and Star Wars day we are looking towards the future and wondering what Guiding will look like down the road. For program, we look towards the stars and talk about Astronomy and how we were taught about it as girls. In SWAGGYK, we talk about Helen Sharman, one of the first British astronauts. To wrap it up, we come back to earth and sing all of nature's harmonies with Listen to the Earth.Â
The Future of Girl Guides
When you think of the future of Girl Guides, what do you see?
The Girl Guide movement has been around for over 100 years and has gone through many changes, shaped by historical events and technology. As mentioned in previous episodes, Girl Guides played a large role in helping win the World Wars through individual contributions, fundraising, food and clothing donations, and more.
A more recent dilemma that has affected Girl Guides is the decline in membership. In Canada, girl guide membership fell down to 90,000 in 2012, which is a steep drop from around 250,000 in 1995. A lot has changed in our organization since then, including a new digital platform, a bigger focus on relevant topics such as STEM, mental health, and diversity, and a change in the uniform. They have also welcomed transgender girls and women to join the movement, and changed traditions in order to welcome girls and women of all faiths/religions.
Looking at our world now, what historical events are happening that you think will change how we conduct our guiding activities in the future? On the podcast, we talk about how COVID-19 and social distancing has pushed us to move to virtual meetings, using digital conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype. We've had to learn how to use new tools and technology, adapting our meetings to fit within the restrictions of social distancing. How about the black lives matter movement? We hope that the injustices will effect a great deal of change in our world, especially in Girl Guide
A lot has happened over our 100+ year history, but there is still a lot more change to be made. Where do you hope to see Girl Guides in 10 years? 25? 50?
Astronomy
Astronomy is quite a popular topic of discussion and learning with girl guides. It mixes our love of the outdoors with our passion for science. Why do you think so many former Girl Guides went on to become astronauts? Taryn and I can recall several times from our time as youth in guiding when we looked through telescopes, gazed at the stars, and tried to find the big constellations.
Space, and astronomy in particular, is eye-opening and full of mystery. It fits perfectly with the girl guide nature, to learn and explore the world around us. Have you done any astronomy activities with your girls? Take a look at our list of ideas and resources that will help you plan your very own astronomy night!
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has a whole webpage dedicated to Girl Guides, with a link to help you find your local centre if you're looking to earn your badges
Check out the Experiment and Create section on Girls First, and in particular the Science Lab theme
Check out your local University and see if they have any girl guide or school programs that you can take advantage of!
Do some stargazing at your next meeting or camp - if it's too cloudy, check out Stellarium, a free star map for your phone or computer
Host an Astronomy night and invite other units in your community/area! Astronomy in Action is a portable planetarium that travels all over Ontario and has programs specific to Guiding. Just like RASC, they have a program just for Guides and Scouts!
Check out Museum of the Moon and make your own Paper Mache Moon nightlight!
Helen Sharman: British Space Explorer
Helen Sharman is known for being the first British Astronaut to go into space, as well as the first woman to visit the Mir space station. But how did she get there? By being a girl guide of course! Well... maybe not directly, but we can certainly see how it would have helped nurture her curiosity and encourage her to chase after her dreams.
In addition to her career as an astronaut, Helen was also heavily focused on chemistry. She earned the title of "Girls from the Mars" not from her time in space, but rather from working as a chemist for Mars (the confectionary company). One of the many fun things she got to do was work with the flavourant properties of chocolate!
Helen now spends a lot of her time doing outreach related to chemistry and her spaceflight. She has published two books, an autobiography entitled Seize the Moment and a children's book The Space Place. Helen has also presented radio and television programmes, including for BBC Schools.
Even stuck in her home during lockdown, Helen has continued to share her experiences and advice with the world. She relates the social isolation and physical distancing to the intense preparations she made prior to her 8-day space mission.
"The main difference is that [in space] we had some element of choice that we went there, we chose our isolation, but nonetheless we were with our crewmates in a small environment and not able to go out when we wanted"
For those struggling with the restrictions, Helen recommends stargazing, video-calling loved ones, and dreaming of the future as coping strategies. She also says, "Think about what you can do, rather than what you can't." These are wise words from a former Girl Guide, who was likely taught that same principle early on in her life.
Campfire: Listen to the Earth
This week we have encountered another song with very little history... as in, we could not find anything about this song besides the lyrics and its tune. What we can tell you is that it is NOT Michael Jackson's Earth Song, which comes up when you search for Listen to the Earth on Google. We also know that this song can be sun in a round.
Listen to the Earth;
It's singing to me.
Hear all nature's harmony.
Waterfalls and raindrops,
Wind and sea.
Sing the song of the Earth to me.
Take a listen to the piano melody below and teach it to your girls for your next Earth day or environment themed meeting!
Listen to Episode 9 now to hear all of this and more! You can also catch up on all of our previous episodes, either right here on our website or on your favourite podcast app (Spotify, Apple, Google, Anchor, etc.).
Follow us @guidesown on Twitter and Instagram for podcast news, discussions, and snippets from behind-the-scenes. If you'd like to contribute to an episode of Guides' Own, send us your ideas for topics, program, campfire songs, etc. via our Contact page.
May the fourth be with you!
Marissa & Taryn