Pitch-In CANADA week is held during the first week of May of every year. Thousands of
groups across Canada participate including schools, colleges, environmental groups,
community groups, Scouts, and of course Girl Guides! In fact Girl Guides are often the
second largest organization to participate, just behind schools!.
Annually hundreds of Girl Guide units - which means tens of thousands of Sparks,
Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders, Senior Branches (Cadets, Junior Leaders, Rangers) and
Guiders - plan a clean-up or beautification project in their community. Traditional areas
of focus are parks, playgrounds, church yards, school yards, cemeteries, highways, rivers,
lake shores, beaches, and entire communities.
Registration can be completed on the internet at www.PITCH-IN.ca or by clicking here. The website also has
clean-up project ideas, environmental activities, pitch-in pictures and stories, and other
exciting information. For those without internet access or for those who prefer
"snail mail" you can receive a project registration for by writing:
PITCH-IN CANADA,
Box 45011 Ocean Park R.P.O.,
White Rock, BC., V4A 9L1
or faxing (604)535-4653.
Here are some areas within
the Girl Guide program to which a Pitch-In project can be applied:
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Sparks |
Program Ideas
for Spark Guiders: Sparkling Ideas
Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada, 2005.
|
Theme: Let’s Share in the Clean-Up!
Litter pick-up activities (parks, playgrounds, shorelines,etc.)
Going Outside
Keeper
Additional
Activity:
Celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd by doing a special
project for your community.
In My Community
Keeper
Clean Water:
Discuss the importance of keeping our water clean. Talk about
how plants and animals depend on water to live. Ask girls what they
can do when they visit lakes, rivers, streams or other natural
bodies of water to keep it clean. Using cutouts and/or their own
drawings, have the girls make a “Clean Water” poster.
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Brownies |
The Brownie Program: Brownies Can Do It!
Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada, 2007
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Key to My Community
Community Counts
Interest Badge:
Help out at a food bank, community garden or other community
service. Choose another way that you would like to serve your
community and do that.
Key to the
Living World
Celebrate Earth Day
on April 22nd:
Help clean up your neighbourhood, school or local park.
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Guides |
The Guide
Program: Guides on the Go!
Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada, 2005.
|
Interest Badge
Water:
Find out the main causes of water pollution in your area.
Suggest several ways for improving the water quality in your
community.
Outdoors in the
City:
Participate in a local community service event or project. For
example, you might participate in a park clean-up.
You in Guiding
Program Area
Be Involved in Your
Community:
Participate in a Green Connection environmental service project
and help promote environmental awareness. Assist in the community
shoreline or park cleanup, or another activity of your choice.
Beyond You
Program Area
Learn About Our Environment:
Learn about an organization or person who is a leader in
promoting a healthy environment.
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|
Pathfinders |
The Pathfinder
Program: Listen Learn Lead Live!
Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada, 2006 |
Creating Your Future Program Area
Lend a Hand:
Discuss ideas for a service project with other Members of your
unit or group. Once you’ve agreed on something, plan the event and
then participate in it. Afterwards do a short evaluation.
Exploring a
Theme Program Area
Our Environment:
Choose a park, campground, green-space, rock embankment, forest
or stretch of shoreline. List all the signs that people have been
there. Collect all items that don’t belong naturally in this green
space. Lay these items on a tarp and decide which ones would
naturally disintegrate into the soil with no consequences; which
would have some consequences; and which would still be there one
hundred years from now. Afterwards, discard all items properly by
recycling or throwing them away. Expand your clean-up to another
location. Take some before-and-after photos or make a list of what
you collected to show what you have a done. Reward yourselves by
looking at the difference you have made! For safety in handling
waste materials, wear gloves, footwear and any other gear that will
protect you from cuts or other hazards.
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Rangers |
The Ranger
Program: You Lead the Way
Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada, 2008. |
Environment, Outdoors and Camping Program Area
Natural vs.
Unnatural:
Prepare an “unnatural” hike for younger girls. Place manmade
items at various points along a trail. Give a list of the items to
each team and ask the girls to find them. Talk about litter and what
it does to the environment.
To Camp or Not to
Camp:
Discuss the environmental impact of camping. Find out what you
can do to make your camping trips less harmful to the environment.
You might want to investigate Leave No Trace, an organization
dedicated to outdoor skills and environmental education.
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These are just some ways
that a PITCH-IN CANADA project can fit into the Girl Guide program. Let’s set a
good example for everyone in the community to care for the natural environment
and public places. Plan a PITCH-IN project for PITCH-IN CANADA Week in April!
To obtain information
about crests available from PITCH-IN CANADA for members of your section
click here
To return to the previous
menu
click here.
