Easy Brownie Girl Scout Service Project: Plastic Lid Recycling

I'm a firm believer that service projects should be something the girls can do, not something that requires extra work from mom and dad. That's why I was thrilled to find a simple recycling project that ties into both the Brownie Household Elf badge and the Wonders of Water journey.

Last summer, I was reading Beth Terry's book, Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, and stumbled on a nugget that cried out for girl involvement:

While no organism can digest plastic, there are quite a few animals that are harmed while trying: according to Greenpeace, at least 267 different species are known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of ocean plastic debris, including seabirds, turtles, seals, sea lions, whales, and fish.38 Leatherback sea turtles choke on plastic bags they mistake for food; Laysan albatross chicks starve with their bellies full of plastic bottle caps and lighters...

But how can second graders in Indiana make a difference in the world's water? By becoming aware ad learning how recycling can impact our world.

I thought, let's do a plastic project that won't require a lot of space or mess, and will bring to their attention all the plastic that we use.

For a month, the girls were challenged to collect all the plastic lids they could. While we didn't charge them to specifically look for No. 5 plastic, we asked them to look for clean lids from milk jugs, water bottles, soda bottles, prescription bottles, etc. The girls were asked to bring them to the February meeting, with the girl collecting the most winning a water prize (in this case, a "snow" making science kit that we stumbled on at clearance.)

The girls collected more than 300 lids - which, compacted, fits into about a half of a cookie case. The lids will be sent to CapsNCups, based in Evansville, Ind., which collects bottle caps and No. 5 plastic cups to downcycle into an array of secondary products ranging from mud flaps to stadium seats. Even better, since I have family in Evansville, we won't waste the shipping and will just bring the box to them at our next visit.



Need other service project ideas for Daisies or Brownies? Check out previous posts on Christmas shoeboxes and shoe collections for tornado victims through Soles for Souls.

The hardest part is letting go

One of the hardest parts of parenting is letting your children blossom into whom they are meant to be. And that process of letting go is painful.

Those baby steps of watching your child not following through on something or not holding to your ideals can make you crazy. But it's worth the wait.

Case in point: As part of my daughter's Brownie troop's Household Elf badge and Wonders of Water journey (and admittedly inspired by Beth Terry's My Plastic-Free Life), we are bridging the themes into a small community service project: collecting  lids for plastic bottles to recycle at an Evansville company that specializes in it, For the next month, the girls are challenged to collect as many plastic lids as they can; the winner receiving a prize (a small water-related science kit).

But while my daughter is interested on the surface in saving plastic, the reality is it's harder to follow through. While mom dutifully washes lids to milk jugs, orange juice, and (admittedly) Diet Coke 2-liters, the lids rarely if ever make it to her collection. They languish on the kitchen table for days, until mom, frustrated, tosses them in the trash.

Does my daughter care about the environment? Absolutely. She's into gardening and composting, learning about saving electricity. But her heart is less into America's needs as it is in Haiti's, a result of her experiences in school.

The toughest lesson is that while our journeys interconnect, they are not one in the same. And my daughter's green journey, while started earlier in life, will weave the way it wants to.

Brownie Wonders of Water Tie-Ins

The WOW Wonders of Water It's Your Planet - Love It!  Journey is on the agenda for our Brownies next fall, and we leaders are anxious to get going.

I'm always surprised by comments I've seen online poo-pooing a potential year focused on water. Think of all it ties into: our food, our health, our environment, our animals, even our faith. The possibilities are endless.

Today, I'd thought I'd share a few resources and ideas to tie into the Wonders of Water Journey, for any Brownie leaders out there hunting ideas:

Water Patch from the EPA: Though I'm not exactly certain the patch is still available, there are wonderful activities to consider.

World Water Monitoring Day resources: Water monitoring is an activity seemingly more geared toward older students than our second-graders, but there were some things more geared for younger ones, such as a mystery book on water we're at least exploring whether to offer the girls for fun. (Bonus: The items are free, though they encourage the donation of water-testing kits.)

Ocean Discovery Try-it

Let's Get Digging Try-it, which focuses on caving, erosion, etc...

In the Mud Try-It (though Midwesteners would have to tailor this)

We're also looking at the Home Scientist badge (great water-related activities!), our council's Fishing Try-it and the Household Elf badge, which focuses on greening our home.Would love to hear from others who have tackled these projects!

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