Cart is empty 
Girl Guides walk 20,000km – equal to trekking across the globe!
Ireland, 04/05/2016 – Irish Girl Guides members have trekked 20,000km in less than three months – the same distance as walking from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Girls from age 5+ took part in the North to South Pole Trek, which saw 12,000 members throughout Ireland hiking in their neighbourhoods, in parks, in forests, up mountains, around lakes, on beaches and on overseas Guide trips.
Irish Girl Guides (IGG), which will shortly receive its fifth Gold Health Quality Mark from the National Youth Council of Ireland, encourages girls and young women to pursue adventures and challenges both indoors and outdoors and to develop resilience and other essential life-skills.
Chief Commissioner Helen Concannon, who is a volunteer, came up with the idea for the trek when she realised that if every Ladybird (age 5-7) walked one kilometre, every Brownie (age 7-10) two kilometres, every Guide (age 10-14) three kilometres and every Senior Branch (age 14-30) member and Leader four kilometres, then a total distance of 20,000 kilometres would be completed very easily.
In fact, Girl Guides of all ages enjoyed the challenge so much that they not only reached the target distance four days ahead of schedule but they also overshot the target number of kilometres with more than 23,000 kilometres completed by 1 May 2016!
“Girl Guides always enjoy a challenge and we never say anything is impossible, so I knew, when we announced the trek at our annual training day on 7 February, that together we would achieve what we set out to do,” said Helen. “I was confident we would reach our target of 20,000 kilometres but I wasn’t sure we would reach it so soon and I had been prepared to put out a May Day call if we hadn’t made it!
“Statistics are often quoted of the number of girls, and teenagers in particular, not engaging in physical exercise. We find that girls are very happy to take part in exercise through initiatives such as this because they do it in a fun group environment without any pressure to perform or compete.
“This message of non-competitive participation in healthy activities is a key component of what the Irish Girl Guides do on a weekly basis. We wanted to highlight this by trekking from the North to the South Pole and showing that our girls can get active and achieve great things along the way.”
Taking part in the trek counted towards younger members earning badges like Active Body, Nature Observer and Local Knowledge, while for girls from age 10+ it will have helped them achieve their Hiker, Rambler or Outdoor Adventure badges.
Blackthorn and Hawthorn Guides, Co Limerick, enjoyed the challenge so much that the members ended up completing 466 kilometres over the course of a fun day out and a weekend away. “I really enjoyed the walk to the sea as we had a great adventure strolling through the woods to get there,” said Aislinn Barnes (age 11). “Also, getting outside was so fun while the sun was beaming.”
Olivia Lynch (age 6), a member of Mullagh Ladybirds, Co Cavan, enjoyed taking part in the trek, which her leaders also made into a scavenger hunt and an opportunity to learn the principles of the outdoor ethics programme Leave no Trace. “I really had lots of fun with the other Ladybirds,” said Olivia. “It was great when we were trying to find things in the colours of the rainbow. We had to draw them in our book then.”
Clodagh O’Donoghue (age 12), a Guide in Killarney, really enjoyed the 10 kilometre trek she did with her fellow Guides from Muckross House to Dinis and back again. “My favourite part of Guides is when we go on walks and go camping,” she said. “My favourite part of the hike was when we played in the water; the water was so cold it was refreshing! I like Guides because it gives me the opportunity to do nearly anything – from learning simple life-skills to making friends from all over the world.”
Irish Girl Guides welcomes new members from age 5+ and volunteer leaders from age 18+. To find out more, see www.irishgirlguides.ie or telephone 01-6683898.
ENDS
Contact:
Fiona Murdoch, Communications Officer, Irish Girl Guides
Tel: 085 8570565
Email: communications@irishgirlguides.ie
Helen Concannon, Chief Commissioner, Irish Girl Guides
Tel: 086 8206365
Email: chief.commissioner@irishgirlguides.ie
Notes for editors:
Irish Girl Guides has approximately 12,000 members. Guiding started in Ireland in 1911 and operates throughout the 26 counties with 1,800 volunteer leaders providing an informal educational programme of fun and challenging activities that foster confidence and leadership skills in girls and young women, enabling them to develop to their full potential and to become responsible citizens. Girls from age 5+ can choose to earn a wide range of badges, including Community Action, Cultural Diversity, Disability Awareness, Drug Awareness, Online Surfer, Science Investigator and Global Traveller.