Girl Scouts everywhere are gearing up for World Environment Day on June 5 to make it more memorable than ever!

Since its beginning in 1974, World Environment Day has served as the United Nations’ choice occasion for encouraging global awareness and action to protect our environment. It’s now celebrated in more than 100 countries!

So, let’s all prepare to make World Environment Day 2017 one of the largest, and most exciting, ever! Make plans to go outside, enjoy the beauty of nature, and remember that a healthy planet is good for all of us.

This year’s theme, “Connecting People with Nature,” encourages everyone to do something to care for Earth. Get connected and participate with your family, with your troop, or even on your own.

How can you take part?

1. Snap a photo.
   Get outside and soak up the awe-inspiring environment. Girls can earn their Art in the Outdoors badge. Or help create the world’s biggest nature album by sharing a photo or video of the place that matters most to you.
2. Plan an event.
   Create your own activity: how about a picnic, a nature hike, or a cleanup of a local park or playground? See if there are any World Environment Day activities happening in your area. Join in the fun!
3. Appreciate nature.
   It’s a big world out there, so let’s go explore it! Check out these fun, simple ways to enjoy and connect to the outdoors.

On June 5, go outside, bask in nature’s radiance, and remember that by keeping our planet healthy, we keep ourselves healthy, too. Searching for inspiration? Look no further than these go-getters from Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska who took to the outdoors to experience nature and learn about the environment:

Last summer, Girl Scouts saddled up for an authentic cattle drive to learn about the fragile grasslands that blanket the Nebraska Sandhills. Moving cattle from pasture to pasture allows grass to renew and regrow and preserves this delicate ecosystem. As Girl Scout Hayley M. explained from horseback, “With this knowledge, we’ll be able to help preserve our resources, because otherwise we will run out, and we have to make our resources last!”

This July, girls will come from across the United States to discover the same rare environmental phenomenon during Manes, Cranes, and Preserving the Plains—a Girl Scout Destination hosted by the Nebraska council and made possible in part by a grant from the Elliott Wildlife Values Project. The two-week program will provide girls with a unique experience in a spectacular setting right in the heart of America. Girl Scout Mia S., who participated in last year’s pilot, has solid advice for girls coming to Nebraska: “Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty.”

Caring about our planet and protecting the environment is part of the Girl Scout DNA. Ever since Juliette Gordon Low founded what is now the preeminent leadership development organization for girls, Girl Scouts everywhere have honored her legacy through environmental stewardship and conservation. It’s even in the Girl Scout Promise and Law.

Let us know how you’re unleashing your inner G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ as you enjoy World Environment Day. Share your story, and you could be featured on the Girl Scout Blog or in articles and videos on the Our Stories section of our site.

Let’s make World Environment Day 2017 a celebration of nature on a truly global scale!