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Girl Scouts Earn Badges As They Learn at Natural Habitat

Posted on: Sunday, 14 May 2006, 06:09 CDT

By Ramona Curtis, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

May 14--BELLEVILLE -- They may be made of sugar and spice, but that didn't stop a group of Girl Scouts from catching crawdads, toting tadpoles and spotting snakes Saturday on their quest to earn merit badges.

"Doing this helps me earn a patch and a badge," said Lauren Daniels as she planted begonias in the bottom of her soda bottle-terrarium.

Ten-year-old Lauren, who belongs to Collinsville Girl Scout Troop 293, was one of more than 150 girls ages 9-11 from 25 metro-east Junior Girl Scout troops who spent the day roaming the woodlands, wetlands, streams and prairies of natural habitat that lie on Southwestern Illinois College's Belleville campus.

By completing four of the seven stations throughout the habitat, each scout earned an Earth Connections merit badge and a Linking to the Land patch. The stations allowed the girls to explore animal and fish life and plant and tree species, and to learn about water safety, recycling, conservation and survival techniques.

"We show them how to identify poison ivy and the jewel weed, which grow almost side by side. The jewel weed makes a tea that serves as a remedy to Poison Ivy," said Charlie Giedeman, gardening expert and Belleville News-Democrat contributor.

The event is sponsored by the River Bluff Girl Scout Council, which is made up of the 25 metro-east troops, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Southwestern Illinois College. This is the first year that the excursion has been held on SWIC's 50-acre natural habitat, which biology professor Tom Amlung has been working to restore for the last eight years.

"We've been wanting to use the area to educate people about our natural land," said Amlung. "The whole idea was for this to be used as an outside classroom."

For many of the girls, the day was not only about learning about nature, it was also a chance to have fun and socialize.

"In the Girl Scouts, you get to experience so many things," said Nicole Bonfiglio, 13, who was part of the Scott Community Girl Scout Troop 857 that was helping with the younger girls. "And you get to experience them with other people you don't see at school every day."

Contact reporter Ramona Curtis at rcurtis@bnd.com or 239-2501.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.

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Source: Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.)

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