Listen & Learn – Hear firsthand from Jaiden and Ashlyn.

It turns out, adults are heavily influenced by what their children learn and share with them.

This is according to a joint research project between Stanford University and Oregon State University. The researchers taught 30 Girl Scout troops about energy conservation. After the Girl Scouts learned about ways to save energy, the girls continued to adopt positive behaviors for more than seven months. Great news, but what was even more striking was the way in which their parents were impacted. The adults continued positive behaviors for more than 8 months after being taught by their children.

The study is a testament to the power of young voices.

That’s good news for Inland families, as GSSGC hosted its own Brownie WOW (Wonders of Water) 4-day camp for Brownie Girl Scouts. The camp taught water conservation to 31 girls.

Girls learned about the water cycle, pollution and conservation through a series of science experiments and crafts. It was important for Cher Martin, the STEM programming specialist, “to make sure that they understand California’s in a drought and they are doing their part, even though they’re Brownies, they can still do their part to learn how to save water.”

We spoke with Jaiden, Troop 66, and Ashlyn, Troop 2114.

“Because we’re in a drought it’s important to save water,” Ashlyn said.

“I learned about water and we can’t just waste water. Don’t buy bottles of water, buy plastic reusable ones,” said Jaiden. “I’m going to ask a lot of people to sign my water drop.”

The water drop was part of their Take Action project, where girls took home a sheet (in the shape of a water drop, of course) to gather signatures from friends and family pledging to conserve water.

California is facing one of the most severe droughts on record and Governor Brown declared a drought State of Emergency in January, directing state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for water shortages. While work is being done to conserve water on a state-level, these Girl Scouts and their families are also
working to adopt positive conservation behaviors in the months and years to come.

View our Brownie WOW Day Camp photo album.