A group of Guides from Edinburgh have been taking action to protect their local environment by holding a beach clean at Silverknowes.
Sophie Brown, 15, Ellie Davies, 15, and Alice Semple, 14, were inspired to get their unit involved after taking part in Action for Change, an innovative new project run by Girlguiding Scotland & Girlguiding, that aims to give girls age 13 to 18 the skills and confidence to campaign and take action on the issues they’re passionate about.
Led by Sophie, Ellie and Alice the 148th City of Edinburgh Guides collected a dozen bags of rubbish during their beach clean and are already looking at other ways they can help protect their local beaches and the wider environment.
Sophie said: “I’ve always been passionate about protecting the environment but with such a big issues it’s hard to know where to start. Taking part in Action for Change showed us how we could make a real difference by taking action in our community. When we spoke to the rest of our unit about the project they were really excited to get involved so we came up with the idea of doing a beach clean.”
Ellie added: “We know rubbish left on beaches doesn’t just look awful and put people off visiting – it can also get in the sea and cause damage to local wildlife and the wider ecosystem. Organising our beach clean was hard work but we had lots of fun too and we felt really proud to have collected so much rubbish and to have made a real difference.”
Alice said: “Everyone got really involved in the beach clean so now we’re looking at completing our Ocean Challenge Badge with our Guide unit to learn more about how we can protect the ocean and the wildlife that lives there.”
Empowering girls to speak out and take action on the issues that matter to them, is just one of the ways Girlguiding Scotland is supports girls and young women to enjoy new experiences, learn new skills, grow in confidence and be a force for good.
As the leading charity for girls and young women in the country, Girlguiding Scotland offers girls age 5-25 the chance to take part in a wide and varied programme encompassing everything from outdoor adventure to social action, campaigning to international travel, arts, science, sports and international travel.
To find out more about joining Girlguiding Scotland, on behalf of a young member or as an adult, volunteer visit the website
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