Our new plans for adventure
Deputy chief guide Sally Kettle on what we're doing to help more girls have unforgettable adventures
Adventure is everywhere in Girlguiding and we want to help make sure even more girls experience adventures big and small.
Read on for an update on adventure – including 1 big event for girls every 3 years.
First up, thank you for giving your girls opportunities to try new things and go on adventures, big and small. We know that adventure builds confidence in girls and believe everyone should have access to it. We realise there can be access barriers and are working hard to remove them and make sure adventure at Girlguiding is fully inclusive.
Thanks to your amazing work, there is so much adventure happening across Girlguiding to celebrate. Last year, 61% of girls took part in an adventurous activity, 40% stayed away from home and a huge 80,000 new adventure badges have been awarded.
Adventure can look different for everyone, from a first taste in the local park to taking on more high adrenaline activities. But that’s what’s brilliant about adventure: it happens when girls grow, develop and are taken into a space where they feel brave. It’s in our DNA!
Adventure is at the heart of Girlguiding, and we’re committed to enabling adventure experiences that are easily accessible, affordable and inclusive for you and your unit locally.
Our new adventure plan
Working in partnership with countries and regions and our youth steering group Amplify, we have created a new adventure plan that will:
- Provide new guidance and support for all leaders to offer adventure experiences, including new pre-filled risk assessments and adventure packs.
- Provide funding to units to make adventure experiences more accessible, affordable and inclusive.
- Collaborate in running large-scale outdoor festival events in some countries and regions each year.
- Hold an extraordinary UK event for girls every 3 years starting in 2026.
- Keep girl voice at the heart of everything we do with the new adventure and international youth panel.
As part of our 2024 plan, this year we have so far:
- Distributed £400,000 in adventure grants to countries and regions to enable tens of thousands more girls to travel to and have adventures in their local areas. So far we’ve reached nearly 45,000 girls.
- Secured a transport bursary for countries and regions to distribute, thanks to the Gosling Foundation, to make it easier for girls to travel to adventures near home.
- And alongside our adventure activities finder, we recently launched our adventure map to make it easier to find places for adventures through Girlguiding.
Whether it’s Rainbow pyjama parties, Brownie raft building days, Guide camps in the wild, Ranger trips abroad, penny hikes on local streets, exploring castles, bug hunting in a local forest, ice skating or star gazing, adventure is everywhere in Girlguiding.
Thank you for continuing to give girls such great experiences.
Find out more about how units are finding new ways to make these experiences fun and affordable. We’re here to celebrate everything you do to empower girls and help them feel brave to go out and have adventures of their own.