Our Vision
Girl Guides around Australia want to see leadership on environmental issues that puts environmental protection and restoration into action. Most importantly they want to see Australia deliver on global commitments towards a decarbonised and sustainable economy where the protection of the environment is central to decision making priorities.
Girl Guides Australia empowers girls and young women to deliver environmental action and helps them to shape a more sustainable future for all.
As an international movement, Girl Guiding wants to empower all girls and young women to speak out to create a world which is sustainable and equitable for all people, including generations to come.
Statement
Girl Guides in Australia place great value on outdoor and nature-based activities and consequently believe that environmental sustainability is one of the most important issues currently facing our community.
Most urgent, is the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to decarbonise to meet the commitments set out in the Paris Agreement. Additionally, better management and restoration of biodiversity and responsible production and consumption is sought.
The way leaders approach environmental sustainability right now will impact the life we lead in the future and the opportunities all girls will have.
Australia has a unique and diverse landscape that is rich in biodiversity and includes many ecosystems, plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. Yet our unique landscapes and habitats face a growing threat from the impact of humans including clearing native vegetation, pollution and the unsustainable generation and disposal of waste.
In addition, natural disasters, including bushfires, floods, droughts, and cyclones are putting pressure on our natural environment and our communities, and climate change is making these events more intense and more frequent. Girl Guides and their communities are increasingly impacted by these natural disasters.
The decade from 2011 to 2020 was the hottest on record, and on the current trajectory global warming will exceed the 1.5C limit identified in the Paris Agreement. This poses risks for both natural environments and humans.
Girl Guides Australia believe girls and women have a key role in addressing the environmental challenges facing our country, and in showing environmental leadership in our communities.
We seek to protect, enhance and restore our environment and to make changes to address key environmental impacts within our control.
Girl Guides Say
At the 2023 Australian Jamboree, girls and young women stated that action on environmental issues were at the core of how Australia could be a better place. They were passionate and concerned about issues including:
- Human induced climate change
“Climate change is the most important issue because it’s ruining the air and the ozone layer and it’s changing the way the sun is hitting our earth and it’s messing up the weather affecting everyone. We should care because if we don’t stop it it’s going to get worse.” – Lauren, 14
- Habitat loss, clearing and threats to biodiversity
“Invasive animals are destroying the ecosystem… they end up just destroying everything and kill native wildlife. We need to protect the native animals and control the invasive species” – Kimberly, 13
“I think that a lot of animals that are close to extinction … We should plant more trees” – Mila, 9
- Litter, pollution and plastic waste
“We should probably make it a law to not let plastic get to the ocean” – Phoebe, 9
“If you throw the rubbish on the floor, just pick it up quickly and put it in the bin” – Sophia, 5
- Advocacy and action
As well as wanting to take action themselves, Guides want to see their community, governments and the nation taking action to create a better future.
“Stop focusing on unnecessary things and actually complete the goals that were set by the government e.g. the carbon free by 2030” – Kimberly, 13
Why are Girl Guides in Australia commenting?
Many girls and young people experience a very real and serious anxiety about the future of the environment and the planet, and about the world they are inheriting.
At times, girls can feel overwhelmed and anxious about the environmental threats they see around them. However, as Girl Guides they have the ability to engage in meaningful actions and create a better future for themselves, the people they love, and everyone around the world.
Girls and young women are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation because they are more likely to live in poverty, they have less access to basic human rights and they face systematic violence and dis-engagement from education opportunities that gets worse during times of instability, like natural disasters.
As part of the Guide Law, Girl Guides promise to serve our communities and to make choices for a better world, including seeking to protect, enhance and restore the environment. Girl Guides in Australia have an extensive history of engaging in meaningful actions to reduce negative environmental impacts.
What Girl Guides are doing
Girl Guides are enabled to be confident and empowered to take a stand, speak out, and take action about climate action and environmental sustainability. Girl Guides are empowered to do this in their own communities, and on a national and international stage.
| In their Local Communities Through Girl Guide programs, girls build their understanding of the natural environment through outdoor activities. As a result of our activities Guides build an understanding of the personal actions they can take to reduce negative impacts, protect the environment and undertake environmental projects in their local communities. | Across the Country Each year, hundreds of Girl Guides across the country take part in community and WAGGGS led activities such as Clean Up Australia Day, Earth Hour, Youth & United Nations Global Alliance Badges and more, working to build a better world and be better citizens. | Speaking Out Globally Each year when world leaders meet to discuss climate change at Conference of the Parties, a team of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts have been there to speak out on behalf of 10.8 million girls in 153 countries. |
Girl Guides want to see action on these key issues:
- Climate Change – Specifically addressing emission reductions and increasing national action and advocacy for communities impacted by a changing climate.
- Biodiversity Management– Support and promotion of policies, and programs that protect species and their habitats and restore our local ecosystems.
- Litter and plastic waste – Collectively reducing our negative impacts on the environment by reusing, reducing and recycling and encouraging governments and businesses to refuse, rethink and reduce the amount of waste produced.
- Caring for country – Empowerment of girls and young women to take action and show leadership in their communities, and to be the change they want to see in the world.
Girl Guides want decision makers to:
- Make decisions and enact policies which will meaningfully address girls’ concerns, and take action on climate change, biodiversity, waste and other environmental priorities.
- Support girls and young women to participate directly in decision making on environmental issues and to speak up about their concerns and their ideas for a better world.
- Prioritise activities in policies, grants and strategies that support decarbonisation and drive action towards net zero emissions by 2050 (or sooner).
- Work to fulfil the commitments in the Paris Agreement, including the commitment to keep global temperature rises under 1.5C
- Focus on the unique impacts of climate change and natural disasters on girls and young women, and address these impacts in climate change strategies and disaster planning,
- Protect threatened and native species and preserve native habitats and ecosystems balancing development with protecting natural areas and creating new greens space.
- Enhance legislation to phase out remaining single use plastics with a nationally consistent approach.
- Build community capacity through education, awareness, and access to divert waste from landfill and increase the portion of our waste which is recycled and composted.
- Enhance legislation to phase out remaining single use plastics with a nationally consistent approach.
Girl Guides can:
- Act as agents of change in their own world – reducing the carbon footprint and negative environmental impact at home, at Girl Guides and in their community.
- Experience and connect with nature and learn about the need for environmental protection.
- Encourage family, friends, and community to enhance the natural environment, planting native and protecting habitats at a local level.
- Take the lead in advocating to governments, businesses and the wider community for climate justice and environmental action.
- Innovate and be part of the solution. Work together to identify and reduce environmental impacts of their activities, for example in Guide Halls and unit meetings.
- Think before use – identify ways to reduce waste and to increase personal rates of recycling and composting.
Everyone can:
- Work collaboratively to seek solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide adaptation solutions to changing climatic conditions.
- Prioritise biodiversity restoration with native solutions.
- Refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle and better manage waste.
- Support research and innovation to help address challenging environmental issues.
Supporting Research
- Paris Agreement 2015.
- Mission Australia (2023) Climate Concerns and Young People’s Mental Health: Findings from the 2022 Mission Australia Youth Survey.
- United Nations. (2022) Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes: report of the Secretary-General.