Girl Scout Ranger Program

Girl Scout Ranger Program

National Park Service and Girl Scouts of the United States of America have partnered to create the Girl Scout Ranger Program. Girl Scouts are invited to participate in a variety of existing, organized educational or service projects at national park sites, or design their own experience or project to align with Journey work, badge activities, or a Take Action or Highest Award project.

How to Earn a Certificate and/or Patch

Girls can participate in the Girl Scout Ranger Program through a troop, event, travel, or camp experience, and will be awarded a program certificate and/or patch upon completion for their Girl Scout grade level.

To earn a Girl Scout Ranger certificate, Girl Scouts should participate in organized education activities and/or volunteer service projects for a minimum of five (5) hours at one or more national parks.

To earn a Girl Scout Ranger patch, Girl Scouts should participate in organized educational activities or volunteer service projects for a minimum of ten (10) hours at one or more national parks.

Getting Started!

1. Chose a National Park Service site.
   Visit https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm. Choose a national park, a monument, or any of 407 sites protected by the National Park Service. Explore nature, learn the history and read the stories to discover why it is important to preserve your park.
2. Imagine Yourself in a National Park.
   Brainstorm activities that you might want to experience at a national park. Consider working outside with a geologist or inside identifying fossils. Maybe wildfire restoration, building a bridge, or a night sky project interests you.
3. Contact the park and make a plan.
   Call the park (the phone number is on the park's website under Contact Us). Identify yourself as a Girl Scout. Ask if there is someone who works with the Girl Scout Ranger program or a volunteer coordinator. Express your ideas to the coordinator. Together, plan a project to help the park and fulfill your goals.
4. Go to the park and Have Fun!
   If your park does not have a volunteer program or is too far away to visit, create a Take Action Project.
5. Have Fun!
   Once all the logistics are set up, go and have fun with the Girl Scout Ranger Program! Feel free to keep track of your participation in the program by using the downloadable Girl Scout Ranger Activity Log! Once you completed, print your certificate.
6. Share the experience.
   Share your best shots on Instagram and Twitter using #gsoutdoors (don't forget to tag @GirlScouts) and you can be part of the largest Girl Scout photo collage in the world!

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  It's cool to be a Girl Scout Ranger in the National Parks

  The Girl Scout Ranger Program is a partnership connecting Girl Scouts with National Park Service sites across the United States. Girls and troops who wish to participate in the Girl Scout Ranger Program can visit the National Park Service website to locate a park ("Find Your Park") near their home. There, they can also explore the history of the park and learn about its natural and cultural resources. Troop leaders and parents can arrange for activities like hiking, biking, wildlife watching, and guided interpretive tours, and the Girl Scout Ranger Program will also allow girls to build their own unique park experience, earning badges and patches along the way.

  Duration:

  3 minutes, 46 seconds

Girl Scout Gold Award Certificate of Recognition

The NPS prioritizes working with partner organizations, such as Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation at national park sites.

In addition to these opportunities, the NPS would like to recognize scouts and their achievements and/or accomplishments related to the environment and/or conservation. Girl Scouts who have completed their requirements for the Gold Award are eligible to receive a certificate of recognition from the National Park Service.

Please click here to download the Gold Award Certificate of Recognition. (Use of the certificate is based on the honor system, as the certificate should only be downloaded after earning the award).

List of parks offering the Girl Scout Ranger program.

Acadia National Park, ME

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, TN 

Aztec Ruins National Monument, NM

Cape Lookout National Seashore, NC

Channel Islands National Park, CA

Chiricahua National Monument, AZ

Cowpens National Battlefield, SC

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, KY

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, OH

El Malpais National Monument, NM

Fort Donelson National Battlefield, TN

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, NC

Fort Stanwix National Monument, NY

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, SC

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, WA

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, IN

Gettysburg National Military Park, PA

Great Basin National Park, NV

Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL 

Haleakalā National Park, HI

Harry S Truman National Historic Site, MO

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, OH

Indiana Dunes National Park, IN

James A. Garfield National Historic Site, OH

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, WA

Lewis & Clark National Historical Park, OR

Mammoth Cave National Park, KY 

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, MN

Monocacy National Battlefield, MD

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD

North County National Scenic Trail, MI

Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm, MD

Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park, SD

Roger Williams National Memorial, RI

Saguaro National Park, AZ

Shenandoah National Park, VA

Southeast Archeological Center, FL

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, KS

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve, FL

Tumacácori National Historical Park, AZ

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, AL

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, PA

Valley Forge National Historical Park, PA

Waco Mammoth National Monument, TX

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, MO 

Women’s Rights National Historical Park, NY

Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yosemite National Park, CA
 

Please be advised, this is not an exhaustive list of parks that offer Girl Scout Ranger. For a listing of Girl Scout Ranger programs in your geographical area use our “Find Your Park” locator.