A Guide does not shirt the environment

Friday the 20th September, I had a very important Guiding event to attend. I was going to be a role model for young girls and show them what they can do with a bit of determination and resilience.

I was helping a Junior Guide unit that night, belaying for the girls at a rock climbing gym.

So that morning, I put on my Guide shirt.

I went about my day in my Guide shirt, because it was convenient. Because I’m a Guide whether I’m in my uniform or not. All my friends know I am a Guide, and if they don’t at first, they know I’m proud to be one when they see my shirt.

I had breakfast in my Guide shirt. I met some friends in my Guide shirt. I went to the climate strike in my Guide shirt.

My original caption. As a teacher, I want a habitable world for my students. As a Guide leader, I want a habitable world for my Guides. As a Guide, I want a habitable world for everyone, in fact.

I took some photos because I was excited to be one of Sydney’s 80,000+ asking for climate action from the people who have the power to make significant and fundamental changes to the way we live now, and the way our planet dies. I took those happy snaps and put them on Facebook, proud to have chosen to act for a better world.

Then I taught cello in a Guide shirt. I went rock climbing with the JGs in a Guide shirt, and had dinner in a Guide shirt.

It was only when fellow young leaders commented on my photo in a way that made me sound like a super hip rebel that I wondered if some people would be upset about me wearing my Guide shirt. After all, I was once advised by another leader in NSW that other people she knew considered the environment a “political” issue that Guides shouldn’t be involved in.

Imagine my immense disappointment when I discovered that my own state body publicly stated that requesting climate action from all world leaders was political! I knew that this was not my stance, and to my relief, it was not the stance of many leaders across the country! So instead of hiding my picture, I showed it off instead, with a longer and slightly more pointed caption about my selection as a national representative for environmental advocacy. I sent it to the Guide groups I had access to, made my post public and tagged GGA, WAGGGS and GGNSW&ACT.

New and improved caption. For more on the HSS see the end of this post!

What followed was an amazing outpouring of support from other Leaders, plans to write a formal letter to our state body, plans to create a collage of strike pictures from my HSS colleagues, and one particularly special message from another Leader:

This message was the wake-up that super-passionate-change-the-policy-2017-Karen needed. I had been so discouraged by my initial knockbacks to policy changes and Leader Qualification changes that I had resorted to making myself feel better by doing things within my Region. I am glad I am responding to my Region responsibilities, but I am more glad that I have been given the chance to revisit my original Helen Storrow project, and this time, I want to see this one through.

I am excited to be seeking lots of Leader input and support to make this happen. If you would like to be a part of drafting these suggestions, please email me: karencortez7797@gmail.com

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What is the Helen Storrow Seminar?

The HSS is a 7 day Environmental Leadership seminar run by WAGGGS, the international body for Guiding and Scouting. Young women undergo a selection process through their country's Member Organisation, and are recommended to WAGGGS for the Seminar. Only 1 or 2 girls per MO are selected for the Helen Storrow Seminar.

During the seminar, the participants learn about environmental leadership and advocacy and are educated on the most recent climate science. They are also assisted in developing a project to be delivered at a national scale upon their return.

I was very lucky to have been selected in 2017, and came home wanting to develop Australian Guides' environmental advocacy by getting girls and their leaders outdoors. I wanted to do this through policy change and through changing the basic Leader Qualifications to incorporate environmental awareness throughout all activities. Attempts to do this throughout the course of 2017 were knocked back on the basis of the qualifications having been recently revised already. Feeling as if pushing for paperwork was not useful, I have since been working within my Region to try to achieve the outcomes of my project in the hope that this will pave the way for policy changes later down the line. Until now!!! See you in my email inbox. :)