Girl Scout Promotes Youth Conservation Programs at U.S. Forest Service Centennial Congress

February 17, 2005

By Jodi Stewart, staff writer

"I owe all of my interest in the environment to the programs that groomed me as a youth."

Jessica, a 19-year-old Girl Scout who attends Illinois Wesleyan University, inspired hundreds of delegates during a speech she delivered at the U.S. Forest Service Centennial Congress from January 3-6, 2005. Jessica was nominated by Girl Scouts of the USA to serve as one of six youth panelists in the "Conservation Leaders: Today and Tomorrow" session. In 2004, Jessica was named a Girl Scout Gold Award Young Woman of Distinction for her extraordinary leadership skills and dedication to conservation and stewardship of the environment.

"Today, the youth do not understand the benefits that a healthy ecosystem brings…. This problem is due to lack of education and participation in the environment. Outside programs are vital to capturing the hearts of the youth," says Jessica. She attributes her dedication to the environment to the outdoor environmental programs that were available to her growing up. She was introduced to "the wonderful world of the outdoors through Girl Scout camp in Illinois, canoe trips in Maine and Canada, as well as whitewater rafting and backpacking in Oregon."

Jessica asked that the Forest Service focus more resources on reaching out to youth as they move into the 21st Century. A focus on youth will ensure a healthy future for the national forests. Establishing stronger partnerships with outside organizations, like Girl Scouts of the USA's Linking Girls to the Land partnership, that offer environmental education, career awareness, volunteer service, and outdoor skills development to youth is a step forward.

Jessica told the delegates "knowledge and experience need to be passed on, not between yourselves, but to the organizations that grasp the hearts of the youth. "Supporting programs both inside and outside of the forest service will increase awareness and provide an educated population that will ensure the future of our forests. The creation of a thousand forests is in one human."

For more information about the U.S. Forest Service Centennial Congress proceedings visit http://www.natlforests.org/centennial/index.htm. For more information on Girl Scouts of the USA's Linking Girls to the Land partnership visit www.epa.gov/linkinggirls.