Activism Log #9

Jessica Schwendeman
WST 3015 – Perez
4/25/10

Activism:
This week I worked for a little bit at the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council main branch in downtown Orlando, to come up with some summer programs for their day camp. I was leafing through several of the handbooks that they use for ideas and gaining badges for an hour or so, and was really struck by the activist perspective they use. Currently a major theme of their programming is environmental activism, and girls taking a leadership role in speaking up for the planet and brainstorming ways to connect with other girls from all over in order to work toward this goal. They also show examples of how one girl, or a small group of girls, got together to make a difference in their community.

Reflection:
The writings in the handbooks definitely had a major eco-feminist slant. It reminded me quite a bit of the Gaia Girls texts, where the importance of one voice, and the individual is exemplified. As Gaia tells Elizabeth, “There is only so much I can do…everything I have tried – flood, fire, famine – has only hurt those who are doing me harm. I have struggled to find a way to be more precise” (Welles 108). The way that she is able to be more precise is to use Elizabeth – an individual – as her instrument. Even though Elizabeth is working with the powers that Gaia gives her, and they are absolutely essential to the tasks that she is set, she still has to use her own thinking and her own head in order to come up with solutions to her problems. In this way, I think that Welles is encouraging the individual to act through her story.

Reciprocity:
The Gaia Girls texts show how one person can make a difference, and I think that one person can always make a difference in the life of another, especially when you’re working with a group of girls who need your help. Sometimes you can’t always reach a person, but in reflecting over my group’s actions, as well as the work I’ve chosen to do with the Girl Scouts on an individual basis this semester, I think that my actions may have made, maybe, a small impact on a few girls’ lives. That makes it worth it to me.

Works Cited
Welles, Lee. Gaia Girls: Enter the Earth. White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green Pub., 2006. Print.