Brownie Sleepover at Fort Langley

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Carissa

At the start of May, a multi-unit sleepover saw the 27th, 54th and 24th Brownies get together for a heritage-themed sleepover at Fort Langley.

Once everyone was settled into their oTENTik (a Parks Canada A-Frame/Platform tent structure), they had an interpreter lead them in a “campfire program”, for which they actually spent very little time at the campfire!

He took the girls into a few of the exhibit buildings and taught them about the voyageur lifestyle. The Brownies lugged “fur bales” around and got to check out the brand new play area which wasn’t yet open to the public.

Once the interpreter left, the Brownies had the place to themselves. Securely locked within the walls of the Fort, the girls roasted hot dogs and sang a few favourite camp songs around the fire, rolled down the grassy incline, climbed the watchtowers, panned for gold, ran around and tried to find bunnies, and made yarn dolls.

In the morning, after packing up and eating breakfast, the Brownies did a nature scavenger hunt before the fort opened to the public. They took advantage of the Girl Guides heritage tour they have designed, which provides workbooks for the girls, activity guidelines, puppets and scripts for the Guiders, all of which earned them a special Fort Langley crest.

Sparks at the Palace Camp

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Carissa

At the end of June girls from the 1st and 2nd Burnaby Mountain Sparks joined forces to close out the Guiding year in style at their Sparks Go Wild at the Palace Camp and beautiful Camp Olave on the sunshine coast.

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Activities included princess themed crafts like crowns and a stained glass castle. These girls really enjoyed the chance to show their creative side and camp — Sparks love crafts!

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The little princesses also enjoyed on-theme food like a high tea party, frog princess sandwiches, princess pasta, and chocolate fondue (that last one proved that even princesses can get a little bit messy). They listened to music from some of their favourite Disney princess movies, and perfected their princess wave whenever other campers passed by.

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In addition to all the princess themed fun, the girls also enjoyed their good old fashioned camp activities like going for long walks in nature, using the blind trail, and roasting s’mores over the campfire. The girls were lucky to have beautiful weather all weekend so swimming in the ocean was a particular highlight for everyone.

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The girls were lucky to have their friends from a few of the Burnaby Mountain Brownies groups staying at a different site on Camp Olave — those girls were having a pirate camp, so the Sparks joined them one night for a joint princess-pirate campfire for s’mores and singing of some of their favourite songs.

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Camp Olave is a breathtakingly beautiful spot and our Guiders very much enjoy the opportunity to bring girls there. Even at a very young age the girls have an appreciation for the natural beauty. For many members in the lower mainland, heading to Camp Olave feels a little bit like going home.

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Over all the Sparks had a royally good time. They’re all looking forward to what kinds of adventures Guiding will bring them when we get started again in the fall!

Brownies Gotta Camp

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Carissa

Last month girls from the 24th and 54th Burnaby Mountain Brownies took part in an overnight camping experienced organized by the West Coast Area camping committee called Brownies Just Gotta Camp!

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This awesome introduction to camping event was a great way to show the girls some of the fundamentals of camping. They got to sleep in a tent, eat traditional camp food, have an awesome campfire, and learn some great skills. Woodwards Landing is the perfect spot for these kinds of adventures — this beautiful campsite is in Richmond, so it isn’t too far from home.

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As an Area level camp, this event featured girls from all across the lower mainland. So not only did the girls from two Burnaby Mountain Brownie groups get to make friends with each other, they got to meet new friends from other parts of Burnaby plus Vancouver, New Westminster, Richmond, Ladner, and Tsawwassen. We have lots of Guiding friends!

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Guiding loves to empower girls to take on new challenges. At this camp, girls learned how to safely light a match, worked on their tenting skills, and got to learn about using a compass for orienteering. These are skills that the girls will build on as they continue to move through Guiding.

These units are both looking forward to ending their Guiding year with a trip to Camp Olave at the end of the month. It is so wonderful to see the girls making so many great Guiding memories.

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Outdoor fun is an important part of what Guiding offers girls. It is so great that West Coast Area is able to put on events like this to help support our Guiders in giving girls these opportunities. It’s a lot of work to plan camps like this, and the girls and leaders had a wonderful time — thank you!

Pathfinder January Camp

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Carissa

Earlier this month the 14th Burnaby Mountain Pathfinders braved the cold winter climate at Girl Guides’ wonderful Camp Kanaka in Maple Ridge. They stayed at the tenting site Serenity but were lucky to also have access to the basement of Lougheed Lodge to warm up from time to time! That especially nice for a cozy breakfast with friends.

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When they arrived (on a chilly Friday the 13th!) girls had to clear away snow so they could pitch their tents. Luckily, their fearless leader is the district camping advisor, so the group knew exactly what to do to stay safe, warm, and dry.

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It was a beautiful weekend for hiking. This group loves to spend time in the outdoors.

Much of the weekend was spent practicing camp skills, including campfire. They spent time making different kinds of fire starters and then testing them out to see which ones burned best. Materials included egg cartons, cotton balls, candle wax, vaseline, and even tampons! They recorded not only how long each kind burned, but also assessed the quality of the flame.

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Later that night they put their skills to the test for a wonderful evening campfire, including tasty “banana boat” treats. Bananas, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles all warmed around a toasty fire… how could that be bad??

Over all it was an excellent camping adventure. These Pathfinders had a fantastic time with their friends.

Halloween Sleepover

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Carissa

On Halloween weekend, Sparks and Brownies from four different units got together at Camp Capilano to enjoy some spooky fun and friendship at a super fun sleepover. The girls had a great time making new friends from the different groups, and everyone got along great. Everybody was kept busy with lots of fun activities.

The girls got to make a variety of crafts including their very own jack-o-lantern candle holder. These were made by gluing tissue paper to mason jars, and lighting them up with a battery operated tea light. This is a special keepsake that girls will be able to remember this sleepover with for a long time.

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Other crafts included pom-pom aliens, and a popular Halloween mask colouring station.

After a supper of mummy dogs and spooky veggies, the group was lucky enough to have nice weather for a wonderful campfire. They each got to take turns making s’mores. For some of the girls this was their first time roasting marshmallows over a campfire! They sang lots of fun campfire songs before going back to the cabin.

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Before bed the girls had a dance party featuring great Halloween music like “The Monster Mash” and theme songs from Ghostbusters and Spiderman. The common room was decorated with awesome Halloween decorations including the jack-o-lantern candle holders the girls had made earlier that night. The disco-style party lights made the atmosphere perfect for dancing.

The next morning early risers got to watch the movie Hotel Transylvania 2, and once everyone was up they all enjoyed a hearty breakfast of pancakes with turkey bacon. A few more festive activities, including the ever-popular pumpkin bowling, kept girls entertained until it was finally time to be picked up.

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Over all it was a very successful sleepover. The leaders were all impressed with how well the girls got along, and everybody was very well behaved. For most of the Sparks it was their first sleepover with Girl Guides, and everyone did great!

Campfire time

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Carissa

When you think of camp, one of the first things to come to mind may be sitting around the campfire with your friends — there’s a reason this is one of the most beloved traditions in Girl Guides!

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At this summer’s Burnaby Mountain District Camp Flower Power, girls loved their opportunity to enjoy campfire. And for many, campfire wouldn’t be campfire without one important treat… s’mores!

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Whether you prefer your marshmallow lightly toasted or charred all over, part of the fun is the experience of roasting your own. Every girl has her own trick to get it juuuuust right. Every now and again something unexpected happens: a marshmallow catches flame or falls into the pit. But each mishap is a learning experience. Nothing beats being able to do it yourself. Even our littlest girls really enjoy roasting their marshmallows.

Of course, the only thing better than roasting the marshmallow is eating it, right? And when it meets graham cracker and chocolate… mmm… perfection.

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But campfire means so much more than just marshmallows and s’mores. A highlight of District Camp was getting all 75 campers together to participate in a fun sing-a-long of campfire favourites. In honour of the Flower Power theme, we serenaded camp with our chosen camp theme song: All You Need is Love.

All you need is love — love is all you need.

Sparks Dr. Seuss Themed Camp

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Carissa

It wouldn’t be Girl Guides without camping!

Most of the units in Burnaby Mountain went camping one way or another in the month of June. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) most of them were too busy having fun to spend much time snapping pictures. We were lucky enough to get some shots of the fun-loving 1st Sparks from their awesome Dr. Seuss themed camp at Camp Olave.

The Sparks had a great time reading stories, doing crafts, eating Seuss-themed food (green eggs and ham, anyone?), and doing all the other awesome camp activities like swimming, nature walks, and s’mores. In one activity, girls learned the foundations of building a good campfire by using edible materials — this girl was so proud of hers we needed to take a picture of it before she could eat the pieces!

The girls hammed up for the camera at their Dr. Seuss seaside photo booth with fun props and Who Hair Dos.

Some of their favourite characters were Thing 1 and Thing 2 as well as The Lorax.

They also had a great time singing their campfire songs and making (and eating!) their s’mores.

At the end of the day, camp is mostly about the food, right?

For many of these Sparks it was their first time doing a two night camp. The girls were very resilient and dealt with some challenges including late ferries that added a little bit of stress to the beginning of camp. But none of that slowed them down. The girls had a great time at Camp Olave and look forward to going back next year!

Rangers at Camp Olave

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Carissa

Last weekend the girls of the 12th Burnaby Mountain Rangers went to camp. It was not an especially adventurous camp — they wanted a weekend to chill out by the beach, hang out with their friends, and relax. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it?

The lucked out with some beautiful sunshine coast weather. Although they spent a lot of time outside, they also enjoyed lodging in the adorable Gingerbread cottage.

This unit has girls with a wide variety of Guiding experience — some of have been members almost their entire lives, whereas others have joined as recently as this year. It really doesn’t matter how new or old their friendships are, this small unit had a wonderful time camping together.

Several of these girls are also junior leaders in our Sparks and Brownies units and show their dedication to Guiding year round by working hard in those roles. They certainly deserved the weekend off to relax.

Here’s to plenty more opportunities for Rangers to relax and make great Guiding memories.

Burnaby Mountain District

Register today at www.girlguides.ca!

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