Justice (Ambassador Journey)

Justice is part of "It's Your Planet-Love It" series.

On this Journey, the challenge of identifying environmental injustices, understanding how they arise, and realizing how solutions to them can be found are op­portunities for Ambassadors to develop valuable leader­ship skills they can use now and throughout their lives. Plus, they'll be networking with scientists, community leaders, environmentalists, and others, all of whom can offer valuable advice about college, careers, and other aspects of life after high school.

On this Journey to Justice, Ambassadors have the opportunity to earn the prestigious Sage Award by participating in activities in the six steps to understanding environmental issues. The takes its name from the word meaning wise person (from the Latin root sapere, to be wise) and the medicinal herb (from the Latin root salvare, to heal or to save). The award represents both the commitment and ability to be judicious, and it reminds us of the importance of healing.

No matter how Ambassadors travel through this Jour­ney, if they complete the 6 Steps to earning Sage, the prestigious Sage Award is theirs.

Step 1: Make yourself familiar with the “Live It” part of the girl’s book.
Read a few of the articles, checkout some of the activities and ask yourself the important questions. Complete the goals activity on page 10, evaluate your values and standards (ch.2), and identify your passions (ch.3). Pick and choose the activities that seem the most useful to you. By getting to know yourself better (your interests, yourskills, your goals, etc.), you’ll have a higher rate of success throughout life.

Step 2: Identify some of your long term goals and the skills and action’s you will need to take to make those dreams a reality.
Use chapters 4 and 5 of the “Live It” section as a guide.

Step 3: Meet successful dreamers.
Talk to your peers and adults you trust about dreams they have, andsee what stories you can uncover. Talk about dreams that came true and ones they’re still strivingtowards. Find women who interest or inspire you and interview them about what made them so successful. (Pages 10-13 of the “Give It” section can help you with interview preparation.)

Step 4: Complete a “Dream Maker” project. (Examples on page 14, 32, and 33).
Find someone in yourcommunity who has a dream (this can be a child, a peer, or an adult), and help them make that goal come to fruition. Plot out a realistic step-by-step plan that uses your talents and skills to help another’s person’s dream come true.

Step 5: Reflect.
What have you learned about your own goals throughout this process? How has your dreaming and planning process changed or developed? How can assisting others with their dreams helpyou with your own? Read pg. 35 of the “Give it section”.

Step 6: Celebrate.
You have now completed the Journey!

Sage Award
The 6 steps to earn the Sage Award include:
 * 1) Look high, look wide.
 * 2) Do the Math.
 * 3) Be Hawk-eyed.
 * 4) Take the scientific view.
 * 5) Decipher decisions.
 * 6) Create your equation and present it.

Resources

 * Justice Journey Planner from Girls Scouts of River Valley https://volunteers.girlscoutsrv.org/troops/troop-leader/ambassador-planning-guide/
 * Carbon Footprint Calculator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency https://www3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/

Heat Index Inequality

 * How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering [How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering]
 * Heat-seeking citizen scientists zero-in on D.C., Baltimore for mapping mission https://www.noaa.gov/stories/heat-seeking-citizen-scientists-zero-in-on-dc-baltimore-for-mapping-mission
 * On sizzling summer days, Northeast D.C. heats up the most, NOAA analysis shows https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2018/10/15/sizzling-summer-days-northeast-dc-heats-up-most-noaa-analysis-shows/
 * Portland State University project https://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/urban-heat-island-mitigation