Get Crafty
Most girls love crafts, and the woods offers many opportunities to collect supplies for nature-inspired crafty items. When you are in camp or on a hike, look around for items that have already fallen from their source. Objects such as pine cones, seed pods, birch bark and interesting twigs that have already fallen to the ground, for example, can make for great project items. Fallen leaves or wildflower petals are also of great use in scrapbooks, handmade paper, picture frame borders and more. The book, "Backcountry Betty: Crafting With Style" by Jennifer Worick; 2009, is an illustrated guide that shows many wonderful projects inspired by such items. Make sure you bring a few bags in which to store your treasures.
Everyone Has a Say
Round-table stories are one of the best ways to pass time around the campfire. This works well with three or more people, but can be done with just two. One person starts the story, and then the next person takes over and continues it for a while, then passes it on to another person. Everyone makes it up as they go, and each speaks for a few minutes, or as little as one dramatic sentence. You will end up with one dramatic story that turns out how you would never expect. Ghost stories are also fun but not just before bed. These are best before everyone turns their headlamps off, unless it is preferred that way.
Have a Treat
Make an after-dinner treat. You don't have to be a girl to love brownies, but the chocolaty goodness of warm brownies when camping will make your daughter, sister, niece or friend smile, even if she hasn't had the greatest day on the trail. National Outdoor Leadership School Cookery has delicious back-country cooking recipes, including brownies.
Build Confidence and Strength
Confidence builders in the outdoors can help young girls to grow into strong, capable women. Tasks like setting up their own tents (as a team if need be), helping to collect and filter water, and cleaning up camp (this is a great time to introduce Leave No Trace principles too) give people confidence no matter their gender or age. More advanced activities, like learning to read a map, build great skills that most young girls don't have, but by learning one skill, they also learn to pursue other difficult tasks.
Nature Girls
If you are taking a group of girls on a camping trip, take a couple of guide books with you. Books on birds, flowers or trees, or mammals of the area are all good choices. Have each girl pick one topic for the trip. As the girls go throughout the day hiking, they can be looking out for species from their guidebook and, it is hoped, identify a few here and there. At the end of the day in camp, everyone can share what they found and identified, and help teach the others about the natural world around them.
