Journey to the Past -- 1948

This summer I earned two 1948 Girl Scout badges for fun. They were both extremely difficult, but they were what I would think of as a traditional Girl Scout badge. Because they are. The two badges I earned were the Conservation badge, and the Tree badge. Both of which were from the 1948 Girl Scout handbook.   You might be wondering why I chose to earn badges from this handbook.  This is the handbook my grandmother had when she was a Girl Scout.  I am working on some badges that she earned as well.

            In 1948 to earn these badges you had to do a number of things from a list of somewhere between 10 or more things. For the conservation badge I had to do eight items from a list of 16. Two of my favorite things I did for this badge was visit a Wildlife Sanctuary; I did bird watching and identified different fish and macro invertebrates. I learned that Wildlife Sanctuary’s are Federally Protected, that it is illegal to fish or hunt in a Wildlife Sanctuary. My second thing I did that I enjoyed when earning this badge was explaining how plants and animals are dependent o each other. They are dependent on each other because the plants provide food for animals, and animals provide a way to transport seeds.

            The second badge I earned was the Tree badge. This was probably the easier of the two that I earned. I had to complete 10 of the skills out of 19. I had one required skill that I had to do, which was be able to identify 15 different trees. I learned to take care of a young tree and learned how to properly cut a branch from a tree. I also learned to identify by sight five trees that bear edible fruits and nuts. One of the other skills I completed was research the same 15 trees and look up which ones were hardwood and softwood. These were just some of the skill I completed and use.

            These badges were difficult to earn, but it was nice to earn them and experience how Girl Scouts from 1948 earned badges. I am going to be earning more this year, I am currently working on the 1948 reading badge and sewing badge.