Alli and another girl from her Girl Scout Troop visited the Kansas City Community Garden this past Saturday to work on their Flowers Badge. The Flowers badge is part of the Legacy Badges. This one covers the Naturalist section.
(picture of a Cicada Killer)
Needless to say, they had a great time and learned a lot of new and helpful information. It was a wonderful learning experience had by all. I even took in some new information.
The program started out with the girls identifying parts of the flower. This is one of the requirements to complete the badge. The girls were having a tough time with it. I was having a tough time with it. Who knew flowering plants were so difficult?
Do you know how to tell the back end of a caterpillar from its front end? Touch it. Press down on it and it will rear it’s front side and put its antenna out and try to be scary. It wasn’t too scary. In fact, it was quite cute.
In the fruit garden, we got to sample some fresh, organic fruit. At the garden, they do not spray any of their fruits or vegetables, so you can eat them right off the plant.
We sampled some super sweet strawberries. The blackberries were a bit tart but still good. All the children enjoyed them.
Can you find Alli? She was hiding in the Gourd House. The entire structure is hidden with the vines and gourds. We got one of the gourds to take home and cook on up.
Flower Badge Requirements
Naturalist: Flowers
Purpose: When I've earned this badge, I'll know all that's wonderful about flowers.
1. Uncover the science of a flower:
* Go on a flower hunt to find your favorite flower and five other kinds in your town. Record or sketch what you see.
* Plant a seed or bulb of your favorite flower and grow it until it blooms.
* Interview a botanist, ask why they became a flower specialist.
2. Look under the petals:
* Dye a flower by putting the cut stem into water with food coloring. Keep track of the changes.
* Find out about why flowers smell. Watch a fragrant flower and record who or what visits it.
* Find out about different flower families. What are some other flowers in your favorite's family?
3. Find out how flowers help people:
* Find a flower that turns into a fruit and make a snack using that fruit or an edible flower.
* Find out about three different medicinal flowers or herbs and how they help people.
* Try a recipe for bath beads or another product that uses flower scents to help people relax. Does it work?
4. Have fun with flowers;
* Make a flower necklace.
* Make a work of art with dried or pressed flowers.
* Make your own flowers out of craft materials.
5. Send a message in flower code:
* Make a bouquet of flowers.
* Make a corsage (broach or bracelet) of flowers.
* Make a flower arrangement in a vase or other container.
