Sue Braastad, Biological Technician, shows 59 Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts how to pick prairie plant seeds at Agassiz NWR, during the Girl Scout Nature Nuts program helping the girls earn the nature badge. - FWS photo by Becky Ekstein

Sue Braastad, Biological Technician, plays Bird Bingo with some of the 59 Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts at Agassiz NWR.  The game helped the girls learn about birds and earn their Nature Badge, during the Girl Scouts Nature Nuts program. - FWS photo by Becky Ekstein

Becky Ekstein, Administrative Assistant at Rydell NWR, staffed one of the five learning stations at Agassiz NWR to teach 59 Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts about prairie plants and wildlife. - FWS photo by Sue Braastad

Refuge Manager Margaret Anderson speaks with the 46 Brownies, 13 Junior Girl Scouts and 23 Girl Scout leaders at Agassiz NWR. - FWS photo by Gary Tischer

Sue Braastad, Biological Technician, plays a wildlife survival game at one of activity stations for the 85 Brownie and Junior Girl Scouts visiting Agassiz NWR. - FWS photo by Becky Ekstein

On September 30, 50 Brownies, 25 Junior Girl Scouts and 25 leaders from northwestern Minnesota/northeastern North Dakota traveled to Agassiz NWR to participate in the first Girl Scout Nature Nuts environmental education program.  The program was presented by four refuge staff/volunteers at Agassiz NWR. 

Four stations provided natural resource activities for the girls including the webof life game, bird bingo, Headquarter's Hiking Trail scavenger hunt and wildlife and plant identification and information walk, and the famous 100-foot tall Wildlife Observation Tower climb. 

The Brownies activities began at 10 a.m. and ended at 1:15 p.m., and the Juniors began at 2 p.m. and ended at 5:15 p.m. 

On May 12, 2007 a second Nature Nuts environmental education program was given to 46 Brownies, 13 Junior Girl Scouts and 23 leaders from northwest Minnesota/northeast North Dakota which were provided with natural resource environmental education activities. 

Five station activities included animal mechanics (feeding techniques by different groups of marsh and water birds), predator/prey game and prairie bingo, scavenger hunt and wildlife/plant identification when walking the Headquarter's Hiking Trail, prairie seed planting on the refuge to establish native prairie and planting prairie seeds in a cup to take home to watch the plants grow, and climbing the 100-foot tower to observe refuge habitats and learn about the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Five refuge staff/volunteers staffed the five stations.  Staff from Agassiz NWR included Margaret Anderson, Sue Braastad, Gary Tischer and Refuge Volunteer Lynda Knutsen and from Rydell NWR Becky Ekstein. 

The activities began at 10 a.m. and ended at 1:15 p.m.  This is part of the Girl Scout program called Nature Nuts.  All girl scouts earned their nature badge.