GSKSMO Girl Scouts Virtual Fish Friends Fun Patch Program Pillars: Outdoors & STEM This program is designed for the Girl Scout who is looking to learn more about animal habitats, aquatic life, and wants to learn more about what it takes to take care of a pet. This program guide will also help Girl Scouts at each level earn part of their specific animal GS badge Participating in this program and purchasing the Fish Friends fun patch will help us feed and water these guys for a whole week! What’s included in this program? • 6 Months of Exclusive GS content sent out via email each month, with videos, tank updates, challenges and more! • Fish Friends Fun Patch – see the purchase link at the bottom of this guide. • Fish Wall Card– Put your name up on our fish’s wall at Camp Tongawood! So, they can see all the awesome Girl Scouts who support them. Note: you must purchase the patch using the link at the bottom of the guide prior to receiving any of the other exclusive benefits of this program. To sign up to receive exclusive monthly GS content and get your name up on the Fish Supporter Wall follow this link to complete the online form: https://gsksmo.wufoo.com/forms/p13njo8z164blc4/ What will my Girl Scout Learn? • Learn about Fish Facts and the Fish Species we have at Camp Tongawood • Learn about our Baby Fish! • Learn about fish habitats, biology, diet and fish life. • Learn the science and basics on aquarium care • Learn how to make a monthly fish budget • Learn about Pets and Mental Health • Optional: Adopt one or three of the baby fish that we have at Camp Tongawood (this will be first come first serve and you can email [email protected] for details and to “claim your fish”) Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri | gsksmo.org/virtual Take it further with our badges! We have carefully chosen five Girl Scout badges you can do with your girl at home. This program is designed as an informational guide. While you can explore this program guide in its entirety yourself, some of the badge steps you need to complete on your own can be completed through this Fish Friends fun patch program guide. Skip to different parts of this guide by clicking the bold-underlined links below associated with the various steps for that specific badge. *The steps without links to parts of this program guide will need to be completed in a different way. Daisy Junior Cadette Senior Brownie 3 Cheers for Animals Animal Habitats Animal Helpers Voice for Animals Pets Badge Journey Badge Badge Badge Find out about the Learn how to choose complex relationship Learn how to see and the pet that is right for Find out more about Learn about the many between animals and care for other animals you – or found out where animals live, ways’ animals can help humans so you can while caring for how to take the best how they play, and how humans. make informed choices yourselves. care of a pet you humans can help them. and help others make already have. them too. Steps to earn parts of each badge . Explore the connection . Birdbath Award: between humans Daisies Learn to . Find out about . Find out about and animals Care for Animals . Find out what domestic animals wild animals and themselves care different . Find out how pets need . Investigate . Investigate an animals help keep . Red Robin Award: animals used for animal habitat people safe Daisies use their . Keep a pet comfy science new knowledge and . Create an animal . Know how animals creativity to teach . Help a pet stay . Explore animals in house help keep people others to care for healthy and safe husbandry emotionally animals . Explore . Make a pet feel . Look at animals endangered . Check Out how . Tula Award: loved used for sports and habitats animals help Daisies gain courage entertainment people with and confidence in . Feed a pet . Help Protect disabilities teaching others . Look into an Animal Habitats about animal care animal issue . Look at how animals might help us in the future Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri | gsksmo.org/virtual Fishetiquette – For the Young Fish Enthusiast Aquarium Care can be such a rewarding experience for your child and family. Owning an aquarium is like having a snapshot of nature in your very own home. In an environment where the natural world keeps getting farther away from us, owning an aquarium can bring nature to your living room or bedroom. An established fish tank requires minimum maintenance, and realistically, the time spent should add up to no more than an hour or so of total time per month. However, the tasks that are required are very important: A fish tank can teach a child lessons in the fields of biology (bit.ly/3fWIxU4), zoology (bit.ly/2FqjagY), chemistry and environmental science (bit.ly/3446B59). Which may one day become a career, click the links to learn more! o Understand and learn about new species o Learn how fish grow, what they need to eat o Know how basic water chemistry works and keep how to keep up a habitat Possibly more important than these science lessons, is the opportunity to teach a child about respect for nature, animals, the environment and even other people. A child who learns compassion for the fish under her care is more likely to grow up to be a caring adult who is more aware of their actions and how they affect the world. They will also learn responsibility, respect for nature and living creatures, and how their actions directly impact the outcome of a situation. Here are some responsibilities you could have as a Girl Scout Aquarium Hobbyist o Fish must be fed. This should go without saying, but for a kid it is a daily task that requires diligence. o Fish tanks require frequent water changes. This is a chore that must be done every 3-6 months, with the expectation of topping off the tank with water very now and again. o About a third of the tank water is removed and replaced with fresh, clean water. This serves to dilute the waste chemicals present in the tank and assist with the natural processes discussed above. o Aquariums need to be kept at the right temperature, between 78 and 84 degrees for our South American Fish specifically. o Should the temperature rise or fall significantly it can result in fish dying. o Tanks must be kept clean and free of algae and grime. Excessive algae growth is a sign that something is wrong in your tank, but even well-kept tanks will grow some algae. Often, it must be removed physically using an algae scraper. Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri | gsksmo.org/virtual o NEVER CLEAN ANY PART OF YOUR TANK WITH SOAP always clean and wipe down with water only. A little about Camp Tongawood’s Aquarium… Our Aquarium is a 75 Gallon Fresh Water Tank, that consists of a double filtration system, two water heaters, natural rock, live plants and at least 5 different species of South American Predatory Fish. The Aquarium was donated by a gentleman named Jerry. Jerry is a Florida native with a passion for being a fish hobbyist. Jerry started his aquarium hobby 10 years ago and he has been taking care of them ever since. He donated the tank in March of 2020 in hopes of inspiring the girls who attend camp to learn more about these incredible little creatures. We welcomed the addition of these little guys and since then they have been such a cool enhancement to our program. Learn about Fish for Daisies and Brownies – Watch this Video - bit.ly/3kE3W80 South and Central American Cichlids Facts o They are very active, intriguing, and many cichlids can be very personable, readily greeting their keepers and begging for food. All these traits make cichlids a favorite aquarium fish. o New World Cichlids are a diverse group of fish often referred to as South or Central American Cichlids. o South American Cichlids are a hardy, easy to care for fish species that add brilliant color to the freshwater aquarium. Most are carnivorous or omnivorous meaning that they eat meat as well as plant matter. o The name cichlid refers to fish belonging to the family Cichlidae within the order Perciformes and it is one of the largest families of fishes in the world. o It is estimated that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 different cichlid species in existence, though only about 1,650 have been scientifically described. o Cichlids can be found all over the world, though the greatest diversity among this family of fishes can be found in South America and Africa. o Though cichlids come in all shapes and colors, they all share a few key characteristics. Girl Scouts of NE Kansas & NW Missouri | gsksmo.org/virtual Fish Species at Tongawood – Central and South American Cichlids – many of their habitats are endangered! Learn More about their endangered South American fish here - bit.ly/2DzUZMB Green Severum – Banded Cichlid The Green Severum (Heros efasciatus) is a colorful South American Cichlid that naturally occupies slow-moving waterways of the Amazonian Basin. They grow to about 3-4 inches in length and resemble the body type of a freshwater angel fish. They can live up to 10 years in captivity! We have two of these guys in our tank at Tongawood, both are very fast fish and enjoy darting from one side of the tank to the other.