Thinking Day celebrates the joint birthdays of the Girl Guides founder, Lord Robert Baden-Pow-ell and his wife Olave Baden-Powell.

On Sunday, Feb-ruary 21 about 400 guides from within costal valley district reflected on the lives on those less fortunate.

It was the first Thinking Day to be held at Speers Point Park.

Late last year the coastal valley district was established, with clubs from the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley joining with the greater Newcastle area (Newcastle and Lake Macquarie), in-corporating 42 clubs and making it the largest district in Australia.

Newcastle divis-ion leader Elizabeth Baker said at the Thinking Day girls participated in a range of activities on the day, including a lesson on making Thai friendship bra-celets.

“The bracelet is made up of several knots and different colours, each representing something within girl guides,” she said.

The 10 knots in the bracelet represent the guide laws, with each of the coloured pieces of wool also having significance.

The gold symbolises the sun, blue the water, red is hope and peace, green for nature, mauve for the arts and pink for unity of all countries within the guiding sisterhood.

A bell is also added; it is an old Thai custom that frightens off evil spirits.

Funds raised on the day went to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which will help out guides in Haiti, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Georgia and the Maldives to do projects.

Go to www.girlguides-nswact.org.au to find out more about girl guides in your local area.