Help me teach my girl scouts camping.

[grokh5499]

Hey guys,

Since cookie season is just about over I want to start to get my girls out camping. I have done a few searches and found a few good threads, but I am still at a loss for how to start at a basic level.

I am a girl scout leader, pretty new at the girl scout leader stuff and finally have a decent sized troop of about 6-8 active 4th and 5th grade girls. All of them want to go camping and the parents want to too. I camped a lot as a kid and have taught a few outdoor skills to kids when I was younger. My daughter is the only one that has any real camping experience and even that is limited. Most of my parents haven't been camping either. We meet about twice a month for an hour to an hour and a half. Most of the parents, and me work full time. I have one active dad not a previous scout, and a dad whose daughter just joined that is also a boy scout leader, the most of the other parents, mothers, mostly show up regularly and are present but not involved in the meetings. Most of my girls are military connected, but just being military doesn't guarantee camping/outdoor experience. My co-leader is willing but has limited knowledge too. Most of my girls haven't ever been camping, some don't even want to go for a hike when I bring it up in the meetings. I guess I am looking for suggestions as a starting point with them. I am no stranger to camping and would not have any problems getting them involved once out there, but I am struggling with the leadership/planning end. I don't want our troop to be one of those that only sells cookies and has meetings. We have gone to a few local gs events but they are not outdoor related. I have been able to find a lot regarding the boy scout side one in the field, but some pre work still needs to be done, and the girl scout info that I have is limited and mostly geared towards how they need to progress. This is the main reason I got my daughter into scouting thinking it was more like boy scouts...wrong. Most of the gs leaders I talk too either don't work and way more time to prepare, or already have a stable troop with experienced girls, or are not troops that want to do any outdoor stuff at all. Any suggestions would be great.

[Winnie]

Do you know another scout leader in the area? They might know of a more experienced(camping wise) leader in the area who could ossibly help you out or even go with you for a time or two.
Edit. You may well have more luck with a Boy Scout leader. I think FinallyME is the chap to talk to.

[kyratshooter]

let's get this straight,,,

You are in Fayettville NC and can not find a local scource to help with a backyard camping trip. (yes you need to start in the back yard)

40 years ago some of the best "campers" in the world were stationed at Ft Bragg, right at the edge of town. Folks like the 82nd airborne, Green Barets and the training units supporting a host of other support and combat troops.

Check with their community outreach services. They might have a female airborne trooper who could teach, motivate and inspire your girls.

One of the better outdoor supply centers (REI, Bass-pro, Cabellas) might offer classes and training sessions to promote equipment sales. You might also find a trainer at one of the surplus stores in your area.

You might also contact one of the active Boy Scout troops in your area.

If you are part of the GS organization I would think they would have reps that would be available for your support. Or are they only interested in cookie sales?

[BornthatWay]

Why not start with a short hike like in a park or even through the town like a sight seeing trip just to get the idea that a hike does not have to be a tough mountain climbing bear fighting oredeal. Talk about the pimportance of having some water to drink and comfrotable shoes so that they are comfortable and do not get blisters while walking. Definitely not flip flops or heels or dress boots for a hike. Just take it slow and after a couple local hikes and talking about what they liked and did not like maybe move to taking a hike on an easy trail. Also try to do these when the weather is not so hot you could fry and egg or so cold you get frost bite. If you start out slow and make it fun the experience will lead to more.

Let the girls talk about what they think hiking means then explain that it does not have to be in the wilderness all the time if they are a little aqueamish. Also be sure you do not go on a long hike the first couple of times. I mean you could take a walking lap around a park and talk about the trees and bushes and flowers and how they can be used. You might even do a natural meal at a meeting where they eat pansy flowers in rose petals in a salad. Maybe make a stew and explain why stews and soups are often a campers preferred type of food because of ease of coolking and things to carry on a trip.

Why not do a camping trip in someones back yard so that they get some experience but have a safety outlet if something goes wrong on the first time. Even though they are not out in the wild it gives them the experience of camping and yet feeling very safe at the same time. Just let your imagaination go and let the girls tell you what they think campingg and hiking is all about and then you know where you need to start from wth them.

It sounds like you have good suport from the parents so talk to them and explain how you want the girls to experience the outdoors so they can perhaps help you when you have a discussion with the troop.

If they really get excited about this then you can have meeting where they make a first aid kit or clothing kit of what they would need for overnight. THese are things that just are popping in my head. Good luck I know you will do fine.

[Wildthang]

Just find a state park with camping facilities like restroom and fire pits in the campsites, and go camping. Make sure they all know the rules before you go like no wandering away from camp, and always having an adult with them when they go to the restroom etc. Teach them all how to build a fire, have them cook something on the camp fire, and if their is a nearby lake in the park, teach them how to fish.

[1stimestar]

You can also look and see which badges can be earned by camping. Then do a back yard camp in preparation for a local park camp. They will need to get gear such as tents and sleeping bags. Make a list of what everyone needs to bring. Go do it.

I quite GS in 3rd grade when the boys got to go on a camping trip and we got to learn how to use a dust pan and make hospital corners on beds...

[Sarge47]

I agree with the backyard and State Park campgound ideas. If you want to intrigue the girls into hiking there are several ways:

Make it a game, have somebody go out ahead of you and stash some little rewards in obvious places that they can "find." Or arm them with note pads and pens/pencils and have them list things that they see like animals, birds, trees, etc. Just get creative and you'll start thinking up ideas on your own.......

[intothenew]

Before the sleeping bags, tents, dutch ovens, air mattress, etc, etc, I would start much more basic.

A purse, not just any purse, but a PSK/FAK (Personal Safety Kit/First Aid Kit). Young ladies, as well as young men, should learn to carry, use, and maintain such kits.

I would then move to a picnicking, fishing, hiking series. Work them up in stages before an overnighter. Some will be repulsed by fishing, while others would just as soon starve to death before cooking anything. Those personalities, good and bad, need to be known by you and them. You'll have them much more self sufficient if you start that way, it'll be easier on you and much more comfortable for them. Each can then focus on an interest, and it will not be the same for all.

The first couple/few overnighters should be slumber parties. That gives everyone a chance to observe the group dynamic in a more familiar setting. The first one could be inside a home, the next in a garage.

All of that is basics they can carry for the rest of their lives without spending hundreds of dollars on camping equipment.

While doing all of the above, I would give the parents a heads up on your intentions so they can budget and prepare for those high dollar items. Help them with the research and these young ladies will end up with much better equipment, and a much more comfortable experience, than a payday grab at WallyWorld.

[Seniorman]

INTOTHE NEW - "A purse, not just any purse, but a PSK/FAK (Personal Safety Kit/First Aid Kit). Young ladies, as well as young men, should learn to carry, use, and maintain such kits."

Don't forget toilet paper and sanitation supplies. Once you get the girls out away from established restrooms, relieving themselves "in the woods" will be something they've not experienced before.

S.M.

[grokh5499]

Hey everyone,

A lot has happened since February. First, Kyratshooter, thanks for giving me the kick in the butt I needed to just make plans and execute. Unfortunately I can get a little too wrapped up in the details sometimes and get frozen. And there I was acting like a dirty nasty leg, damn that straightened me right up! I started talking about camping, and planning with the girls at the next few meetings.

To everyone else, thanks for your suggestions and ideas. Going camping as a troop is a little bit different when your parents take you as a child, or when you take our kids. A lot of my girls have never been exposed to camping, the wilderness, or such and I just want to make sure they enjoy it by easing into it.

Here is where we are at!

I just got back from an afternoon at the park with my troop! Very successful! Last thursday, the 11th, our troop made hobo stoves and bunsen burners. I poured the wax for them at home and had them all ready. 5 girls made hobo stoves, and six showed up for our park day. I was nervous since some of the girls had said they were very terrified of bugs, and dirt, yada, yada yada. We all met at a local park at a playground so the parents who had never been to that park could find us easy, After letting the girls play for a few minutes, we walked up to our picnic area and set up our campsite. We weren't setting up tents today so I didn't talk about that stuff. WE talked about using our rain fly/ easyup canopy to help keep us dry while setting up our tent and the rest of our site, we hung a flag and said the pledge of allegiance. Once we got our camp set up we walked along a trail there at the park and looked at trees and other plants that are prelabled and talked about trail/camp courtesy, how you can still get sunburned on a cloudy day and a few other things. Then after we got back to our camp site we intalled the bails for out 10# can buckets, and hike to the restrooms for a pit stop and to fill them up to have water near by. When we got back to our camp we reviewed fire safety, how to use a fire extinguisher, stop drop and roll, and I let each girl have a box of 32 matches to practice lighting matches. Then w lit our bunson burner stoves and made pancakes for a brunch. Our bunson burners were too hot and it was hard to time the pancakes right without getting them burnt. All the girls had fun and only one did not try a pancake, but she still tried to cook one!None of them freaked out about bugs, or dirt, or squirrels or even the pancakes getting burnt! Had an awesome time! - note to self : next time uses the small tuna cans not the large ones!! Then we cleaned up our campsite and headed out. It was about three hours and the weather was cloudy with a light wind. It had rained the night before, and we found that the picnic sites at that park had had some maintenance recently and already had the brush pretty much cleared out of the way. Our girls listened really, really well and had a lot of fun. Next weekend we will have an overnighter in tents at my co-leaders house in her backyard to get the girls used to tents, and the outdoor sounds. We will have a day long road trip next month and then about the first weekend in June we hope to go camping in the north carolina mountains. It is all starting to come together!

[grokh5499]

And since, it didn't happen if there aren't any pics....
IMG_0830.jpgIMG_0823.jpgIMG_0831.jpgIMG_0825.jpg

This is all a have that are decent since I was running the event. Hopefully I will get more from my co-leader tonight or tomorrow. Again thanks for all of your support!

[crashdive123]

Excellent. I guess its hard for some of them to put down their cell phones huh? Baby steps - great start.

[Rick]

Make a list of all the things you got right and all the things that need a bit of work. Make a list of things you needed but didn't have. That will give you a solid starting point for the next outing.

[Old Professor]

Just a suggestion, If you are going to really go camping, look for a park that has group camp sites and good rangerpatrols. When I worked as a park Ranger some years ago, we had a group camping area which girl scouts used. As a night Ranger I was able to keep a watch over the camp site.This gives the girls and leaders a sense of security.

[1stimestar]

Great job. You know, the burnt pancakes can be a really good teaching point about what to do if things don't go as planned. Ok they weren't depending on the pancakes for a meal but what if they were? Have them brainstorm some ideas about what they could have done. THINKING about your options is a skill as well.

[Geek]

Check in with some of your local Boy Scout counterparts. Your overall plan should be to go in stages: 1) Hiking, 2) "family camping", where you can drive right up to the camp site, so you don't need to limit gear, 3) camping a short walk from vehicles, a few hundred yards from parking, with the goal that everything gets carried in one trip from car to camp, 4) backpacking where you go a couple miles with what is on your back.

Do not expect to work your way through all of those stages in one season if the entire group lacks any camping skills. Take it gradually so everyone is comfortable before going on to the next state. Once you have a group that is basically set, then you can rotate through the levels each season with the seasoned members helping the new members.

[grokh5499]

Well it is Saturday October 26^th. Been busy with two jobs and Girl Scouts. I merged my Junior troop with another troop in my area so we now have a multi level troop of about 20 girls in K – 8^th gragde. (Daisy’s, Brownies, Juniors and Cadettes) This has been an awesome year so far. We meet about twice a month and our October events are complete for our troop. We started in Late August and here is what we have done so far:

We have had 5 regualar meetings and have earned our Girl Scout Way Badge and have half way completed our Animal bage. Only 2 more steps out of 5 to complete, which will be finished up with a zoo trip in December.

Thursday night we had a simple halloween party to celebrate Halloween and Julliete Gordon Lowes Birthday (the founder of Girl Scouts).

Last night we met downtown with about a third of our troop and walked the local annual zombie walk! I think next year we will watch and stroll the venues to change it up a bit.

We also have done a fall fundraiser and attended a fun multi troop event to promote the fundraiser.

We have gone camping twice! Both times we had 12 girls and 3 adults. All of this and it has only been two months!

Our first camping trip was about 45 minutes out from our local where we stayed at a girl scout property in platform tents. The weather was awesome and we introduced the newer girls to camping. We kept it very simple since it was our first combined trip and me and my new co-leader were still feeling each other out. It went really well. We had a mix of new and experienced campers. We had simple instant oatmeal and grits for breakfast one day, and granola bars with pop tarts the next. Sandwiches for lunch and tacos in a bag/taco salad on a plate for dinner. We talked about camping manors, keeping a campsite clean , took a hike, did some nature arts and crafts, played some basic games, and had to talk to the girls about not sharing personal items like towels and socks.. We had simple clean up and were able to take volunteers for washing group cooking utensils and introduce camp dishwashing to a few of them at a time. We had one girl get stung by a sand bee that first trip and a few minor bumps and bruises. Of course we had a camp fire the second night with s'mores and I used my Rome popcorn popper over the camp stove in the morning to go with breakfast before we headed out. All and all a very successful trip.

Our second trip was nearly a disaster but we have a few good memories. We are going to go camping again in the spring to make sure they learn to get back on the horse!

Since we wanted our cadettes to get more planning experience, and we had already picked the date, we had our 3 cadettes (6^th graders) attempt to plan out the details of the trip. They had never had to plan a trip before so it took them a long time to pick a girl scout camp. We ended up renting their second location pick due to availability. And then when we both got some feed back from our own cadettes, (my co leaders god daughter and my daughter are cadettes) we finally decided they were taking too much time making decisions so we assigned a meal to plan for each of them, and they got to be lead cook for their meal and pick our 3 helpers for meal prep and serving. We got off to a late start waiting on my co leader and having to pack stuff twice since we had to wait for her. We had a 2 and half hour drive and ended up getting split up. Luckily our third adult, Anthony, a parent volunteer, and me had most of the girls and most of the gear so we were able to start the bulk of the unloading and assigning cabins. We contacted my co leader and had the ranger talk her through the construction detour and were able to link up about 20-30 minutes later. Luckily she was familiar enough with the area to get back on track fairly easily. If it was me it would have taken 'til midnight. Which is why I have a GPS. ( I can read a map- If I don’t have a GPS I just don’t travel at night. )

The girls did all the real cooking on this trip. Cooking meals went really well. With 3 meals and twelve girls the meal capers worked out perfectly 4 cook, and 4 clean and 4 relax and we rotated through each meal.

Breakfast and lunch were cooked on cast iron. We had pancakes, sausage, bacon and orange juice or water for breakfast. We had two 2 burner propane camp stoves going for breakfast one on each end of the picnic table. The meals took a while to actually cook since we worked with the cooking crew to actually hook up the propane bottles and start the burners, learn how to cook pancakes, sausage and bacon. Some of the girls were familiar with cooking these items, but we not used to cooking on a camp stove or coals where the temperature control is not as exact as a kitchen stove. And then of course none of them were accustomed to cooking for large numbers of people or with cast iron! Any girls cooking with meats were taught to go from left to right to prevent contamination and we constantly stressed safety. For lunch we had Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches with soda or Capri suns to drink. Again we showed the girls who were cooking bacon how to hook up and light the camp stoves and how to work the bacon from left to right across the griddle as it cooked so it didn’t get cross contaminated with the raw bacon being added to the griddle as space became available.

We had hamburgers with tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and cheese for topping options and applesauce for a side. We also had brownies for dessert! We started to run low on butane buy the time lunch was ready so instead of cooking the burgers on the camp stoves like we had originally planned we used charcoal for cooking the hamburgers for dinner, and foil box ovens for baking the brownies. We already had planned on bringing charcoal as a back up to the propane, as well as the primary cook source for baking the brownies. We taught the girls how to start charcoal. Even taught them how to us stove lighters. Some girls took to this easy and some had to be coaxed through it. While the charcoal was heating the whole troop got together and made foil covered paper boxes for baking the brownies in. We lucked out and all the hamburgers and the brownies all got done at about the same time. ( I was really worried about that!) We cooked enough hamburgers for each person to have two.

Cooking wise and free down time activities went well on this trip but we had several bumps in the road. The whole campground was thick with yellow jackets. We ended up having two girls get stung. One on the arm when one went under her shirt sleeve and she tried to get it out, and my daughter on the tongue when she was trying to eat her sandwich. ( I immediately gave her ibuprofen and Benadryl and watched both of them like a hawk!) I was exhausted by the end of this camping trip. One girl nearly had to have the Heimlich performed when she started choking on her hamburger. She was at a picnic table that wasn’t easy to swing her legs out of so she couldn’t stand up to lean forward to let gravity help her. I told her twice to get up and when I realized she just couldn’t ( she still had some air getting in and was still coughing) I just picked her up and jerked out of the picnic table so she could lean forward. I think this helped dislodge her bite of food. We had a few falls and one girl who might have been having heartburn for the first time complain of chest pains. And had one girl get an accidental kick to the gut when the girls were goofing off. It was almost like it was a bad omen before we even went when I was trying to text my co leader to confirm the camp location and my phone auto corrected the name of the camp ground – Camp Hardee to Camp Harder! But we all made it home safe and sound and the girls learned you can cook anything at camp that you can cook at home!

[grokh5499]

Some things I learned:

My new co leader and I get along awesome! We both have an even head for discipline and emergencies.
My co leader is great at adapting and thinking out of the box, which is good because I am not. I often get hung up on all the details. I also learned that while my co leader likes camping she is more of a park and squat camper while I want to get the girls out and doing the hiking and more primitive level of camping. But we are a great match for getting our girls out there and getting them up to speed. Also for now it looks like since we have girls with a mix of camping preferences as well this works out since, we can break up into patrols and various skill levels, and still get them outside and camping and be able to have our adult to child ratios work out! Plus my co leader doesn’t mind doing the banking and paperwork side of things or the cold weather. I can do these but I want to be in on the action with the girls. So this is working really well for us!

Camping:
1. Bring mustard, it soothes burns! Learned this when a girl scout troop across the campsite came and asked for mustard! I am thinking about adding some mustard packets to my first aid kit for minor burns. I ended up getting grease burn while I was soaking up the extra bacon grease and it worked really well.

2. I need to re waterproof my dining canopy. And get some velcro and take my mosquito net next time. I had bug spray and was thinking about mosquitos and flys when i choose not to take it. If we had been at a gs property without a screened in eating area available to us we would have had to either eat in the cabins or go home. If we had been tent camping ... well we were in bear areas too. The yellow jackets/hornets were just too many and too agresive. There were not bad for breakfast, but the were everywhere the rest of the day.

3. Bring more propane. We had two new bottles and one partially used bottle. Two went empty for some crazy reason! Luckily we brought plenty of charcoal.

4. My coleader is laid back, good and not so good. We need to teach the girls how to use a packing list. Some girls showed up without any socks, or extra socks, or towels,and then were borrowing socks. etc.

5. letting the girls pick out sticks for their s’mores is fun and taxing. I could not relax with 12 different lengths of smores sticks swinging around the campfire or the afternoon hike. We are going to use standard smore/hotdog sticks next camping trip unless it is hike it in hike it out trip with a small patrol. Marshmellow is no fun to try to get out of hair at 10:00 at night and the worry over someone’s eye getting poked out is not worth it!

6. Even if the person bringing the icechest and food supplies showes up last, wait to load gear until that person gets there and load those into the pickup truck first then dump the rest of the stuff into trunks/vans and the remaining into the truck if necessary. Faster and easier to put the stuff that doesn’t need to be tarped into the truck bed.

7. My co leader now knows for sure how to include dads on camping trips! (registerted and background checks adults of course.)It was easy this trip as the GS property we picked actually had a dedicated male restroom, not all GS properties do. Yes GS is for girls, but if a dad wants something fun to do with his daughter that they can both enjoy then don’t push him away. I want this to be a family thing here and there. I get sending parents away from time to time so they can grow wings and learn to do things without mom and dad there but it shouldn’t be and end all thing either. Our camping trips just cannot work without a 3^rd adult for ratios/emergencies when camping with 12 girls.

[hunter63]

Sounds like you are making progress.....nothing like a actual "boots on the ground" trip to show the good and bad of any plans.

Congrats on you efforts, the girls will remember this stuff for the rest of their lives.

[Rick]

Good for you. It's a learning experience whether you are the scout or the adult. It sounds like you are making solid forward progress and you are keeping track of the things you needed to have but didn't. Keep track of the things you have but don't need as well. No use carrying stuff you don't need.

I urge you to put together a good first aid kit along with the knowledge of how to use it. First aid would also make a subject to train the girls on. Everyone can use first aid knowledge.

Thanks for sharing your trips. Sounds like you hit the ground running and are having fun.