Girl Scouts keep imagining as they gain outdoor skills
Summer day camp offers fun and friendships
Where the grassy field ends and the woods begin, there is a screen door under a sign that reads: "Welcome to your day camp."
Each weekday in July, more than 130 campers, along with teen volunteers and adult counselors, walk through that door to begin their outdoor adventures at Brighton Woods Girl Scout day camp in Brookeville.
Any scout in the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital is eligible to attend one or two of the sessions at Brighton Woods. Cost per session is $225, which includes bus transportation, a camp T-shirt and picture and food for the overnight.
"It's all-inclusive," Jordan said.
Jordan and her staff are combining camping skills and imagination in their program with the theme Old Time Radio for this year's camps.
"What we are trying to do is introduce the girls to an era when you had to listen to hear a story and use your imagination," Jordan said.
In keeping with the season's theme, each camp group is named for a radio show from long ago: Lassie, The Mysterious Traveler, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air and Dick Tracy. Of the shows, "Buck Rogers" (1932-1947) and "Dick Tracy" (1934-1948) ran the longest, and "The Mysterious Traveler" (1943-1952) was the last to leave the air.
"Before television, iPods and video games ... there was magic in the air. It was called RADIO! Return to those days when everyone gathered in front of their radios for entertainment and news," reads the camp brochure.
The campers gather to learn about the days of radio. During their group time they discuss the shows and how they were produced, even giving time to the advertisements. Using this information, each group prepares a radio skit, song or commercial to present at the assembly that closes the two-week camp session.
Daily activities also include nature hikes, arts and crafts, outdoor cooking and tie-dye. The older campers also receive archery instruction.
"Archery is a lot of fun. It has a lot of rules," Riley Mackison, 11, of Rockville said.
Riley has been in Girl Scouts since second grade, but this is her first year as a camper. She spent two weeks at Camp Tuckerman in Rockville before starting at Brighton Woods. Though she was a little nervous about camp "because I didn't know anyone," all is well because she "has made friends and is making more," she said.
Most of the day is spent learning about nature and outdoor living. There is an all-camp sleepover planned for the second week of each of the two-week sessions offered. The girls hone their skills with practice so the event is a positive experience, Jordan said.
"We work up to camping. Yesterday we made Stone Soup for lunch, so they can learn how much firewood it takes to keep a pot boiling," Jordan said. "[For] Stone Soup ... each camper brings in either a can of soup — any kind they want — or fresh vegetables. We put it all in one pot and the flavors mix together. Somehow they all taste good, every one."
The campers start their day together with a flag-raising ceremony and announcement before moving on to their activities.
"There is something different every day," said Amanda Woodson, 11, of Bowie.
Sometimes the camp has an extra activity, such as the day Bill Heinbuch, a naturalist and camp ranger from the Caitlin Dunbar Nature Center in Conowingo, brought snakes, turtles and frogs for the girls to see and touch.
Hope Tippery, 7, a Brownie Scout from Olney, sat with her group and listened to Heinbuch talk about the reptiles and amphibians.
"I touched a snake and learned about reptiles. He also had frogs and a spotted salamander," Hope said.
Most of the animals Heinbuch shared were indigenous to Maryland, such as snakes and turtles that could be found at the camp.
"I hope to teach the girls conservation. All these animals are in decline. None of the girls have seen a box turtle while walking around, and they should be here," Heinbuch said.
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