Girl Scout camps busy spots
FORWARD TWP — For about 115 children from Western Pennsylvania and beyond, last week involved days of horses, crafts and swimming and nights of campfires and tents.
Camp Redwing, one of eight camps in the Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania council, is in full swing for the eight-week summer season. Each year, the 123-acre camp off Rader School Road and along the banks of the Connoquenessing Creek opens its gate to thousands of youths who want to "camp like a girl."
"People don't know what all we do," said Debbie Gerhard, the council's director of outdoor programming. "We're the best kept secret."
Last week, the location offered five camps: Passion for Fashion, Survivor, Splish Splash, and two horseback camps, Horsin' Around Level 1 and Back in the Saddle Level 2.
"Our horse programs are the first to fill up," said Sarah Erickson, camp director.
The horseback riding camps center on the stables near the entrance of the camp. The camp leases 26 horses for the summer, including a pony. Girls, beginning with the youngest junior and cadet scouts, can learn how to to ride for the first time or advance their skills.
Gerhard said the goal of the council is to expand the stables area and improve the facilities, including an upgraded arena.
Erickson said working in the stables is a popular request, even for the staff.
There are about 50 people on staff at Camp Redwing. Some of the staffers are former Girl Scout campers who went though a training year, and some of them are newcomers. Erickson this year hired eight international staffers from England.The girls at the camp begin the day with flag ceremony and breakfast before moving onto the stables. The lunchtime might include swimming and sandwiches. The afternoons are scheduled with activities like archery or crafts. Some of the campers walk down to the creek for lessons in canoeing. Off-camp trips are included for some weeks. The fashion camp, for example, includes a trip to the Grove City Prime Outlets.These camps are chosen by individual girls to spend five nights at Camp Redwing. Many sign up with a friend, but other brave souls come alone. Other camps offer accommodations for entire troops.Camp Redwing attracts girls from across the 27 counties of the council, and even some areas of West Virginia and Ohio. For most of the camps, the girls spend five nights in either Mary Lodge, which sleeps 34 in bunks, or in tents.Counselors eat and sleep with the girls, too, and make friends with the girls by the end of the week, Erickson said."They learn to work in groups," Gerhard said.
