Yorktown Girl Scouts Give Back to Camp Burke’s Mill Pond

Members of Girl Scout Troop 1381 from Yorktown recently spent the weekend at Camp Burke’s Mill Pond in Gloucester making an improvement to the camp. The girls put their sewing skills to the test as they made new sets of curtains for all of the windows in Treakle Cabin, the main cabin used by visitors to the camp. The troop members have camped at Burke’s Mill Pond for the past five years, and wanted to make the curtains as a way to give back to a place they have enjoyed so many times. Although much of their time at the camp was spent working on the curtains, the girls also had the chance to enjoy some traditional camp activities and time in the great outdoors.

Sydney, Harper, Zaria, Grace, Isabella, Aubrey and Hayden

In addition to their outdoor adventures, the members of Troop 1381 are active earning badges and giving back to the community. They have most recently completed the requirements to earn the Photography and Dinner Party badges. They also baked cookies that they delivered to first responders at a local fire station. The girls also enjoy activities. This year, they have been ice skating, rock climbing and even tried glassblowing. Before summer comes, the girls are planning to try a yoga class together and make appreciation gifts for Girl Scout leaders in the Yorktown area.

The troop members used proceeds from their cookie sale to purchase supplies to make the curtains. Fellow York County Girl Scouts, Troops 1084, 1097, 1306, 1443 and 4053, also donated help Troop 1381 offset the cost of making the curtains.

Hayes Girl Scouts Earn Silver Award

Each year on February 22, Girl Scouts and Girl Guides from 146 countries celebrate World Thinking Day. Girls participate in activities and projects with global themes to honor their sister Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in other countries. Celebrated since 1926, World Thinking Day is a day of international friendship, speaking out on issues that affect girls and young women, and fundraising for 10 million Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world.

Natalie and Nicole with the finished product.

One of the projects to earn the World Thinking Day Award in 2015 was to build a Peace Pole and plant it at a local school, park, community center or church. Peace Poles are recognized as an international symbol and monument to peace and bear the message “May peace prevail on earth” in languages from around the world. Placing a Peace Pole is a way of bringing people together.

The Cadettes of Troop 1076 at that time had their meetings at Gloucester Point Baptist Church, so the girls approached Mr. Ted Fisher, a deacon at the church, to ask if they could put the Peace Pole there. But the girls wanted to do more than just the pole. They wanted to try to achieve the Girl Scout Silver Award, which is the highest award that a Girl Scout Cadette can earn. They decided to not only make a pole, but to put a garden around the pole and build a bench to put beside the garden for people to sit and enjoy. Each Cadette drew a picture of their idea to submit to the church council. The Cadettes attended meetings with the church council and were given permission to do their Silver Award Project at Gloucester Point Baptist Church.

Natalie and Nicole varnishing one of the benches.

Two members of the troop, Natalie and Nicole, have now officially earned the Silver Award. They began the project in the winter of 2015, after receiving approval to do their project from the GSCCC Awards Committee. Right away, they got to work putting together a team to help them achieve their goals and seeking donations of supplies they would need. They spent their summer vacation learning woodworking and building benches.

After they finished the pole and benches, the girls worked with a family friend who helped them pick out and plant flowers to place in the garden. The following spring, with the help of friends and family, the girls placed the Peace Pole, benches, and plants in the garden. On May 15, Natalie and Nicole, who are now members of Troop 1321, dedicated the Peace Pole at the Gloucester Point Baptist Church annual picnic.

The Girl Scout Silver Award is the second highest award a girl can earn in Girl Scouting. For more information about making a difference in the community as a Girl Scout, visit www.gsccc.org.

Burke's Mill Pond Day Camp

It was a week of fun and friendly competition for the 33 Girl Scouts who attended day camp at Girl Scout Camp Burke’s Mill Pond in Gloucester earlier this month. During the Olympic-themed camp, girls had the opportunity to take part in a variety of traditional camp activities and earn badges for their age levels.

Each day at camp started with a flag ceremony, where girls gathered around the flagpoles at camp to recite the pledge of allegiance and Girl Scout Promise and Law after raising the flags. Next, girls separated into groups to head to activities for the day. In keeping with the theme for the week, arts and crafts activities included making leaf wreath headdresses. Canoeing, archery and swimming were some of the campers’ favorite activities.

During the week at camp, the youngest Girl Scouts, Daisies and Brownies, earned the Painting badge, while the fourth and fifth graders earned the Playing the Past badge, which allows girls to explore how generations before them lived, worked and played.

Sixth graders, or Girl Scout Cadettes, who attended the camp earned the Archery badge, which was released by Girl Scouts of the USA last year in keeping with the organization’s century-old tradition of Girl Scouts encouraging girls to be active outdoors.

“Outdoor experiences in a safe environment like Girl Scout camp helps girls relax and encourages them to step out of their comfort zones,” Sara Troxel, a Girl Scout volunteer who led efforts to plan the camp, said. “Many children don’t have the option of just being in a camp setting all day for a week. Girls need more time in the outdoors to breathe fresh air, try new things and perfect outdoor skills.”

In today’s society, as girls’ engagement with electronic devices grows and more structured activities compete for their time and attention, fewer girls are getting the exposure to the outdoors, a vital component to their healthy development. However, the Girl Scout Research Institute has found that Girl Scouts helps get girls outdoors. In fact, 97 percent of girls surveyed said they had done at least one outdoor activity with Girl Scouts during the past year and 40 percent said they participated in an outdoor activity with Girl Scouts on a monthly basis. Regular exposure and high-adventure activities are key drivers of girls’ leadership development, as well as their satisfaction with Girl Scouts.

Poor weather on Thursday caused the Girl Scouts to cancel plans for an evening campfire with s’mores and an overnight experience at the camp. Girls did return on Friday morning for breakfast, an awards presentation and to exchange SWAPS, a small, handmade token of friendship traditionally exchanged by Girl Scouts.

In addition to the girls who attended the camp, 11 teen Girl Scouts volunteered to help run the camp, leading activities, helping to supervise girls in canoes and serving as role models for the younger Girl Scouts at the camp.

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast will be running day and overnight camp opportunities for girls throughout the summer, including four week-long sessions at Camp Skimino in Williamsburg. All girls are welcome to attend, whether or not they are currently members of Girl Scouts. For more information or to register, visit www.gsccc.org.

Pool Dedication at Camp Burke's Mill Pond

Girl Scouts dedicate the new pool

On Tuesday, June 30, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast hosted a dedication for a new pool at Camp Burke’s Mill Pond in Gloucester. Girl Scout alumnae and friends from the community gathered to dedicate the new pool, tour the camp and share Girl Scout memories. A group of Girl Scouts also attended to conduct a flag ceremony and try out the new pool. Girl Scouts were able to add the pool, as well as a deck around the pool, thanks to generous donations by Marion S. Kaurup and A. Kenneth Scribner, Jr.

For over 40 years, Girl Scouts from southeastern Virginia have been going to Camp Burke’s Mill Pond to enjoy the outdoors and participate in a variety of activities, including canoeing, archery and swimming. Lorna Wass, a Girl Scout volunteer who was instrumental in obtaining the camp property for the Girl Scouts, was just one of the Girl Scout alumnae who attended the pool dedication.

Lorna Wass

In the 1970s when Wass was volunteering at a Girl Scout day camp down the street from Burke’s Mill Pond, she met Fred Mason, the owner of the property, who had retired in Gloucester with his wife after a career as the owner of a candy manufacturing company in New York. Mason’s wife had passed away and he told Wass that he was in the process of making decisions about his estate and wanted to find a way for the community to be able to enjoy his land. He invited the Girl Scouts to come swimming at Burke’s Mill Pond and Wass brought them the very next day.

“Right away, Mr. Mason saw how much the girls enjoyed the pond,” Wass said. “Pretty soon after, he decided that he would leave his property to the Girl Scouts.”

By 1973, Burke’s Mill Pond was open for troop camping and Girl Scouts ran summer camps at the property as well.

Today, Camp Burke’s Mill Pond has 11 camp sites, a nature trail and Treakle Cabin for indoor activities and camping. Girls still enjoy the pond for swimming and canoeing. The camp facilities, including the new pool, are also available for members of the public to rent. For more information, visit www.gsccc.org.

View more photos from the day here.

Day Camp at Burke's Mill Pond

Girl Scouts had the chance to learn archery
for the first time at Burke's Mill Pond this
summer.

During the week of June 23, nearly 75 Girl Scouts who live in the Gloucester area had the opportunity to experience Girl Scout camp during a volunteer-led day camp at the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast Camp Burke’s Mill Pond. During the week, girls honed their observation skills as they earned a badge in the Investigation category for their age level. From code names to invisible ink, they practiced the art of detection, followed clues and put all five senses to the test. The girls also enjoyed all of the activities that camp has to offer, including canoeing, swimming, and for the first time this year, archery.

Each day at camp, the girls started the day with a flag ceremony, which is a tradition in Girl Scouting. They then rotated through activity stations, working on badge requirements in the lodge, taking to the lake to learn canoeing techniques and heading out to the field for archery and the swimming pool. Girls were guided through activities to earn badges by older Girl Scouts volunteering as Program Aides, a leadership program for Girl Scouts in middle school to share their interests and experiences with younger girls. Many of the Program Aides attended day camp at Burke’s Mill Pond when they were younger and were eager to serve in leadership roles this summer.

The camp was led by volunteer director Kelly Hall, who was the assistant director for this day camp last year. Hall, who has two daughters in Girl Scouts, has fond memories of camping at Burke’s Mill Pond while growing up.

Camp Director Kelly Hall

“I had so many great experiences here as a child, and I enjoy being able to continue to offer the camp experience for girls in Gloucester today,” Hall said.

In addition to the day camp experience, Hall arranged for the girls to be able to spend the night and camp out on Thursday so that girls could make s’mores, sing songs and share skits around the campfire, all traditional Girl Scout camp activities.

Shannon Williams, whose daughter is a Girl Scout Daisy, also volunteered her time at the day camp. Williams enjoys participating in Girl Scouts with her daughter because it is a way for them to experience new things together.

Girl Scout volunteer Shannon Williams, left, went canoeing for
the first time last week at Burke's Mill Pond.

“This week is the first time either of us have been canoeing, and we both love it,” Williams said. “My daughter thought swimming would be her favorite activity, but we have both enjoyed canoeing each day.”

Girl Scout camp offers an all-girl environment where girls develop self-confidence, try new things, learn to work as part of a team and gain social skills as they connect with their peers and the adult volunteers who serve as role models. Girls also gain a respect for nature as they unplug from technology and become more aware of their environmental surroundings.

Girl Scouts paddled out into the lake and learned self-rescue
skills during their time at day camp.

Camp Reunions Helped Make New Memories

Girl Scouts across the nation have had a busy year celebrating the centennial of Girl Scouting in the United States. Here at the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast, our most popular celebrations for alumnae have been camp reunions. The reunions have given former campers and staff members a chance to reconnect, share memories and participate in traditional camp activities.Generations of Girl Scouts came together and celebrated the tradition of sisterhood in Girl Scouts at these reunions - "Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout!" Many thanks to the Council's Archive's Committee for supplying historical exhibits for each event.

The camp reunions kicked off on July 25th at Camp Apasus in Norfolk where a thank-you luncheon for the Norfolk Sertoma Club, a long-time sponsor of the camp for over fifty years, also took place. In August, reunions were scheduled at Camp Darden near Franklin and Camp Skimino in Williamsburg. Hiking, swimming and S.W.A.P.S. were all part of the fun. You can see photos and videos from all the reunions on the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast Facebook!

Sing Along at Camp Apasus was led by the Council's Sing-Along Group leader Jo Bazar.

Camp Darden Sing Along on August 4. Favorite song - "Come September"

Camp Skimino Reunion, August 18.

The last reunion was at Camp Burkes Mill Pond on September 22. There was a pirate treasure hunt, outdoor cooking demonstrations, displays, canoeing on Burkes Mill Pond and a camp tour that included the old Mill House.