One of my favorite memories of being a Girl Scout is the camping trips. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and I did not have opportunities to camp until I joined Girl Scouts. Many kids these days, have never camped out in tents. I love bringing kids back to basics and to nature. Now kids are so connected to their technology that they rarely have an opportunity to spend any amount of time under the stars, sleeping in tents, eating food made over a camp fire or spending time hiking and enjoying the outdoors. I have led many events but this year, I had the opportunity to take over as Director of a weekend camping trip called Harvest Moon. Most of the girls slept in tents but at Camp Arnaz, some girls had an opportunity to sleep in yurts as well. We had workshops during the day: archery, knife handling, outdoor first aid, songs/skits, dutch oven cooking, craft (making bird feeders) and a scavenger hunt. We also had a DJ after dinner in the camp lodge. The girls loved that of course! I always try to mix the traditions with things the girls love today. After the DJ winded down, we sang songs at the camp fire and made s'mores. On our last day of the weekend, we did a Scouts Own ceremony to celebrate Girl Scouts and we did a community service project which involved cleaning up camp. As with all events I run, I had t-shirts made up for the event for the counselors and volunteers. I also made a banner to hang in the lodge and we traded Girl Scout swaps after the taco bar dinner on Saturday night. I hope that more service units run camp out weekends because the girls will never forget those opportunities to camp with their troops. Those are memories that will last a lifetime!! Yours in scouting......Denise
One of my favorite memories of being a Girl Scout is the camping trips. I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and I did not have opportunities to camp until I joined Girl Scouts. Many kids these days, have never camped out in tents. I love bringing kids back to basics and to nature. Now kids are so connected to their technology that they rarely have an opportunity to spend any amount of time under the stars, sleeping in tents, eating food made over a camp fire or spending time hiking and enjoying the outdoors. I have led many events but this year, I had the opportunity to take over as Director of a weekend camping trip called Harvest Moon. Most of the girls slept in tents but at Camp Arnaz, some girls had an opportunity to sleep in yurts as well. We had workshops during the day: archery, knife handling, outdoor first aid, songs/skits, dutch oven cooking, craft (making bird feeders) and a scavenger hunt. We also had a DJ after dinner in the camp lodge. The girls loved that of course! I always try to mix the traditions with things the girls love today. After the DJ winded down, we sang songs at the camp fire and made s'mores. On our last day of the weekend, we did a Scouts Own ceremony to celebrate Girl Scouts and we did a community service project which involved cleaning up camp. As with all events I run, I had t-shirts made up for the event for the counselors and volunteers. I also made a banner to hang in the lodge and we traded Girl Scout swaps after the taco bar dinner on Saturday night. I hope that more service units run camp out weekends because the girls will never forget those opportunities to camp with their troops. Those are memories that will last a lifetime!! Yours in scouting......Denise 
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