Written by GCNWI Council Historian, Veronica Pradelski 

What better way to keep on enjoying your Girl Scout fun this summer, than to spend some time at our council-led camps. 

Spending time outdoors with other Girl Scouts your age this summer is a great reason to attend camp. You’ll learn new skills and make new friends, especially during the warm summer season, when troops are usually not meeting. 

You will have time for traditional activities, like exploring nature, making crafts, playing games and learning songs.  You will also learn outdoor skills, like learning to cook over a fire, meal planning and budgeting for the food you will need for your meal. 

All camp programs have different themes, you get to decide which one is right for you! With all the various activities at camp, you can sometimes earn a badge or complete some requirements for a badge that you are interested in earning. 

Our council holds summer camps at three different locations. Camp Greene Wood is a day camp, and both Camp Butternut Springs and Camp Juniper Knoll are overnight camps. Some service units may hold a day camp in their area, run by devoted leaders who put together the planned programs for their camp.  

As I am writing this article, it brings back memories of my time in the summer at Girl Scout camp, in the 1960s, in Chicago. The day started with an opening ceremony, and then you would go with your unit to work on what activities were planned for the day.  We would plan our meals, write out a shopping list, and whoever was on cooking duty that day would go to the grocery store and purchase the items needed for our lunch meal. 

We’d hike, make crafts, sing songs, and learn how to budget for our meals.  It was a fun time, and I made new friends. 

So, it’s not too late to plan your own summer camp adventure. Click here to view all summer camp offerings and find a program that interests you and make it a summer to remember.