Traveling camp gives local girls summer experience

Each summer, millions of children across the country partake in some sort of camp experience, be it for sports, outdoor adventuring or social development. The American Camp Association estimates 7.8 million young Americans will attend more than 14,000 different day and residential camps this summer.

Wrangell-area girls have been able to enjoy the summer camp experience for themselves this week, put on by the Girl Scouts of Alaska (GSAK). A pair of instructors has been holding day camps out at Shoemaker Bay Park since Monday, with activities for around two dozen girls to wrap up tomorrow.

"Everything is centered around being outdoors," explained Corinna Moreno, one of the GSAK camp counselors. Since completing training in Anchorage at the month's start, she and Josie Ward have been traveling to communities across Southeast, coordinating with local scout troops and community groups to put on the best experience.

Troop 4156 leader Diane O'Brien explained Shoemaker made a perfect location for the camp, being close to both the beach and the Rainbow Falls trail, and sporting shelter, playground equipment and picnic facilities. Each day participating girls have been guided through different outdoor activities, from collecting rocks from the intertidal area to crafts and group exercises.

"It keeps them connected with their environment, which keeps them connected with larger issues," said O'Brien. Each activity is an opportunity to learn as well as to have fun, no matter what the weather.

With coastal communities often being relatively isolated, the opportunities for local youth to enjoy summer camp is limited. Ward explained the experience is a valuable one, and she is pleased to be able to help give other girls the chance to have it.

"I think summer camp has had a really good influence on me, growing up," she said.

Running through mid-August, the GSAK's summer camp program is open to all girls in the K-12 grade range, whether they are scouts or not. While the organization maintains two permanent camp facilities in the Chugiak and Wasilla areas, the itinerant program has in its current iteration been in place since 2009.

"Girls Scouts truly believe that every girl should have the opportunity to participate," explained Amanda Block, chief mission officer for GSAK in Anchorage. The program provides materials and equipment for its participants, and has a scholarship aspect for girls so that cost will not be a prohibiting factor. The traveling camp also gets support from the communities it visits as well, such as the Nore family contributing wood for keeping the fire going during Tuesday's rain.

The camp program is a positive experience for the instructors, as well. This summer is a first-time trip to Alaska for both, and the visit to Southeast has been an enjoyable one.

Ward is coming from Columbia, Mo., where she studies economics and business management at the University of Missouri. She has worked with the Girls Scouts previously, but she said the program in Alaska had sounded like a unique opportunity.

"I love it," said Moreno, a teacher from Tulsa, Okla. "I've always wanted to come to Alaska."

Ward and Moreno form one of the four two-woman teams covering Alaska's southeastern and southwestern communities for GSAK's summer camp. The program's schedule has given them both a fair view of the region: Before stopping into Wrangell the two were at Gustavus, while this weekend they will head to Angoon before moving on to Juneau.

For more information on the camp and GSAK's other programming, visit http://www.girlscoutsalaska.org.