Articles

Camp Daisy Hindman:
a whole new world for some
(Printed in the Topeka Capital Journal, Summer 2000)

One of the central components of the Girl Scouting program has always been
introducing girls to the outdoors - to
campfires, crickets, S'mores, horseback riding, canoeing, latrines and spending
the night away from home.
"I'm not aware of any other program or any other organization that has
such a long-standing history of putting girls in the out-of-doors," said Diane
Oakes, executive director of Girl Scouts of Kaw Valley Council. "We have always
known that putting kids in the out-of-doors is just a wonderful experience for
them. There is something about being in that kind of safe environment that
encourages children to try new things and to learn new skills, and it really
helps enhance self-esteem and develops a level of independence."
Oakes ought to know. Calling herself the "poster child for the outdoor
program," she said that she was raised in New York City.
"Outdoor programs in Brooklyn are just not that prevalent," Oakes said,
laughing. "I went to Girl Scout camp every summer until about age 16. 1 really
do believe that's one of the reasons that I have such a passion for this
organization. I know the impact it had on me."
Oakes isn't alone in her long history with Girl Scouts and camping.
Outdoor program manager/resident camp director Tricia Merritt camped when she
was young and now introduces hundreds of girls to the concept every summer at
Camp Daisy Hindman.
"They work on their outdoor skills, like building fires and cooking
outside," she said. "But they also develop their leadership skills. They learn
how to work in small and large groups, how to work with girls of different ages
from different backgrounds."
Oakes called camps the "great social equalizer" because girls come from
all areas of life, few of them knowing many outdoor skills, and together they
learn.
"Camp goes beyond hiking and canoeing and learning how to swim, even
though I did all those things at camp," Oakes said. "I think the biggest value
is getting out of your own environment. As a girl, it took me out of my
neighborhood. It taught me that I could survive away from my family, away from
my friends, that I could make new friends, that I could learn a,lot about other
people."
"It really provides an exposure that there is a whole world out there that
children just can't imagine from the confines of their own home," she said.
"I think their self-confidence is better by the time they leave," Merritt
added. "We let them try everything, so they're not seared to try. They get to do
things they can't do anywhere else."
"It's just such common sense," agreed Oakes. "When you learn something,
when you see that you can master something, you know that you feel better about
yourself. Then you can teach it to others."
Girl Scout camps are available for girls ages 5 to 17, although the
younger girls don't usually spend the night. There are three-day camps for
third-graders, and then fourth-graders and up can stay for the full week of
camping.
Special one-day camps are held for girls throughout the council.
The life-long lessons taught by spending time outdoors are so important
that the Girl Scouts started bringing camping opportunities to girls who aren't
in Girl Scouts. They began partnering with Parks & Recreation of Topeka, as well
as other collaborative programs in Lawrence, Manhattan, Junction City and with
the Potawatomi and Kickapoo Indian reservations.
At those varying sites, Girl Scouts provides the girls with summer Girl
Scout activities. Then, each child is given the opportunity to go to camp for
one day. Last year, about 600 girls went through that program.
“You talk about city kids who don’t ant to get off the bus when they
arrive at camp, and then they don’t want to get back on the bus to return home
at the end of the day,” Oakes said.
Rachel Pierson, 17, began coming to camp in the third grade. This will be
her first year working at Camp Daisy Hindman. Her favorite part of camping was
always working with the horses, and she will be a wrangler, teaching other girls
about horses. She has also volunteered on weekends throughout the winter.
“It’s just so much more fun at camp,” she said. “The troops come out to
ride and they love it. A lot of times, (the girls) are scared when they start
off because they’re small and the horses are so big. I think they just feel
good after they do it because it was so scary at first.”
Overcoming their fears gives them self-confidence. Camping through the
years has made Pierson more independent, she said.
“You stay away from home,” Pierson said. “But then it gets to be fun,
because you make really good friends because you live with them for a week.”
While the Girl Scouts have always known anecdotally that girls get life-
long lessons when they go to camp, the organization recently began gathering
data to confirm their beliefs, Oakes said.
For the resident camp outcomes, the girls evaluated changes in their
perception of self in five key developmental areas before and after their
camping experience. There were two significant findings from that: 84 percent
of the girls felt they increased their abilities to deal with conflicts with
other people and 94 percent reported they had worked to help others feel
included and comfortable while at camp.
Most of the girls, even at one-day camps, reported that they learned new
skills and made friends.
Such statistical findings are an affirmation of what the organization is
doing, Oakes said. It’s an affirmation that they also get, all the time, from
what the girls say, and from what women remember of their own experiences.
Marilyn Rohrer is secretary on the organization's board of directors. She
laughs when she says it, but believes firmly that she wouldn't have made it
through her daughter's teen-age years if they hadn't bonded when she was a
leader of her daughter's Girt Scout troop. Because of her belief in Girt Scouts,
she volunteers time to train the adult leaders who will be camping with the
girls.
We actually take them out and talk about the skills and then do a hands-on
campout," Rohrer said. "We have all kinds of different skill levels in the
parents. We have some who were in Scouting as a girl and who have incredible
skills already. For some of them, it's all new. These people have never lit a
campfire in their lives, and for them, it's kind of a struggle."
The key, Rohrer said, is keeping the camping process simple and teaching
progression. Don't start the girls out with a tough campout, but work their
skills gradually up to higher levels.
And like everyone else in Girl Scouting, she is sold on the outcomes.
"I think for some girls, it's probably the only time that they've ever had
to take care of themselves," Rohrer said. "The mom's not there to pick up after
them, cook for them, clean up after them. They learn respect for not only
nature, but for the other girls around them."
Yes, the statistics are nice proof of what camping out accomplishes. But
the reality is- even more significant - because every day at camp, someone
learns to speak up, to try something new, to push themselves to new levels, to
get along with someone they don't like.
That’s what the Girl Scouts want to accomplish as they build fires, pitch
tents and fill the outdoors with loud voices and laughter.