WHITFORD, MD (WBAL) – It’s a new sight at Camp Saffran in Whiteford, Maryland. For the first time in more than 100 years, girls are participating in Scouts BSA summer camp.
The boys and girls have separate troops and campsites, but they come together for daily activities and programs.
Camp Director Tom Wagner said, “It’s been phenomenal. Each week we have over 300 youth in camp and the dynamics with the mix between male and female has been life changing for all. Everybody’s having a great time.
The week-long camp runs all summer. Each week so far has had a few troops of girls taking part in everything from riflery to water sports.
Girl campers say Scouts BSA offers different experiences than a Girl Scout camp. “Boy Scout camp you get a lot of freedom and you don’t have to be confined in one place,” camper Evita Takiyama said. “There’s also a lot of activities you can do here that you couldn’t do at a Girl Scout camp.”
Camper Allison Mueller said, “Scouts BSA encourages you to go outside more so in order to get rank you have to go outside and do a certain amount of camping nights in order to do a couple of merit badges you have to go on certain miles of hikes.”
And merit badges are a big focus for the girl campers. They’re dedicated and working hard toward the and maybe giving the boys a run for their money.
Assistant Scout Master Tracy Klink said, “The older girls are very focused on advancement so they’ve signed up for very aggressive merit badge schedules and the younger girls have just followed suit.”
This is the new norm. Girls and boys side by side, working together. And it seems like the boys are welcoming the change.
Assistant Scout Master Tracy Klink said, “I’ll be honest with you I was expecting a little push back from some of the younger boys that have been here one or two summers before and just hasn’t happened the girls have been doing their thing they’ve been interacting with the boys appropriately during merit badge classes and vice versa.”
The camp plans to raise money to update facilities for future programs to come.
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