Overgrowth and Archery — Aiming for Service and a Challenge
Who needs Service Hours? (Everyone) And service with friends is even better.
Ginny invited us to join her and her Girl Scout Troop for a day of service and fun at Girl Scouts Camp Ada. We started the day with a drive from Bethel to the camp. Who knew it was State Road 38 Garage Sale day? Navigating the cars that seemed to have just stopped on the side of the road was kind of exciting, especially when those garage sales looked so inviting. (That one had a FOOD TRUCK!)
But Scoutmaster Jenny would not stop that van!
Ginny started our day with a flag ceremony. It was neat to have both the Girl Scout and Boy Scout opening flags — the World Scouting Movement is a great bond. Then it was off to work!
Our first task was to clear a couple of overgrown campsites. Ginny and her troop had previously cleared several, but there were still a few to uncover. We moved tree limbs and pulled out some invasive Japanese honeysuckle (pretty to smell, but it blocks out all the native plants) and cut the tall weeds down so someone can use the space again.
We got to use tools like a weed cutter, loppers, and a saw, and cleaned out the areas. It was cool to see the change in the sites we worked on.
After we finished cleaning in the Little Woods, we hiked through the Big Woods. Scoutmaster Mary surprised us (later) with Turkey Trot Trail patches! There were a few signs that had lost their paint, so we touched up the arrows to make sure people knew where to go.
After all that work, we washed up and then ate lunch in the pavilion, then got to go to the archery range for some lessons for the archery merit badge and some practice! We’re probably not nationally competitive like our instructor, Mr. Magnuson, but we had fun.
We had a lot of fun, and it was great to support Ginny’s Girl Scouts as they finished their Silver Award project.
Want to join? Check out our Resources page for youth and adult applications, and meet us at Bethel Lutheran on Mondays at 7pm.