Do some of your own fondest summer memories involve time spent around a campfire?
Fire circles have long been cherished for cookouts, roasting marshmallows, singing campfire songs, bonding with nature – and each other. Despite a glut of technology, today's kids still appreciate this quintessential symbol of camping tradition.
Towson Troop 15 Girl Scouts Abby Letocha, Avery Dawson, Madeline Menkes, Maggie Ryan, Marlena Roberts, Neeley Dayan, and Sophie Harrell have earned the Silver Award, the highest honor for middle school Cadettes, for their recently completed fire safety project at Camp Conowingo. The 600-acre campground in Cecil County serves as home base for the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland's summer resident camp program. It is held especially dear by the young ladies of Troop 15, who have been together since beginning kindergarten at Stoneleigh Elementary School in 2007.
During previous encampments, the scouts noticed that some of the fire circles were in poor condition. They saw this as an opportunity to put service hours into action, to enhance fire safety, and to make an improvement to a place they love.
In February, the scouts brainstormed a list of safety rules to put on signs to be posted near fire circles, such as keeping the ash level six inches below the rock circle, creating tips for how to behave around fire circles, and devising a plan to raise fire safety awareness. The girls wrote a letter to the Build-a-Sign company explaining their project and were given a discount on signs. They chose a durable aluminum that will last for many years outdoors. Their mission was to have everything completed by June, so this summer's campers could take full advantage of the improvements.
They observed that years of ash buildup in fire pits was causing potential danger to campers and the environment, as wildfires could be started by neglected sites and neglected rules. In May, the girls dug out years of accumulated ash and enhanced the fire circle structures. They installed new wood boxes to keep wood dry, and posted signs on 16 wood boxes, so that campers will see the safety rules before starting fires. They even ran into neighboring Junior Troop 10042 and took the opportunity to review fire safety rules with the younger scouts as they did some outdoor cooking. They were anxious to return to Camp Conowingo this month for camp themselves, and to see their hard work put to use.
At summer's end, the girls will enter ninth grade — Madeline at Carver, Marlena at Baltimore School for the Arts, and Abby, Avery, Maggie, Neely, and Sophie at Towson High School. They plan to continue scouting through high school.
"Camping bonds our troop together, and the girls wanted to give back to Camp Conowingo," said troop leader Phoebe Evans Letocha. "The fire circle project was the perfect reflection of who we are as a troop. Their efforts will provide a teaching tool to help current and future scouts safely experience this time-honored tradition."