Co-ed Venturing & Summer Camp Opportunities

[ynotcamp]

Does anyone know of a good summer camp offering high adventure in the Midwest? The camp that our troop is considering attending said absolutely no girls in regard to the crew attending. Our crew went to Ben DeLatour in Colorado last summer. They all (boys and girls) enjoyed the climbing opportunities! We had no problems taking a co-ed group.

[ScoutNut]

Is the camp your Troop is planning on attending a BSA camp? If so, I really don't see how they could say no co-ed Venturing Crews!

 

Anyway, if you want high adventure in the midwest, you can't really get any better than Northern Tier Nat'l High Adventure Base in Ely, MN.

 

Another one I found is MN's Indianhead council's Lake Superior High Adventure Base. They have sea kayaking and rock climbing in the Apostle Islands.

 

I guess it all depends on what you want to do. There are also lots of State and National parks in the midwest that have wonderful facilites. You could stay at a nearby BSA camp and go out from there.

 

 

[Proud Eagle]

Many traditional summer camps are set up for Boy Scout Troops. Therefore they could easily provide facilities (program being a seperate issue) for an all male Crew. However, providing facilities for female youth is something many camps are not prepared for.

 

My council's camp is set up for the Boy Scout program. However, Venturing Crews and Sea Scout Ships are welcome. That includes co-ed units. Last year we hosted one co-ed troop from the Czech Republic. We also hosted at least one co-ed Venturing crew, plus some all male Venturing Crews.

 

If your crew wants to try a bit of sailing, but doesn't think it is ready for seabase yet, you may find one of our programs interesting. We offer a 5 day sailing program on Kentucky Lake. The program is based out of Camp Roy C. Manchester, the summer camp for the Shawnee Trails Council.

[ynotcamp]

Thank you for the ideas. We have some enthusiastic kids in the crew and we don't want to lose that.

[John-in-KC]

Heart of America Council, Kansas City, offers Venturing Blast every summer.

 

Same property (H Roe Bartle Scout Reservation, Osceola, MO) as we use for one of our two Scout camps.

 

Our council offers it the week after Boy Scout camp is finished.

 

www.hoac-bsa.org

 

 

[boy_scout_chic]

Has anyone heard of a camp that is mainly for Venture Crews?

If Venture Crew is part of the Boy Scouts of America, why doesn't it have its own summer camps? Boy Scouts do, so why shouldn't we?

I understand the male/female problem there, but I am sure that with a bit of thinking from the camp directors and the crew leaders, there would not be a problem.

[Proud Eagle]

First off, the Venturing program, while certainly compatible with summer camp, isn't really optimized for it. That is particularly true with some of the interest options available. While there are certainly many Venturing program related activities that could take place in a resident camp setting, most Venturers would rather be out on a trail or doing some sort of high adventure.

 

Those two factors make it more difficult to offer a Venturing program at a BSA resident camp, and makes it less likely that a Venturer would attend camp compared to a Boy Scout.

 

Also, the number of Venturers compared to the number of Boy Scouts is relatively small in many areas. Therefore, it is difficult to justify setting aside either a part of the summer season, or an entire facility just for a Venturing program.

 

Finally, Venturing is a relatively new program. Boy Scout camps didn't pop up complete with well run programs, good facilities, trained staff, and all the other things that are expected of a BSA resident camp in any sort of short period of time.

 

However, I think that there will eventually be some facilities set up primarily as Venturing camps. Other facilities will start having special Venturing weeks. Most of the rest will probably start adding some things to the weekly program to interest Venturers that may come during the normal camping season.

 

If your Crew wants to go to a BSA resident camp, I would suggest contacting your council and find out what they offer. Chances are that if you are willing to work with the council and and the camp leadership, some sort of arrangements can be made even if the camp has never hosted a Crew before. It would probably be a good bet to shoot for one of the weeks with lower numbers of Boy Scouts, that way you are more likely to be able to use the parts of the facility you want and receive a greater degree of help from the staff.

 

All that being said, things will improve with time (or some sort of change will be made, one or the other). I know my council welcomes Venturers, Sea Scouts, Crews, and Ships along with the Boy Scout Troops. While the camp program is structured around the Boy Scout program, there are many activities available for a Venturer. If Crews and Ships show a continued and increasing interest in attending camp, then there will be more programs catering to them in the future.

 

In the mean time, just find a camp that is willing to take a Crew and work with the camp leaders (before arriving) to arrange a few special program items. Or better yet, find a camp that already has special programs for Venturers.

[bluegoose]

The camp the I have worked at over the past 5 summers (Napowan Adventure Base, Wild Rose, Wisconsin) has seen the likes of a few coed venturing crews staying for the week. However, our program is mostly geared for Boy Scouts and advancement oppertunities for them, so there is less for venturers to do outside of our one 'venturing weekend.' To solve this problem we created an extensive high adventure program. This past summer we offered multiple weeklong treks including climbing at Devil's Lake, kayaking, biking, hiking at Apostle Island, canoeing the Flambeau River, scuba, and many others. http://www.napowan.com http://www.nwsc.org

[boy_scout_chic]

Thanks for the help Proud Eagle and Bluegoose

[ynotcamp]

Thank you for your responses.

 

We have also had favorable (enthusiastic) responses from a few additional camps we have checked with:

 

Many Point (MN)

Medicine Mountain (SD)

Camp Cedars (NE)

 

 

[Proud Eagle]

I have recently heard some new information based on the 2005 BSA resident camp standards.

 

Apperently, BSA resident camps may not host Venturing Crews at the same time they are hosting Boy Scout Troops. This means that Venturers would either need to be dual registered and come with a troop (not an option for female youth), or they would need to find a camp that has a special Venturing week. The same camps can host Venturers and Boy Scouts on different weeks.

 

Also, if a council opperates multiple seperate camps on one property or reservation, one could be hosting Boy Scouts while the other hosted Venturers.

 

This is apperently something new for 2005. I don't have a copy of the camp standards, so you will need to inquire of your council or of any camp you are considering attending to find more detailed information.

[abernajb]

Check out the Swift Venturing Base outside Saint Louis. I think its exactly what you are looking for when it comes to Summer Camps. They have been runnign a mulit-week Summer camp aimed exclusively at Venturing and Exploring for over 35 years.

 

http://www.stlbsa.org/Camping/Summer+Camps/Venturing/

 

The Swift Base is a Venturing Program run by Venturers and has been for a long, long time. Its not a converted Boy Scout camp for the week of Venturers, its a Venturing program through and through. One of the biggest advantages of it is the cost--$160 inclusive of food and tentage. I worked there for 5 years, and it really is a great secret in the midwest.

[EagleInKY]

Camp Crooked Creek is offering a Venturing-oriented program this summer. Called "Pathfinders", It is described as "an intense leader developing challenge where Aquatics - Shooting Sports - Ecology - Handicrafts - High Adventure - Scout Crafts - Health & Safety skills are combined into a week long team building adventure."

 

It is open to Scouts of Star rank or higher and Venturers. Female and co-ed venturers will be able to camp at Camp Lowe, which is on the same property as Camp Crooked Creek.

 

http://www.campcrookedcreek.com

 

Look at pages 25 & 26 of the Leaders Guide:

http://www.campcrookedcreek.com/info/guide/leadersguide.pdf

 

I know the guys putting this on and I can guarantee it will be an intense experience.(This message has been edited by EagleInKY)

[shdeb]

the person from NWSC was almost right - we also have a Venturing Weekend every summer just for the Venturing Crews. In 2005 it is scheduled for July 15-17. In 2006 we are planning to have a week long Ranger Quest type of program at Napowan just for Venturing.

 

see http://venturing.nwsc.org for all the other stuff we are up to.

[crew203]

Check out Ransburg Scout Reservation.

www.ransburgbsa.org

 

There's COPE, a ranch, waterfront with waterskiing, and a Ranger program.