By Lori BODNAR, intern

Hundreds of girls gathered at Crescenta Valley Park last week to learn knot tying, fire safety, knife safety and various ways to cook outdoors as part of the annual Girl Scout Twilight Camp. The theme of Twilight Camp this year was “Back to the Basics.” For nearly three decades, girls have enjoyed experiential learning at Twilight Camp and many on this year’s organizing committee were campers when they were kids.

Kate Redmond (also known by her camp name Kit-Kat) served on the Girl Scout Twilight Camp committee and is a camp organizer/leader.

“I have been a part of Twilight Camp since I was in first grade,” said Redmond. “I keep coming back because the smiles on the girls’ faces makes everything worth it.” 

Susan Smith (known by her camp name Beaker) is an adult camp leader who is also on the Twilight Camp committee.

“I have done Twilight Camp for 14 years and I love it every year,” Smith said.

In addition to the many committee members, volunteers who are older Girl Scouts help with the various camp stations. The unit leads (UL) are in charge of their unit for all of the camp activities. The program aides (PA) help watch the girls in their unit and the program aides in training (PAT) help the unit as well. 

Being a UL, PA, or PAT at Twilight Camp is an opportunity for older Girl Scouts to improve their leadership and organizational skills. The ULs and PAs are in high school. The program aides in training are in middle school. This year, there were six different units, each with two unit leaders. There were two Brownie units (grades two and three) named Orange Embers and Pink Hibiscus, three junior units (grades four and five) named Blue Band-aids and Purple Bobcats, and Golden Lanterns, plus one Cadette unit (grades six, seven and eight) called the Blue Jays. The girls in each camp unit received Twilight Camp 2019 T-shirts that matched the color of their unit.

There were also the Knots who wore green camp shirts, and they helped with the stations and taught the girls fire safety, cooking safety and knife safety. The Knots were high school students.

There were multi-generation leaders at camp, too. Marta Archer, camp name of Martian, is also an adult leader and on the committee of Twilight Camp. Jan Archer is Martian’s mom who also volunteered at the camp.

It was a full week for the campers beginning on Monday, June 17 when the girls had a scavenger hunt, learned knot-tying skills, made a “sit-upon” and had a hiking relay. Among the knots taught were a hammock-knot to hang up a hammock and a boondoggle box-stitch plastic lanyard as a craft.

On Tuesday, the girls learned knife safety and whittled, using plastic pocketknives to shape soap. They also learned first aid from emergency medical responder Heather Griffith.

On Wednesday, the girls learned cooking and fire safety, decorated a flowerpot and learned about the Gold Award, the highest award earned in Girl Scouts, which is equivalent to the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Award. 

On Thursday, the girls made a Dutch oven dessert and painted picture frames to hold a picture of their camp unit. The U.S. Forest Service came to talk to the campers about fire safety accompanied by none other than Smokey Bear! Smokey Bear is the famous 75-year-old icon for forest fire prevention. Thursday was also the day of the All-Camp Feast with hot dogs.

On Friday, the girls made delicious s’mores. They also made a songbook filled with the fun camp songs they had learned throughout the week. At the beginning and end of each day, the campers learned new camp songs taught to them by the older girl leaders at “Singing Meadows.” After camp songs, each day the different units would take turns in leading the pledge of allegiance or playing Taps during “flag up” and “flag down.” There were also crafts and badgework done with the girls’ units each day.

Twilight Camp ended with Scouts Own, an awards presentation, and a family picnic that included a friendship circle.

Emma Petersen, a Junior Girl Scout, perhaps best summed up the week’s adventure.

“I liked that everyone got to be together and make friends,” she said.

  Lori BODNAR