Scouting Report: Troop 65081 Take On the Girl Scouts Love the Outdoors Challenge

A semi-regular feature debuts today with Troop Leader Julie St. John's account of the Girl Scouts Love the Outdoors challenge. If you are a leader for any group like Girl Scouts, reach out: we would love to highlight the great work and activities happening in the community.

Girls Scouts USA has issued another year of Girl Scouts Love the Outdoors Challenge.  The national outdoor challenge has a check list of 50 various outdoor activities for Girl Scouts to do either with their troop or on their own with parent/guardian supervision.  As girls progress from Daisies to Ambassadors the more items have to be completed to earn the patch.  The challenge begins in May and ends this year on September 10th-11th when several state parks offer Girl Scouts Love State Parks activities across the country.  

Girl Scouts Love State Parks just happens to be one of the items to complete the Girl Scouts Love the Outdoor Challenge!  Massachusetts had several state parks participate this year including our beloved Purgatory Chasm State Reservation. Among the many Girl Scouts who participated, several girls from Troop 65081 participated in today's activities at Purgatory Chasm. Troop 65081 is part of the Girl Scouts of Central & Western Massachusetts Singletary Service Unit and is a multi-level troop that has girls from Millbury, Sutton, Dudley, and Worcester.  

The hike and rock climb was guided by two DCR Rangers who started the trip at the mouth of the Chasm and explained the history of the Chasm becoming a park in 1919, the science behind the formation of the chasm, a hunt for mica, and the history of the trees in the park.  The girls were able to see and explore caves and formations such as the King's Cave, the Devil's Coffin, Lover's Leap, and The Corn Crib.  

There are programs that are offered in September and October at the park for free every day of the week which includes hikes and educational sessions.  We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful park right in our area that supports our Girl Scouts and their outdoor programming.

Julie St. John is the Troop Leader of Girl Scouts Troop 65081 and a resident of Millbury. For more information on local Girl Scouts activity, she can be reached at julieestjohn@gmail.com