Welcome to camp!

Get Started!

Camper Units:

Click the picture of your rising grade level to learn more about your camp unit.

Here’s a checklist of the activities you will complete later during Virtual Camp. Activity videos, directions, and challenge activities can be accessed by clicking the activity links in our Have Fun section.

By completing our website activities listed in this checklist, you are earning your Discoverer bar:

click to learn about going virtual

Rising 2nd and 3rd Graders

Brownie units 1, 2, & 3

click to learn about going virtual

Rising 4th Graders

Fly-up unit

click to learn about going virtual

Rising 5th & 6th Graders

Junior Unit

click to learn about going virtual

Rising 7th-12th Graders

CADette unit

Here’s a checklist of the activities you will complete later during Virtual Camp. Activity videos, directions, and challenge activities can be accessed by clicking the activity links in our Have Fun section.

By completing our website activities listed in this checklist, you are earning your Woodswoman bar:

click to learn about going virtual

Did You Know?

This isn’t the first time Girl Scout camps have closed due to a pandemic!

In the 1930’s there was a polio pandemic that wasn’t safe for children. Girl Scout camps closed for the year, and some offered at-home camp options by posting activities in the local newspaper each week!

click to learn about this week’s at-home camp schedule

Weekly Schedule:

click to learn about camp activities

Camp Activities

Activity Format

Station activities have two parts: learning and practice. We’ll use staff-made videos and internet resources to help you learn new outdoor skills, and then we’ll give you practice activities to get you outside and moving.

Completing Activities

As you complete stations and activities, you can adapt them to meet the needs of your family. Based on weather conditions, access to materials, time, and experience, you can adapt activities and do them in any order and at any time of your choosing. The whole point is to have fun and develop new skills, so enjoy!

At the end of each station, you’ll have three navigation buttons:

Have Fun!

Click today’s day of the week picture, get started, and have fun!

MONDAY’S WHOLE-CAMP ACTIVITY: TOUR OF CAMP

Our camp is just outside of Charlottesville, VA in the mountains outside of the Shenandoah National Park.

TUESDAY’S WHOLE-CAMP ACTIVITY: LEAVE NO TRACE

At Girl Scouts, we believe in responsible behavior and respecting the environment. That’s why Leave No Trace is such an important aspect of Girl Scouts! The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a national organization that supports protecting the outdoors by teaching and inspiring people to enjoy it responsibly. That’s something we can get behind!

So, what does Leave No Trace mean exactly, and how can Girl Scouts ensure they’re practicing it daily? In general, the idea of Leave No Trace is to sustain the environment for generations to come. We can do this by being aware of how we’re interacting with the environment and making conscious decisions that serve to lessen our impact on nature. Here’s an overview of Leave No Trace practices:

There are seven principles of Leave No Trace. It’s important that Girl Scouts are familiar with these principles, considering so many of our activities happen in the outdoors. Let’s go through each one and think about how the principles apply to Girl Scouts.

Principle 1: Plan Ahead and Be Prepared

Before you start your outdoor adventure (no matter how small!), make sure you’re prepared. Make sure you’re familiar with regulations and special concerns about the area(s) you’ll be visiting, and keep in mind high-traffic times. Avoiding crowds will not only prevent protected wildlife from getting trampled, it will also make it a more enjoyable experience for the girls!

Depending on the size of your troop, consider splitting up into smaller groups. If there are too many people in one given spot, there might not be enough room on the trail for everyone to listen, talk, and share with each other. Smaller groups help us foster conversation while we’re mindful of the environment around us.

Principle 2: Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

Whether you’re visiting for a day or overnight, it’s important to stick to durable surfaces, like established trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grass, or snow. This is for the safety of everyone in your group as well as the safety of the environment. When we walk beyond established paths, we risk damaging vegetation and other organisms that can be damaged beyond recovery.

If your troop is staying overnight, remember that campsites are found, not made! You don’t need to alter an existing site to meet your needs. Try to find a site that is so highly impacted that further careful use will cause no noticeable impact.

Principle 3: Dispose of Waste Properly: Pack it in, Pack it out

One of the easiest ways to Leave No Trace is to dispose of any waste you’ve brought with you. If there are trash cans available, excellent! Use them for anything you no longer need, separating recyclable and compostable items if necessary. If there aren’t any trash cans, bring it all with you. This includes packaging, leftover food, and other litter. And if you’re camping overnight, don’t forget to check that you’ve grabbed all of your clothing, camping gear, and anything else non-edible you may have left behind.

And when nature calls, find a spot at least 200 feet from water, your camp, and trails, and dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep for solid human waste. When finished, cover and disguise the hole. It’s not glamorous, but it helps protect the environment!

Principle 4: Leave What you Find

Girl Scouts love souvenirs as much as the next person, but during your outdoor adventure, the only souvenirs you should take are pictures! Leave rocks, plants, and other natural objects where you find them, and avoid building structures like forts or makeshift furniture. Leave those projects for your backyard.

Principle 5: Minimize Campfire Impacts

While you may not be in wildfire country, it’s still incredibly important to minimize the impact of your campfire. Keep in mind regulations for where you’re visiting (which you should’ve already researched as part of principle 1!), as fires might not be allowed.

When and where fires are permitted, keep them as small as possible. Only use sticks that can be broken by hand, no tools required. Once you’re done, make sure all wood and coals have burned to ash. Put out the fires completely, then scatter the ashes once they’ve cooled.

Principle 6: Respect Wildlife

One of the best parts of spending time outdoors is seeing all the amazing wildlife. But as exciting as it is to see animals in the wild, remember that they should be observed from a distance and should never be fed. It damages their health, alters natural behaviors, and exposes them to predators and other dangers.

Similarly, make sure food (including food waste!) is stored securely. Whether they’re fed intentionally or find your food on accident, wildlife can be very negatively impacted by human food.

Principle 7: Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Finally, remember to be considerate toward others, including those in your group. Ask questions courteously, avoid making loud noises, and yield to others on the trail. In short, be a sister to every Girl Scout—as well as every non–Girl Scout!

Whether going on a day hike around town or in the front country, or on a hiking trip to the back country, Girl Scouts are concerned with personal enjoyment of the outdoors, safety and environmental protection. All Girl Scouts are prepared for such activities by being trained, being prepared and adhering to the progression of each girl’s experiential scouting experience.

WEDNESDAY’S WHOLE-CAMP ACTIVITY: COMMUNITY SERVICE

Changing the world happens one step at a time. As Girl Scouts, serving our communities is a core component of our beliefs and programming. Observe and reflect on your family, your neighborhood, your community, our country, and the world. What is a problem you see? How can you help fix it? Remember, one person may not be able to solve a problem, but one person can make a difference and inspire others to help as well. Find a problem in your world that is meaningful to you and find a way to help. Scroll through the ideas below for inspiration. Make sure that an adult approves your project before you start so that you can talk about any safety concerns and laws or regulations you may need to follow.

THURSDAY’S WHOLE-CAMP ACTIVITY: WILD ANIMALS

Thinking back to No Leave Trace Principle 6 (Respect Wildlife), it’s important to learn about the wildlife in the area you will be camping or hiking in! You’ll need to know which animals you might see, how they behave, and whether they are dangerous. But more importantly, you’ll need to know how your behaviors can be dangerous for both the animals and yourself. Remember that wild animals are not pets! You should not interact with them, touch them, or feed them. Always keep in mind that the area was their home before you got there, and you should not do anything to damage or destroy their home land.

In the forests around our camp, there are more than 60 mammals calling our area home:

Virginia’s Poisonous Snakes

Virginia has 32 types of snakes, but only 3 of them are venomous! Our three venomous snakes are the copperhead, rattlesnake, and water moccasin. Generally, you can identify a venomous snake by looking for a pointy nose (instead of round) and a big head with skinny neck. While many people are afraid of snakes, snakes can be very helpful as they eat mice and other rodents who are in your garden, home, or campground. When you see a snake, it’s best to given them their space by walking around them and leaving them alone.

Virginia’s Poisonous Spiders

Just like snakes, spiders sometimes have a bad reputation! But they are also helpful because they eat bugs, like mosquitoes. In Virginia, we have 57 types of spiders. Many are poisonous, but very few are dangerous to humans as our bodies are so much bigger than theirs. Three that are dangerous to humans in Virginia include the Brown Recluse, Black Widow, and Wolf Spiders.

FRIDAY’S WHOLE-CAMP ACTIVITY: CAMP OUT/CAMP IN

Let’s have camp’s biggest sleepover ever! If we were at camp this year, each grade-level group would camp out in different types of structures, like this:

Since we’re not at camp, we’ll have to do things a little differently. Do you have the gear for camping outside?

Let’s camp outside!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Camping Out Ideas (click the picture for directions):

camping out packing list:

Let’s Camp Inside!

Here are some ideas to get your started:

Camping In Ideas from Ikea Russia:

camping in packing list:

Now get going! Sugar Hollow Day Camp is officially done, but the camping is just beginning! Use what you learned this week, and have an amazing night camping with your family!