Girls join scouting as Lansing forms new troop

Frosty winter temperatures of 5 to 20 degrees did not dissuade more than 100 local scouts from attending a Knights and Castles Jamboree on Jan. 23 and 24 in Dwyer Park in Preble, New York, and Camp Barton in Trumansburg.

Three troops attended in Preble on Jan. 23, two troops were at Camp Barton on Jan. 23, and three troops and the Ithaca Sea Scouts went to Camp Barton on Jan. 24. Activities were spread out to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, according to Lansing Troop 48 Scoutmaster Mac Green.

Scouts created heraldic flags and built “steeds,” jousted with balloons, tickled “dragons” and collected rings. They threw wooden swords to one another, started fires, used compasses to follow maps and employed first aid skills to those “squires” wounded in training.

They used a trebuchet to assault castle walls, lashed together wooden bridges to cross moats, braided and knotted together ropes for tall tower rescues and raised lookout towers in the conquered castles.

In all, it was a traditional scout outing. Some even braved the cold to camp overnight. However, there was a nontraditional element — the addition of Trumansburg’s Girl Troop 613 and a nascent girls’ troop from Lansing.

In 2019, the Boy Scouts of America became Scouts BSA, with the dropping of the “Boy” signifying the addition of all genders to the activities.

Girls from 11 to 17 years of age are now eligible to join their male counterparts in a single-gender troop alongside, but separate, from the boys’ troops. A sponsor can support a troop for boys, or one for girls, or they can choose to sponsor two affiliated troops, one for each gender.

“We have four girls and are in a position to start the troop but would love to have a few more,” Green said. “Any girls from 11 to 17 would be welcome. We will be linked to Troop 48 in that we share the same committee and will hope to run some of the same programs but also some of our own ideas.”

Green continued.

“Scouting is youth-led, and we spent our last meeting discussing the program for the next month as well as the patrol name and choosing a patch, choosing a patrol leader and the neckerchief,” he said. “In the next month, we will be doing an online escape room, a cooking challenge, learning about first aid — and hopefully having a campfire and s’mores — and hopefully will be earning the first rank. We are all looking forward to meeting in person and developing some entertaining activities for the upcoming months.”

An affiliated boys’ troop and girls’ troop pair has the option to use the same troop number for everyday use, though for paperwork purposes, there will be two troops in the Scouts BSA records. If the sponsor of a current Troop 46 forms an affiliated girls-only troop, it might be Troop 6046 in the computer, but all of the girls and boys and leaders would wear 46 on their sleeves.

All members are simply known as “Scouts” and, since this program is not affiliated with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), are no longer referred to as “Girl Scouts” or “Boy Scouts.”

For more information about how to join the new troop, contact Andy Lynch at 240-538-3508 or vvtp01@gmail.com. Lynn and Mac Green can be reached at mac_green@msn.com or 607-257-4191.

IN BRIEF:

Giving appeal a success

The Lansing Community Council’s annual Giving Appeal saw more people giving more money this year, according to Barbara Reynolds.

“We want to thank the community,” Reynolds said. “We had three different charities — the Lansing Food Pantry, Lansing Loves to Read and the Community Council — available. Some chose to give to all, and some chose one or the other.”