by myotis » Jul 10, 2008 11:36 pm
I have been a trip leader for an annual Girl Scout trip into a local Indiana cave for the last three years now. After the trip I'd then put on an educational presentation about caves and karst for the girls back at camp, utilizing some of the Project Underground ideas and whatever relevant videos I could get my hands on. It's always a rewarding experience, and the camp outdoor coordinator always goes out of her way to make us as cavers feel welcome. Actually, I frankly like working with the Girl Scout groups more than the Boy Scouts. They definitely are far less whiny and open to the new experiences that caving offers, once you get them to agree to go on that first trip. If anything, I had to dampen a few girls' enthusiasm somewhat just to keep the group together. I 'd like to encourage anyone who has ever thought about introducing youth groups of any kind to the world of caving to do so. Encouraging young people into becoming responsible and environmentally conscious cavers is the key to help making the caves of today safer for the future, I think.
Is this really necessary? Really? Ok......