Help protect a local GSCM outdoor camp site

Amelia
Apr 8, 2021
3 min read

As previously discussed on other blog posts, Girl Scouts makes it possible for girls to travel and stay locally at camp grounds. GSCM (Girl Scouts Central Maryland) owns four camps spread across multiple counties and utilized by over 20,000 local Girl Scouts and 8,000 Girl Scout adults that are a part of GSCM. One of these camps is currently being tossed around as a potential building site for housing. Camp Illchester is in need of our help and we need your voice to keep this camp from being sold!!

Posted directly from the petition: Please note this is not me who wrote this, but I feel the statement strongly captures all the reasons Camp Illchester needs to be saved therfore I wanted to include it in the blog post!! I also included pictures from Camp Illchester for refrence. Some of them were captured by me and others from events, others are from various sources cited below.

On March 30, 2021, Girl Scouts of Central Maryland (GSCM) announced their plan to sell Camp Ilchester (Ellicott City). According to their statement, GSCM intends to use the sale proceeds to re-envision Camp Woodlands (Annapolis) into “a model for the Girl Scout camp of the 21st century,” an endeavor projected to cost $21M. Camp Ilchester is zoned R20, making it attractive to residential developers and yielding a potential sale profit of $5-11M. GSCM Board members plan to make a final decision by May 4, 2021. Please join Girl Scout youth members and adult leaders, members of the community, and proponents of open green space for youth by opposing the sale of Camp Ilchester to a residential developer. Help stop the sale of existing, well-used and well-loved, outdoor activity space as a trade off for the not-yet-funded promise of updated facilities in Anne Arundel County at a not-yet-disclosed (or determined) future date (that may never materialize). Once this 20-acre green space is lost, it can never be regained. GSCM has not demonstrated that selling Camp Ilchester is an effective or necessary means to manage finances. The GSCM Board failed to provide a clear demonstration of the financial information they are using to make the decision to sell Camp Ilchester. According to its 990, GSCM expenses do not exceed revenues. Camp Ilchester generates revenue, its maintenance expenses are low, and it receives financial support from The Clementine Peterson endowment fund. Selling the camp will not fully fund the re-envisioning of Camp Woodlands. Since 2013, GSCM board-led efforts to raise money for this project yielded only $1.8 M. Selling Camp Ilchester will significantly decrease availability of outdoor camp experiences for girl scouts and other youths and reduce access disproportionately. If Camp Ilchester is sold, only three camps will remain to serve 20,000 girls and 8,000 adults in Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties. Each year, summer camp and activity registration fills quickly; many girls are put on waiting lists or turned away due to camp space constraints. Focusing financial resources on fewer camps will ultimately serve a smaller percentage of girls and favor older girls, girls with more financial resources, and those in closer proximity. “The Outdoors” is one of GSUSA’s four core pillars. Very few organizations offer outdoor, camping, and nature experiences. Selling green space to a residential developer conflicts with the Girl Scout values. (i.e.: Use resources wisely. Make the world a better place). The sale of the camp contradicts with the organization’s own studies which prove the need, desire, and benefit of outdoor experiences for young people. GSCM is making the decision to sell Camp Ilchester without member involvement or input, conflicting with the GSUSA constitution that states Girl Scouts is member-led. Several years ago, GSCM conducted research to determine whether members wanted updated camping facilities. GS members question whether the research effort polled a representative sampling of GSCM girl scouts. The research did not include questions about the sale of Camp Ilchester as a consideration. For years, advocates of camp preservation have petitioned GSCM for greater transparency with property financials and the ability to fundraise. GSCM has repeatedly denied these requests. The 35-day timeline between the announcement and the final decision to sell the property leaves little time to consider member feedback, opposition, or alternate solutions. The razing of Camp Ilchester by developers will negatively impact the environment, the Ellicott City and Elkridge community, and local girl scouts. If the camp is razed by a developer, it will further hurt a community already reeling from overcrowded schools, lacking infrastructure, and two devastating floods. Wildlife will be destroyed, trees cut down, and animals displaced, which is in stark contrast to Girl Scout teachings of environmental stewardship and preservation.