Female Scouts BSA troop in Westmoreland takes inaugural camping trip

Friday night was far from the first time a group of Scouts braved the cold for a winter camping trip in the woods. It was, however, the first camping trip for a female Scouts BSA troop in Westmoreland County.

“I’m actually, finally, part of a group,” said Greta Nicodemus, 11, of Ligonier, a member of newly formed girls’ Troop 1372.

Scouts BSA, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, allowed girls into its ranks starting Feb. 1.

Greta, seven other girls and a few adult scoutmasters took their inaugural camping trip to Linn Run State Park on Friday night to Sunday morning. They started their first night in tents, though as temperatures dropped below freezing and snow began to fall they moved to a nearby cabin.

They went on nature walks, did first aid training and helped clean up the park — the typical activities for Scouts on a camping trip.

“Everyone that I talked to who had done Scouts said it was really cool,” said Lyla Barr, 13, of Ligonier. “We’ve gotten started a lot faster than I thought we would.”

More than 10,000 girls nationwide have joined Scouts BSA since Feb. 1, according to the Boy Scouts of America, Scouts BSA’s parent organization. And officials expect that number to continue its rapid climb over the next few months.

“I think that number is going to be increasing a lot,” said Dawn Lamuth-Higgins, scoutmaster of Troop 1372 in Ligonier.

There are 28 girls in Scouting in Westmoreland and Fayette counties, split up among five troops, according to Jim Douglas, chief operating officer for Boy Scouts of America’s Westmoreland-Fayette Council.

More have expressed interest in joining and are expected to sign up soon, Douglas said.

The Laurel Highlands Council, which covers a large territory including Pittsburgh, Maryland and West Virginia, also has five new troops, with a total of 27 girls enrolled, according to Erik Tomalis, the council’s chief development officer.

There’s a lot more groups in the works, with 32 prospective troops at different stages of the application and training process, Tomalis said.

“This is a great time for Scouting in our community, and we can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon for our Scouts,” he said.

Troop 1372 has 10 Scouts. Not all of them are from Ligonier.

Some are from communities that don’t yet have five girls signed up — the minimum number needed to charter a troop. She expects these members will eventually go on to help found new troops in their home communities.

Troop 1372 starts and ends its meetings with its male counterpart but does its own activities in the middle.

“It feels very natural to do it that way, and then they generally come back together at the end of the meeting,” Lamuth-Higgins said.

The girls helped plan the camping trip to Linn Run State Park.

Sierra Nichols, 11, of New Florence said she used to come to almost all the local Boy Scouts meetings with her brother, but it’s different now that she’s a Scout, herself.

“You’re actually interacting with all the Scouts,” she said.

The new Scouting program has been a learning experience for everyone, Lamuth-Higgins said, from the Scouts to new scoutmasters like herself.

The Boy Scouts of America has seen its membership decline in recent years. There were about 2.1 million combined Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts across the country in 2017, down about 9 percent from 2013.