By Maureen Werther
On June 1, 1939 the permanent camp of the Albany Girl Scouts, Inc. opened in the midst of the Adirondacks. A 2,800 acre tract of thickly wooded mountain country located about 15 miles northeast of Glens Falls, it was complete with a pristine Adirondack lake. Formerly owned by the Mt. Hope Mining and Iron Company, local lore has it that some of the metal for the Monitor of the Civil War came from the mine.
When the Girl Scouts purchased the land, they named it Camp Little Notch. Purchased for $10,000, it served as a summer home away from home for young capital region girls, and it was a magical place where they could explore the world around them while also exploring and discovering their own talents and abilities.
Seventy years later, The Girl Scouts made the decision to close Camp Little Notch (CLN) and sell the property. That is when a group of energetic supporters of the Camp, many of them former campers themselves, decided to form Friends of Camp Little Notch and reopen the facility. Ellen Tuzzollo is the Executive Director of Friends of CLN, but was unavailable to comment for this article. However, a complete list of the Board of Directors is available on their website, www.friendsofcln.org and there are numerous opportunities to volunteer in pre-opening camp clean up and maintenance activities.
Camp Little Notch will re-open this year, after being closed for three years and they will welcome their first session of campers on June 30th. CLN offers one-week sessions to campers aged 7-17 and two-week sessions for ages 9-17 years of age.
One of the main goals of Friends of CLN is to purchase the property from the Open Space Institute, a land conservancy organization dedicated to preserving the integrity of land and wildlife in upstate New York. Friends has created “Adopt an Acre” and other fund-raising opportunities to help achieve their goal.
Friends of Camp Little Notch’s mission is to “provide opportunities for all people to practice living in harmony with nature, each other, and themselves,” and to restore the goals and objectives of the camp by helping girls from all backgrounds ” find their strengths and unique voices, while cultivating their resourcefulness, wellness, creativity, teamwork skills, and responsibility.”
The CLN website talks about what differentiates its camping experience from many others.
“While many camps and afterschool programs across the United States offer intensive programs with organized sports and activities, Little Notch will give children, families, communities, and other groups the freedom to create a self-determined experience within a familiar and comfortable routine. Groups may develop their own programming and retreats that meet personal and organizational needs and can be enhanced by our on-site staff. This type of freedom encourages creativity, builds decision-making skills, and helps people take responsibility for their development.”
CLN also promotes environmental sustainability and stewardship, guiding campers in an appreciation of and interest in land conservation and an enhanced consciousness of the Earth and each camper’s role as stewards.
In addition to the summer camping sessions, specialty sessions, counselor-in-training sessions, and year-round CLN experiential opportunities are available. Friends of CLN will also honor the rich archeological history of the property and host treks to the nearby historic Mount Hope Iron Furnace. You can find more information on the Friends of CLN website, www.friendsofcln.org as well as the Camp Little Notch website, www.camplittlenotch.org. You can also contact the Camp at 518-792-9700.