Girl Scouts Camping

It needs to be approved by GSA, not the leader. The best way to find out is to check with your local council. You could also have the leader check "Safety Wise".

GS has tons of rules and regulations. I know they are designed to keep our children safe, but IMO many are over the top (see below). The cost of staying at their local GS camp is very low and probably your best bet.

Some of my favorite rules..
Girls can not walk on the beach (I'm not talking about going in or near the water, just walking on the sand) without a certified lifeguard present.
If staying in a hotel, girls can not sleep in the same bed, unless they sleep in a sleeping bag, which is considered their own personal sleeping quarters

Girl Scouts has all of this set up already and you should talk to your Scout Leader or the Unit leader if she doesn't know (she should or should do the leg work for you) It may be different from State to State but I'll explain generally what happens here if someone were to host such an event outside of our regular meetings. If the adult is registered with Girl Scouts who has gone through the background check (pretty extensive) hosts certain events at their house they can but they need to make sure the Units trip coordinator knows about it. To determine this we have a few publications that explain what is needed for an event (who should be there, what training they have had. the ratio of adults to scouts, you name it it's in there) If an adult hosts who is not registered with Girl Scouts the troop will need to purchase insurance for the event (rider is the term) The unit should be able to easily do this for you and for one event it is inexpensive. Ask the troop leader if they have had the parents sign a waiver that covers the whole year or if they are signing a waiver for this event and if you should have a copy. That will be a good reminder for that step and again Girl Scouts has all the forms. Then all of the paperwork should be kept together and at the event securely but available for emergencies. This is generally what happens here and I may be missing some steps but your leader should help you and get everything squared away. Have fun and Thanks for supporting Girl Scouts!

I've been a leader for 8 years now. My understanding is that about a year ago the policy changed. Troops used to be able to do what we called back yard camping. Now that is not allowed. However, you could always ask for site approval from your local Council. West Michigan, up to Traverse City and over to Alpena is Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore.

can't help with the other issues but if it were me i would have the parents sign a waiver. but that is so awesome of you to offer your property. i remember going on the camping trips with my scout members and i had so much fun.

The troop leader would have to find out from their specific council if this were allowed. However, they most likely will not be allowed to do this. In order for us leaders to even drive the girls somewhere in our personal vehicles, we need to maintain a minimum auto insurance requirement. In other words, we are responsible if something happens to them in/on our property. You would most likely need to provide proof of adequate insurance, and having parents sign waivers will most likely not be an option. Part of the cost for camping is because of insurance requirements. Also there are very specific rules about alcohol. In my area, our council doesn't even allow us to have troop meetings at our homes. One of the reasons is the insurance factor, the other is that the homes need to be 100% alcohol free. No beer, wine, etc...anywhere on the property. So for you that would mean, that even if you have 100 acres of land, and the troop is no where near you, you still can't have alcohol in your house, or anywhere on your property. Again these rules may be specific to our particular council, so definitely check with the one in your area. This is the national link. http://www.girlscouts.org/. They may have more info, and/or links to councils in your area. The troop may also want to consider speaking with the Boy Scouts about using one of there camp grounds. They are usually much cheaper than the girl scout sites.

We took our girl scout troop to some events that were not approved by the council. So we just didn't call it a scout event, and went anyway.

First -- thank you for supporting your Girl Scout troop!

The troop leader(s) should be checking all this, not you. It's up to the GS council for your area, probably, and it's the leader's responsibility to find out. They definitely will have to get permission slips (they aren't called waivers) because any time you have an event that is outside the normal meeting space you must have a signed permission slip and it has to be the one their Council uses. This is easily obtainable on the council web site but again, the leader, not you, has to do this. As for using private property for camping -- it might be allowed, I've never asked (I'm a troop leader) but usually GS asks troops to camp at GS campsites or other "approved vendor" locations; however, our own troop camped at a state campground and it was fine. Private property may be another matter altogether because it's not a known quantity. Depending on whether there are vendor sites or GS camps in your area, you may find they allow private property camping.

Yes, GS has a lot of rules, but in the interest of keeping girls safe so their experience can focus on the activities, not on worries about safety. GS also must carry insurance to cover anything that happens if a girl is injured on any official GS outing. Hence the use of approved vendors--places checked out by the council and covered by insurance. You might be able to get your property listed as an approved location for your council! Check into that -- it might involve just proving you have certain insurance, or perhaps letting someone from the council inspect the property, or both--??

Another alternative: Have the girls and their family members all go camping together but not as a troop -- as a group of families that know each other. If anything happens, of course, I would assume that the liability would be on you as the property owner and the leader as an individual, not as a GS leader, because GS would not be involved and GS insurance would not apply. That's a big risk, though. I'd go with what the council says and keep it as a GS official event.

Girl Scouting is great and I hope your daughter enjoys it and takes full advantage of all it has to offer. Camping is wonderful but there's a lot more to do in scouting, so maybe you can offer them other help if this doesn't work out!