810-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 6, 1993 Girl Scouts Go Wild At Speedwell Lake LYNN ROSSI Special To Lancaster Farming LITITZ (Lancaster Co.) In a topsy-turvy world that seems to lack permanence and tradition at every turn, it’s a fact that Girl Scouts arc still earning badges for worthwhile efforts. Although these girls sing and dance to the latest tunes on the Walkman and play Game Boy as much as any other youngster, they are willing to consider that there's more to life than videos and televi sion. With a little bit of encourage ment from their parents and con siderable effort of local Girl Scout leaders, 70 Lititz Girl Scouts recently had the opportunity to earn a “Wildlife” patch at Speed well Forge Lake, Lititz. The “wildlife” dealt with the out-of-doors type, not the kind of erratic behavior you read about in the newspapers. Arranged by a local Girl Scout organizer and resident of the lake area, Evic Bcrgcy, the program featured three hours of activity designed to make the young parti cipants aware that people can no longer afford to lake the natural world for granted. Consistently mentioned as the greatest danger to Wildlife elude Girl Scouts on their hike, but the domesti cated cat cooperates nicely for Kate Schrelter, Whitney Rossi and Jolene Ortega, left to right. Dal* Boyar and Barrel about aquatic Ufa In tha creatures of the wild was loss of habitat. Barry Pollock of Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, bureau of law enforcement, along with Dale boycr, presented dis plays of fish and other aquatic life native to the Commonwealth. Speaking about the importance of an untainted food chain. Pollack said that some companies are more interested in making a dollaV than the environment. And the people who manage these busineeses are not only destroying vital aquatic life but also polluting someone’s clean drinking supply. His overview included explana tions of spawning, habitat, colora tion and endangered species. Ears were particularly alert ot informa tion about the venomous snakes indigenous to the state. The two men distributed a large number of publications about fishing and boating. A real highlight for each girl, though, was the opportunity to per sonally test the cruiser's siren and hand-held microphone. Unknowingly and simulta neously, Mark Mctzlcr of the Lan caster County Conservation Dis trict emphasized some of the very of tha Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission talk ft Junior Glii Scouts foim a large horse shoe in preparation for the closing flag cere mony of the Speedwell Lake Outdoor Day. Becky Frey and Katie Ranslng facing cam era on the left. same points made by Pollack. White that could be a contributing factor to adult boredom, it is not with children. Hearing the same idea from different people using different words only reinforces the truth of what is being said. Both men cited the bog turtle as an endangered species on the local level. Mctzlcr noted that in the Orient one of these little creatures can fetch as high as $6OO on the black market Of course the child ren were so busy absorbing this information that it never occurred to them to ask why, even though that was the adults’ unspoken question. As it turns out bog tur tles arc the perfect complement to bonsai forests. Mctzlcr said the turtles would live only three days without water and depending on their size and health only three months without food. He also pointed out that while water is primary to life, it’s of no use when someone falls through ice in wintertime, and, death occurs in a matter of minutes. To emphasize that diminishing habitat endangers wildlife, he scat tered on the ground three different colors of cards that represented food, shelter, and water. As deer competing in th ewild, the girls had A wiT \ / p Qfl A \ i fEJ r mm9 S% / •» 7.1 ■> jii j % v* i' t v ' ,, _fel /, •<! , K IK jl B^pjjp Hiking through the woods to sam the Wildlife Badge are, left to right, Megan Dougherty, Sara Gibb, Erica Krelder, Becky Krelder, Carrie Judd. u secure as much of each as they possibly could in order to survive. Although most were able to obtain some of each in the first round, dra matic results were noted when the number of cards were cut in half. Clearly some deer would die with out the basics to sustain life. On another hillside of the land bordering the lake, a couple of leaders played a game that empha sized the same concept: when a number of deer remain constant Junior Troop 242 folds ths flag at tha conclusion of the morning’s activltiss to asm tha wlkflllls badge. but the food, water, and shelter do not, deer will die. Recognizing that all talk and no action does contribute to child ren’s boredom, Bcrgey included a, short hike in her itinerary. Of course, any wildlife in the area, with die exception of birds high in the treetops, instinctively recog nized that this was a good time to •make themselves scare. A domes tic cat that followed the group was a real hit though.
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