Pushback as Girl Scouts plan to close camps in Lebanon, Milford, Bristol and New Fairfield

With the Girl Scouts of Connecticut planning to permanently close camps in Lebanon, Bristol, Milford and New Fairfield, some parents and former Scouts are trying to save at least two.

“The camp is not only a property, it is a place where girls grow courage, confidence, and character,” says an online petition to save Camp Laurel in Lebanon.

More than 2,500 people have signed on, and 2,000 have signed a similar one to head off the sale of Camp Katoya in Milford.

“Camp Laurel is the reason I decided to become a Girl Scout co-leader — so that I could pass on the confidence, sisterhood, and love of the outdoors to our girls that Camp Laurel invested in me,” said Hannah Fiducia of Hebron, a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts.

But the Girl Scouts of Connecticut is convinced it has to get rid of all four properties, which make up nearly a third of its land holdings. The organization reported that it faces about $5 million in deferred maintenance between all 13 of its properties.

“It’s not financially feasible to make that level of investment in all 13 properties,” said Melissa Perkins, chief marketing and revenue officer. “We’re strategically investing in where our members are.”

The Girl Scouts own Laurel, Katoya and Camp Candlewood in New Fairfield, and announced last week that it wants to put them on the market as soon as possible.

“We have a rare window of opportunity to take advantage of rising property values in Connecticut due to the pandemic,” the organization’s website said. “If we monetize these assets at peak valuation today, we can use that money to fund investments in the properties where we can grow tomorrow.”

The Girl Scouts also intend to vacate Camp Carlson, a property they use but don’t own in Bristol.

“It is with great sorrow that we must say a final farewell to our beloved Camp Carlson. Should there be an opportunity to say good-bye at the camp, info will be posted here,” said a posting Sunday on the Bristol camp’s Facebook page.

The nonprofit Girl Scouts of Connecticut listed about $11 million in assets two years ago, and reported serving 25,000 girls and 12,000 adults a year. It hasn’t reported yet how badly the pandemic affected revenues last year, but most of its camps were shut down for the season.

The organization said trying to modernize and refurbish all 13 properties to a level where they’d attract sustainable membership isn’t possible.

But families in southeastern Connecticut are especially upset by the decision to sell off the 343-acre Camp Laurel.

The Girl Scouts closed the 37-acre Camp Pattagansett in East Lyme last year, leaving Laurel as the only facility in the region. The organization plans to improve its Camp Yankee Trails in Tolland and move the Laurel program there, but Laurel supporters point out that it’s 25 miles away.

“If you divide the state into quadrants, there’ll be nothing left for the southeast girls,” said Jennifer Tortora, a Girl Scout leader for 11 years and a part-time Camp Laurel volunteer over five summers.

Both of her daughters went to Camp Laurel, and Tortora called it “a transformative experience” for them.

“The property itself is beautiful. There are facilities for archery, a sports field, an equestrian center, boating, swimming, art and crafts,” she said.

“The counselors have always been remarkable young women the girls can look up to,” Tortora said. “It’s a place where the girls can be their goofy, wonderful selves and not worry about who they have to impress. And they challenge themselves with survival skills, making campfires, putting up tents, tying ropes — all of that.”

Kathryn Fiducia, a former Scout and counselor at Camp Laurel who worked her way up to become waterfront director, fears all of that will be gone for future generations of girls in southeastern Connecticut.

She is campaigning to get the Girl Scouts to reconsider, contending that they could be more creative with crowdfunding, grant applications and other work to save the property. She and others are promoting the petition at https://tinyurl.com/56m4cpum.

“Camp Laurel means pretty much everything to me,” said Fiducia, a 23-year-old graduate Tufts University student who still considers Colchester as her home. “Camp Laurel gave me courage, competence and character, to be someone who makes the world a better place, someone who can do something like this and make her voice heard.”

The Girl Scouts of Connecticut is holding question-and-answer sessions via Zoom on Thursday night and Friday morning to discuss its long-range plan; details are at tinyurl.com/27azvbvn. The organization wants to focus on improvements and new facilities at its remaining camps, which it said are designed to make the Scout experience better — and improve membership.

“This is a board-approved strategy and we’re moving forward with it. These conversations are an opportunity for members to learn more,” Perkins said. “We understand it was a difficult decision. We’re hoping despite the sadness and loss, people can find some you in looking to the future at these premier destination properties.”