Pine Tree Educational Center in Tabernacle will be bustling with young excitement during Mother’s Day weekend.
This event, conversely, is all for the boys.
The Burlington County Council Cub Scouts to be precise.
May 11, 12, and 13, Cub Scouts and their parents will be able to enjoy the great outdoors through a real camping experience: in tents, not cabins.
Elizabeth McDonald, Cub-o-Ree coordinator and council volunteer, said the original schedule has changed from what was originally advertised.
“We had a lot of people who couldn’t camp out because of Mother’s Day on Sunday,” McDonald said. “We’re offering an alternative for those who want to camp on Friday night.”
Cub Scouts can pick one of the nights to camp out, either Friday or Saturday, with all of the fun activities to be held on Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. They can also choose to simply attend the day events.
The center will host up to 125 Cub Scouts, McDonald said. The April Cub-o-Ree sold out and it is likely that this event will, as well.
This session, the theme centers on geology.
“Basically, we divide the boys up into dens for the day,” she said, with a schedule of activities similar to a day at school, although that is where the similarities end.
The boys ages 6 to 11 will be able to practice archery, play with BB guns and embark on geology rock and fossil projects.
“They’re in a different activity throughout the day,” she said, to ensure that every Cub Scout gets to experience everything the day offers.
“Archery and BBs are their absolute favorite every time,” she said, with trained officers running the events to ensure safety comes first.
“Usually, it’s the parents who might get nervous until they see it,” she said. “Once everybody realizes that safety comes first, then they can relax and enjoy it.”
The fun runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with hot lunch and dinner included in the price.
After dinner, there will be a campfire program.
“We have a large campfire ring,” she said, with room for everyone on benches.
There will be songs, skits and plenty of jokes to go around.
“It’s like a show combined with a campfire,” McDonald said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
At lights out, the Scouts will head to their tents. They should bring a sleeping bag, change of clothes and breakfast for the next morning.
“We have everything from groups who bring dry cereal and muffins to those who do a full camp set-up,” she said, bringing pancakes, eggs and bacon.
It all depends on how involved the pack or den wishes to be and how experienced the parents or leaders are. Camp breakfast can be part of the fun.
But parents shouldn’t feel obliged to bring out the works.
“It’s perfectly fine to bring bagels and yogurt and call it a morning,” she said.
More than the activities, food, and camp experience, McDonald said this is a way for Cub Scouts to branch out and meet new friends.
“It makes a good first experience to make camping fun for the boys,” she said. “We are so lucky as a council that we have that Pine Tree Camp. It opens peoples’ experiences to see what we have in having that camp facility to us locally.”
The next time Scouts encounters an event, they will have a better understanding of what to expect, she said.
McDonald urged attendees, who will be coming from all over Burlington County, to not use their GPS to get to the grounds.
“It’s one of those roads that doesn’t connect because of the cranberry bogs,” she said.
Sometimes, a wild turkey comes through.
“It’s really great,” she said.
To attend overnight, a Scout and parent ticket is $55. For Saturday only, a ticket costs $50. An overnight trio, a parent with two sons or two parents with one son, costs $75 overnight and $75 Saturday only.
A parent is needed to camp overnight.
Sometimes a scout will be the only one from his pack in attendance, while other times, 24 scouts from one pack might show up, McDonald said.
The scouts are able to learn that “there’s a lot more of them than just the boys in their school,” she said.
For more information, contact the Scout service center at (609) 261–5850 or Elizabeth McDonald at (609) 953–2286. View more information or check to see if space is still available at www.bccbsa.org/cuboree.
Pine Tree Educational Center is located at 110 Butterworth Bog Road, Tabernacle.
