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Cub Scouts descend on Medard Park

Tribune photos by GEORGE H. NEWMAN

Cubs at Brownsea, an annual summer camp for Cub Scouts in eastern Hillsborough County, was held at Edward Medard Park, June 8-12. More than 220 scouts and 50 scout masters, pack leaders and volunteers provided scouts with skill stations where they learned tips on leadership, water sports, fishing, hiking, craft making, outdoor survival, target shooting, geology and scout history.

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: July 8, 2009

PLANT CITY - More than 200 Cub Scouts from across the region spent five days recently at Edward Medard Park, enjoying field games, water sports, fishing, target shooting, hiking and other high adventure.

The annual Timucua Cub Scout's Brownsea day camp was directed, organized and staffed by a host of volunteers, mostly mothers and fathers of Scouts, assisted by Boy Scouts.

The county park off Turkey Creek Road covers nearly 1,300 acres, including a 700-acre reservoir, and was the ideal setting, a Scout leader said.

"This is the fifth year in a row that we have come to Medard Park for our summer day camp," camp director Judy Bland said. "With 220 Cub Scouts, 55 staff volunteers and Boy Scouts and staff toddlers that we care for each day, we need a lot of room. Medard Park has the perfect mix of open ground, facilities, fishing sites and hiking trails to accommodate a group this size."

Cub Scouts from all over eastern Hillsborough County, from Ruskin to Plant City, attended the camp last month.

"We utilize two campgrounds for the Cub Scout day camp," Bland said. "The younger Scouts, who are generally in grades 1, 2 and 3, and the tot-lot, where we watch staff toddlers, are at one site. The Webelos, older Cub Scouts in grades 4, 5 and 6, are at another site, but within easy hiking distance."

Isolating the campsites for the younger Cubs and the Webelos allowed the camp program directors, Mack Darr and Susan Cartwright, to schedule events for both age groups that challenged their learning and outdoor skills.

Activities included team-building skills, water sports, field games, geology, crafts, fishing, hiking and high adventure, where Scouts participate in a timed obstacle course designed to test strength, endurance and agility.

One of the families participating in the Cub's day camp formerly hailed from Essex, England.

Ed Bennett, his wife, Jenny, and their children Michael, 15, and Drew, 8, have lived at FishHawk for about five years. Bennett works for Citigroup and accepted a transfer with the company to get a taste of the U.S., he said.

"I was a Scout in England for about 10 years," Bennett said. "Jenny was a Girl Scout, and my mum was a volunteer for the Scouts for years. We know the value of Scouting. The hiking and camping, working as a team and witnessing nature, is very useful for our youth, no matter the generation."

Ed and Jenny Bennett were among the volunteers who dedicated their time at the day camp teaching the Scouts skills and crafts.

"Each day, staff members take a group of 10 or 12 Scouts on tours of skill stations in the camp," Ed Bennett said. "While hiking we have seen tortoise, squirrels, a variety of large and small birds, and an interesting array of plant life along the hiking trails and along the reservoir."

The Bennetts are associated with Cub Pack 632, which meets at FishHawk Fellowship Church.

"This is our first year at day camp," Bennett said. "It is an excellent family camp. The organizers took months preparing for the event. We on the volunteer staff get to help out, but we can also enjoy the experience they prepared for all of us."

Bland said Scouting makes a difference in all the boys' lives.

"Whether they are outgoing or shy, athletic or studious, or any combination, their goals for life get set in Scouting," she said. "Learning the values in Scouting helps to shape their lives and makes them better adults down the line."

For Scouting information call Jennifer Thomason at (813) 872-2691.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 627-4735.

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