Independent Initatives
Last Updated: February 2005

Camp Nooteeming is owned and utilized by Scouts and Scouters of the Hudson Valley Council and units are encouraged to conceive and implement independent initiatives. These are projects that a unit (or several units) dream up and volunteer to carry out from conception through completion. The Nooteeming Properties Committee is there to help units with advice and resources and with gaining council approval -- so the unit knows they are never alone -- but the project from beginning to end is one that the unit undertakes. There’s a pride of accomplishment in building something or taking care of something and great skills can be taught to the Scouts along the way: planning, community service, hard work, diligence, perseverance, not to mention trades like carpentry or masonry. Not only do Scouts assert ownership over their camp, so also they can come back 10, 20, 30 years from now and see their good work still standing and smile to themselves as they recall the lessons learned and good times they had working on the project.

Ownership: It’s the Nooteeming Way!

In Camp Nooteeming’s early days its first buildings were cabins that individual units planned, built and adopted. The same can be true today. Please read about how several units have stepped forward to positively impact the Camp Nooteeming experience. Have an idea for an independent initiative for your unit? Contact at KelseyNPC@yahoo.com.

Troop 82, Lagrangeville: Taconic Lean-to Site

After repeated campouts at the Taconic Lean-tos Troop 82 determined an additional lean-to would provide troops camping there with more space. They put together a comprehensive plan for the site that tapped into the site’s potential and included a gateway, ax yard, dining pavilion, new latrine and a fifth lean-to. They sought out donations from the community and in late 2002 they went to work on the lean-to. A troop effort that paired skilled parents and leaders with enthusiastic teens the lean-to was raised over a series of weekends. Next on the list: Nooteeming’s first biologically sound composting latrine.

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Troop 31, Millbrook: Permanent Orienteering Course

Sometime ago Troop 31 mapped out an orienteering course at Camp Nooteeming to serve troop advancement and program. Seeking to benefit the wider Scouting community Troop 31 asked to permanently mark the course with metal discs and publish the orienteering route and coordinates at the council service center and with the Camp Nooteeming ranger so as to make it available to all units. Additionally Troop 31 proposes designing a special patch that can be earned and purchased at the Scout Service Center for Scouts completing the Nooteeming Orienteering Challenge.

Nacha Nimat Lodge 86: Benedict Memorial Renovation

Nacha Nimat Lodge 86 has proposed renovating the Benedict Memorial water fountain and pavilion. The Nooteeming Properties Committee has approved the project and work is scheduled to begin on the April/May ordeal work weekend.

Dutchess County Fire Explorer Posts: Camp Firehouse and Fire Education Center

Nine Explorer Posts chartered to area firehouses and focused on firefighting and first responder training, proposes building a firehouse at Camp Nooteeming that will house a working fire engine and give the fire Explorers a place for training, education and fellowship. The Nooteeming Fire House will directly assist the first responder Exploring Post program of the Hudson Valley Council as well as provide services and benefits to the camp and other council units including offering Firemanship and First Aid merit badge training, Cub Scout firehouse visits and a reduction in camp insurance costs. The Camp Nooteeming Fire House is planned as a four-season heated building that offers year-round heat and plumbing including flush toilets and showers that will be available to all. In addition to garaging the Explorer’s fire engine and other fire apparatus, the facility will include two bunkrooms and meeting space available for weeknight use. Staffed by Fire Explorer Posts on weekends -- who serve as campmasters -- the Explorers will use the Fire House for training and be on hand for medical or brushfire emergencies, assist with parking, and perform periodic patrols of the premises. All of the Explorers are trained in first aid and CPR (some are Emergency Medical Technicians) adding additional safety measures that should come as comfort to units and parents.

The Dutchess County Fire Explorers Program have pledged to raise $10,000 and are spearheading plans to raise additional funds through grants and material donations as well as pledges for labor. The project has received the approval and praise of the Dutchess County and Pleasant Valley fire departments. Meticulously organized and resourceful the Dutchess County Fire Explorers will fund and construct completely this tremendous program asset to Camp Nooteeming. The Camp Nooteeming Fire House will be a win-win situation in that it benefits Camp Nooteeming, the Exploring program as well as all units of the Hudson Valley Council.

Nacha Nimat Lodge 86: Mountain Bike Program

Although very early in the planning stages, Nacha Nimat Lodge 86 has approached the Nooteeming Properties Committee with a draft proposal to donate a patrol’s worth of mountain bikes, erect a storage space that will serve as a mountain bike center and route mountain bike trails through camp. The Mountain Bike Program planning presently sits at the lodge level and is contingent upon many factors yet to be determined therein.