william h pouch fact sheet
TRANSCRIPT
William H. Pouch Scout
Camp
Through Our Gates Pass the
Leaders of Tomorrow
The intent of this presentation is to educate the
public with some general knowledge regarding
Pouch Camp and efforts to save it.
We will cover the following topics: Overview of the Camp and Facilities
Overview of the Camp Activity Areas
Groups the camp services
Summer Day Camps
Memorial Garden
Community Programs
The Committee to Save Pouch Camp
Our Goal
How you can help save Pouch Camp
Overview of the Camp and Facilities
William H. Pouch Scout Camp, located in Staten Island, is New York
City's only Scout Camp.
Pouch Camp is open year round for Scouting activities.
Tens of thousands of Scouts and visitors utilize the camp each year.
The camp is approximately 143 acres (Including lake Ohrbach)
Pouch offers a number of camping options for scouts and has 7 full
service cabins (2 with electric), 55 leantos, 20 tent sites, Chapel
and a low-impact Camp-O-Ree field with an adjacent Amphitheater.
Pouch also offers 5 picnic groves for outdoor BBQ’s and gatherings.
Map of Pouch Camp
Overview of the Camp Activity Areas
The camp offers 19 program areas for visitors
Aquatics – The waterfront offers a wide range of activities. You can Swim, Canoe, fish and row boat in beautiful lake Ohrbach
Scout Skills – This area is utilized by units to strengthen their outdoor skills.
Shooting Sports – The Archery range allows scouts to practice their Robin Hood skills safely.
Computer center – Allows youth to learn about technology and work on their Merit badge.
Nature Lodge – This facility offers a wide range of animals for our scouts to study.
Field Sports – You name it, children can play it! From Basketball to soccer.
Fishing – This area teaches scouts the proper ways to fish. Lake Ohrbach is one of the best fishing spots in all of N.Y.S.
Mountain Biking – This area teaches the boys/girls the proper way of Mountain Biking. It mixes challenging hills with skillful turns.
Climbing – The “Wall” offers some of the biggest challenges in all of NYC. It is a great team building exercise.
Chapel – The Chapel offers a great area from private prayer for all faiths.
COPE – This Team building area is great for Scouts and corporate training. These outdoor challenges will test any team!
Jolly Rodger Hunt – Come and look for history with Pouch’s Jolly Rodger team. This team uses metal detectors to unlock the treasurers of the past.
Lumberjack – Come test your AX and Sawing skills. This area is perfect for teaching scouts ax/knife safety.
Geo Lab – Scouts learn and discover different things about geology.
Handy Craft – This area teaches Scouts Leatherworking and basketry among many other things.
Services QM – The full service quartermaster offers all the gear a Scout will need for an outing.
Campmasters – These volunteers assist the ranger and the campers each weekend and offer programs for Scouts to participate in.
Beaver Society – This group of volunteers help with the upkeep of the facilities
Web and Newsletter - The communications team helps keep everyone informed online and in a monthly newsletter.
Groups the Camp Services All Boy Scout Units – Cubs, Venture scouts, Exploring and
traditional Boys Scouts. This includes units from across the country that come to visit NYC.
Girl Scout Units.
Military units Active and Retired.
Religious Institutions.
Inner city Children.
In- School scouting.
International Scouts.
The general public during our open events
Summer Day Camp Programs
The Camp supports 2 different day camps
during the summer months.
The first camp is a day camp for GNYC.
The second is run by the YMCA.
Each camp utilizes all of the camps
facilities each day.
They service over 1000 youth each day
Memorial GardenResting in the shadows of Irving Berlin Lodge is the Memorial Garden
titled "Until We Meet Again”. In the Garden, Pouch Camp honors Scouts, friends and family that have gone before us. The Garden is open to all who wish to visit.
Pouch also pays Special tribute to our service Organizations. These Veteran organizations have placed monuments in the garden paying tribute to our service men and women who have given their lives for our country.
The memorials include:
POW/MIA Memorial
Military Order of the Purple Heart
Jewish War Veterans
KIA Memorial
Anzio Beachhead Memorial
War Dogs Memorial
The Scouting Obelisk
The catholic War Vets
Community ProgramsThe Camp and its staff offer a number of annual programs for the Staten
Island Community to come and enjoy. The programs are designed for people of all ages!
Annual Flag Retirement Ceremony – Pouch is proud to be the home of this wonderful event that is run by Troop 43. This event honors our country by properly disposing of old and ripped US Flags. Each year Pouch retires over 10,000 flags that have been collected all over the borough, city and country. This ceremony usually draws over 1,000 people.
Annual Holiday Celebration – Each year the camp decorates the memorial garden, walkways, Berlin lodge and entrance to camp. Staff invites the whole community in which they sing Holiday songs, honor our veteran groups and have a special visit from Santa. Staff lights a menorah to honor Hanukkah followed by the lighting of the Christmas tree. All of this leads up to the big countdown to the lighting of the Garden. The garden is usually decorated with over 200,000 lights and 50 inflatable's. The 1,000+ in attendance from all over the borough and city enjoy this festive event.
Pouch Camp is a natural beauty, making it more unique than any other
privately owned parcel of property in New York City. From its wetlands to its
woodlands; waterfront to the cliffs, the William H. Pouch Scout Camp is
worthy of preservation.
Besides the countless people that utilize its camp grounds and hiking trails
every year, Pouch Camp is home to unique geology, flora and fauna.
The Committee to Save Pouch Camp The Committee to Save Pouch Camp, formed 2009-2010
The Committee to Save Pouch Camp was founded and formed by Eagle Scouts
Dominic DeRubbio, Brandon Linker and Alex Zablocki - all Staten Island
residents.
The Committee's mission is to raise awareness of the possible sale of Pouch Camp
and to bring all stakeholders to the table to formulate a solution to save Pouch Camp.
The Committee consists of dozens of community leaders and groups, including:
Clove Lake Civic
Friends of Blue Heron Park
Friends of Pouch
Grant City Civic Association
Greenbelt Conservancy
Jewish War Veterans Post 80
Lighthouse Hill Civic Association
Natural Resources Protective Association
New Dorp Central Civic Association
Protectors of Pine Oak Woods
Richmondtown & Clarke Avenue Civic Association
Richmond County Ancient Order of the Hibernians
United Staten Island Veterans Organizations
Where to Turn, Inc.
Committee Actions to Date Rally held at Pouch Camp in December, 2009
Over 1,500 people attended
Organized a petition drive and collected over 15,000 petitions which
were delivered to elected officials
Founders Dominick DeRubbio and Alex Zablocki spoke with Mayor
Michael Bloomberg personally about the Pouch Camp issue
Started a lawn sign campaign across Staten Island with over 500
signs out in the community
Showed continued support to save Pouch Camp at the SI St.
Patrick’s Day Parade on Forest Avenue
Organized over 100 scouts from across the five boroughs in a march
to City Hall
To raise awareness of the issue, holding more events, including
hikes, in the future and raising money
Nearly a dozen community groups have signed on to the Committee
Past events
Our Goal?
Raise awareness of how important Pouch Camp is to the
borough of Staten Island and New York City as a whole.
Work with elected officials, open space groups and the
GNYC-BSA to finding viable funding options for either an
outright purchase of the property and/or a conservation
easement.
Protect the integrity of the camp, to ensure it can be utilized as a
Scout Camp, yet protected from development and sale.
Protect the integrity of the Greenbelt but ensuring Pouch Camp
cannot be destroyed by development.
Protect Pouch Camp once and for all so future
generations aren’t faced with the same fight years from
now.
How you can help Join our Facebook page, which has nearly 7,000 members!
This is the best way to stay in touch with Committee
Sign a petition and get petitions signed
Petitions can be printed at the Committee website
(www.savepouch.com) and mailed to the Committee mailing address
Request a lawn sign by sending an email, with your address, to
Attend an upcoming event and consider donating money to help with lawn
sign and printing costs
Write to the Staten Island Advance to show support of our efforts as well as
our elected officials
Engage your neighbors and other civic groups not only on Staten Island, but
all of NYC – Pouch Camp is important to all New Yorker’s.
If you have a legal background or would like to perform research and/or be
directly involved with our efforts, consider coming to one of our bi-monthly
meetings.
www.SavePouch.com