Outdoor fun for everyone

DR. PHILLIPS  Imagine you are the parent of a teen who spends most afternoons on a computer, tablet or phone, and you are deliberating how to enthuse your child about exercise and the great outdoors.

Or maybe you are a teen looking for peers to go on adventures with.

Sure, there are Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops, but what about something without strings or badges attached, where boys and girls can plan varied activities they want to try?

This is what Venturing Crew — a youth development program for all people ages 14 to 21 and 13-year-olds who have completed eighth grade — is all about. Activities can take participants around town or all over North America, including rafting, wilderness canoeing expeditions, cycling, rock climbing, diving, hiking, bowling, camping, fishing, zip lines, ropes courses, archery and shooting.

The issue is people do not know about it or some similar Boy Scout-sponsored programs, such as a boating-centric crew, said Tammie Bricarell, who oversees Venturing Crew 6 Orlando.

“We do something at least once a month, depending on the weather and what’s going on at the time,” she said. “We’ve got golf coming up this month. The following month, I think, is going to be horseback riding. … They’ve got a lot they want to do but not enough time to do it.”

This crew gathered canned goods from Boy Scout troops throughout Central Florida and boxed them for food banks, so there are service aspects, as well, all carefully supervised, Bricarell said.

“All adults have to have training, and we have strict guidelines,” Bricarell said. “None of the scouts are allowed to (date). They enjoy hanging out with each other whether they are on official crew activities or whether they do things on their own.”

The Orlando group is currently made of about 16 participants from various high schools, with 10 or so regulars, she said.

“We have a couple of seniors who are going to remain because they enjoy it,” Bricarell said. “We have some National Honor Society students in there; some are computer geeks — they’re from all different directions, but they have all become close … best friends. They’re always welcome to more kids joining up.”

To raise awareness of this venture crew, the members have started pages on social media, such as at facebook.com/venturingCrew6Orlando.

And for those who are apprehensive, Bricarell said her daughter was wary at first, but now she is vice president and having a blast.

“And now they’re good friends — if she has a problem at school, that’s who she’ll turn to,” Bricarell said. “Today, there’s a lot of kids who are just sitting inside. … These ones are having fun, they’re getting outside and they’re being kids still.”

Meetings for Venturing Crew 6 Orlando are on the first and third Sundays of each month.

For more information, contact Tammie Bricarell at [email protected].

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].