User:Tg2hbk4488

Heritage Reservation is a facility owned and used by the Boy Scouts of America through the Laurel Highlands Council  (LHC). It It is located in Farmington, Pennsylvania. It is mainly used during the summer for Scouting activites, but is active year-round. It is home to three different camps. Camp Freedom and Camp Liberty are Boy Scout camps. Camp Independence is a Cub Scouting camp. In 2009, a High Adventure Program, called Eagle Base, was started and operated out of the Valley Forge area of the property. The facility has been open since 1980. It currently services about 3,000 Scouting youth each summer.

Location and Geography
Heritage Reservation is located in 1,700 acres of forest located in the Laurel Highlands of the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. It is located in Farmington, Pennsylvania, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Some parts of the reservation property line lie within five miles of the West Virginia state border.

Lake Courage
The main feature of the reservation is Lake Courage. This man-made lake was construction before the opening of the reservation. It is approximately 270 acres and over 5½ miles of shore line.

Camp Independence
Camp Independence, often shortened to just Indy, is the Cub Scouting facility of Heritage Reservation and the Greater Pittsburgh Council. It a residence camp and allows boy the oppurtunity to participate in events during the day, but also to spend time outdoors and camp in tent, building an appreciation for nature and further building upon one of Scoutings many principles. Opened in 1992, this facility services over 3,000 youth and adults each summer. One of the key features of this camp is its annual themes. There is a four year rotation on camp themes: Knights of the Roundtable (KOTR), Wild Western Frontier (Wild West), Sea Adventures, and Safari Adventures (Safari). In the winter of 2010, a historic amount of snow accumulated in Farmington. The Independence Dining Hall suffered significant structural damage. The damaged portions were removed and replaced. The seating area was expanded from being able to seat roughly 500 diners, to now over 700. It was completed in time for the 2010 summer season.

† Dining hall dances did not begin until 1998

‡ Only used once

Program Areas
Camp Independence offers many different activities in several program areas:

Aquatics:
 * Swimming
 * General Swimming
 * Ice berg† ‡


 * Boating
 * Row Boats
 * Fanoes
 * Funyacks†
 * Huck Finn Raft

Frontier (formerly Field Sports):
 * BB Guns
 * General BB Shooting
 * Sports Pin BB†


 * Archery
 * General Archery Shooting
 * Action Archery


 * Rock Throwing ‡
 * Sling Shot ‡

Ecology (formerly Nature):
 * Fishing
 * Mine Walk
 * Dino Dig (Safari Only)
 * Bauldering
 * Nature Walk

Outback (formerly Camp Craft/ Handicraft):
 * Cooking
 * Tent Assembly/Knots
 * Axe/Knife Safety
 * BMX Track ‡

† Webelos Only

‡ Added after the 2006 P.A.C.T. Iniative

The P.A.C.T. Iniatitive
In the summer of 2006, a new format for Independence attendance was implement as well as several new activities and program areas. The new format included these changes:
 * Cub Scouts and Webeleos from the same Pack would attend camp at the same time (formerly attended in seperate weeks)
 * The camping week would run Wednesday afternoon through Saturday evening; 4 days/ 3 nights
 * Formerly Cubs would come either Sunday or Wedsnesday and leave either Tuesday or Friday evening; total of 3 days/ 2 nights
 * Formerly Webelose would come in on a Sunday afternoon and leave Thursday evening; total of 5 days/ 4 nights
 * Camp activities were more condensed (open program being in the evenings, etc.)
 * New program areas were added (listed above)

The P.A.C.T. (Packs At Camp Together) Iniatitive was implemenented to make it both easier for parents and adult volunteers to attend camp and to allow campers to have a more enjoyable experience. With both age groups at camp together, sibilings could camp together as well as making it easier for parents to take time off work to just go to camp for one week. The P.A.C.T. iniatitive has been deemed a success by both campers and council employees.

Non-Summer Camp Usage
Heritage Reservation does more than operate as a summer camp. It plays host to many other ventures. The most scouting related of these is the Order of the Arrow which is represent throught the lodge Allohak Menewi # 57.