Accessibility of GSNEO Camps
Sarah Spiegler is studying environmental science at Cleveland State University. For one of her classes, Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Sarah wrote a paper entitled "Accessibility to Girl Scout Camps in Northeast Ohio 18 County Area". A summary of the paper is given below, followed by links to the complete paper, supporting spreadsheets and a PowerPoint presentation.
Overview of Analysis:
Seven network buffers were created 45 miles from each of the seven camps to determine how many people lived within the desirable 1 hour driving distance. The first camp, Camp Crowell Hilaka in Summit County, was one of two camps that had over 70% or more of the population demographic in question to live within the 1-hour driving distance buffer. Camp Ledgewood, also in Summit County, has almost identical accessibility as Camp Crowell-Hilaka.
The five other camps are much less accessible to the Girl Scout membership and to all girls age 5-17, girls of diversity age 5-17, and households with children under 18 and no husband or wife present. Specifically, the other five camps are accessible to 34% or less of the Girl Scout membership. Camp Timberlane in Erie County is the next most accessible camp to the Girl Scout membership after Crowell Hilaka and Ledgewood. Camp Lejnar in Lake County is the next most accessible camp to the membership after Camp Timberlane.
The last three camps, Great Trail, Pleasant Valley, and Sugarbush, are the least accessible camps, with Great Trail Camp the most accessible of the three. Moreover, Great Trail Camp is the only camp within a 1 hour driving distance of people living in Carroll or Tuscarawas Counties.
Conclusion:
The two camps, Camp Crowell-Hilaka and Camp Ledgewood, both in northern Summit County, are located closest to Cuyahoga County and the city of Cleveland, and therefore closest to the most populated region of the 18 county area. The greatest number of Girl Scout members, both girls and adults, live in Cuyahoga County; over 7,000 girls and over 3,000 adults. Therefore, the final calculations showed that Camp Crowell-Hilaka and Camp Ledgewood are the most centrally and easily accessible camps out of the seven camps. These camps are also the most easily accessible camps for all African-American girls, Hispanic girls, and Asian girls age 5-17 in the 18 county area. These two camps are more accessible, for the most part, for more than double the amount of people than the other five camps.
For instance, Camp Crowell-Hilaka and Camp Ledgewood are within 1 hour driving distance of 70% and 71% of the children Girl Scouts, respectively, while the other camps range in being 1 hour driving time from 6% to 34% of Girl Scouts age 5-17. Thus, it would seem that if either Camp Crowell-Hilaka or Camp Ledgewood were to be closed, and only one camp was accessible to over 70% of the membership, there would be a lack of facilities available for those that live within an hour driving distance of these two camps. Moreover, if GSNEO wants to expand their members of diverse racial backgrounds and introduce these members to camping and the outdoors, having two camps easily accessible to these girls of diverse racial backgrounds would be vital for capacity needs.
Moreover, if in the future another merger were to occur among Girl Scout councils, the other 5 camps that are located on the outskirts of the council boundaries might also become quite valuable in terms of shortening travel time to camps for the Girl Scout membership. Or, if partnerships among councils in the whole state of Ohio allowed for the use of camps across councils (possibly as a way to share resources, decrease travel time, and increase revenue), then all 7 camps would be highly valuable in serving the Ohio Girl Scout population as many of the current “inaccessible” camps might be located near population centers that are currently outside the designated GSNEO council. Furthermore, Great Trail Camp is very valuable in terms of travel time for the counties of Carroll and Tuscarawas, as it is the only camp that is within an hour driving time of both of these counties.
Other factors besides driving time are being taken into consideration over whether any camps should be closed by the Vision 2012 Property Committee. However, parents and children made it clear in the survey results that the ease of getting to camp in an hour or less is very important to them. It would seem that in the 21st century of busy parents and kids with many activities and hectic schedules, the ease of transporting children to camp should be a main factor in the decision over which camp to keep and invest money into. Catering to the needs of the membership in keeping travel times to a minimum by keeping the most accessible camps open would also seem to be beneficial to the GSNEO organization overall, as happy members are more likely to donate their time, money, and energy to an organization.
The complete report in MS Word format
The complete report in rich text format
PowerPoint presentation of the report (five megabytes)