Fairfax Scout Camp Unveils New Versatile Multi-Use Facility

May 6—The Girl Scouts of Northern California organization has unveiled a new community space at Camp Bothin in Fairfax.

Dubbed "the hub," the $3 million indoor-outdoor, multiuse center is meant to help scouts develop leadership skills, support outdoor learning and foster connections.

Mary-Jane Strom, the chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Northern California, said the hub is "sort of the center of everything in camp."

The camp at 3125 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., which is more than 100 years old, is used by scout troops throughout the region. Strom said she envisions the hub being used as a main assembly point, but also for training space and community events.

Strom emphasized that the new area is crucial for the "sisterhood" of members. To ensure girls and women succeed, it’s essential to concentrate on workplace growth, education, social and mental well-being, as well as building social capital, she noted.

"Girls are exploring the outdoors. They're figuring out who they are," she said. "They're taking risks and stepping out of their comfort zone. That's building courage, confidence."

Linda Lund has volunteered with a troop in Mill Valley for about seven years. Her troop donated $1,912 — 1912 was when the Girl Scouts was founded, and donating $1,912 gains entry into a special donor club — of its cookie sales proceeds in 2022.

"Bothin is a fabulous property," Lund said. "Bothin is a big part of our Girl Scouting experience. The hub is a great space in the middle of camp. It has an amazing outdoor covered space so you can take in nature and also stay shaded or dry if it rains."

Nearly 20 years ago, the Girl Scouts of Northern California conducted a facilities assessment as part of a restructuring project to combine resources across troops. Strom said Bothin was one of the camps that had significant deferred maintenance.

The hub's completion is the final part of a 10-year process to update the camp, including trail maintenance, bathroom upgrades and an amphitheater fire pit. She said the camp layout lacked a central gathering area.

"The whole project was to build a better Bothin," Strom said. "This outdoor center is the new big meeting space in camp, so it really brings the whole project together."

Lund said the new space improves the camp greatly.

"The hub ties the site together with a central point of beauty," Lund said. "It's situated where you can see most of the property. It feels like the meeting space, a focal point, that the location didn't have before."

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