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Pensacola News Journal
An organization that helps wounded and disabled veterans connect with the outdoors is hoping to make its program more inclusive with a new dormitory at the Blackwater River State Forest specifically designated for female veterans.
The participants of Operation Outdoor Freedom s whitetail deer and turkey hunts used to be exclusively men, but five women have recently joined trips to the Blackwater River State Forest. That prompted the organization to apply for grant funding totaling $26,700 from the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida to construct a women s dormitory.
The dorm will house up to seven women at a time, and construction is scheduled to begin in the spring, according to grant documents. The project will provide an alternative to the bunkhouse-style, wide open lodging the program currently uses.
Pensacola News Journal
When seven flagpoles and a veterans memorial rock garden were constructed at the H.E.R. Foundation on Sunday, Pace High School student Sydney Walker wrapped up the project needed to become part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts.
The Boy Scouts of America will officially stamp all the Eagle Scout credentials of the girls in the inaugural class Feb. 8 to coincide with the organization s birthday. On that date, Walker and troopmate and fellow Pace High School student Ania Calbough officially be recognized as Eagle Scouts.
Girls were first allowed to join the organization now renamed Scouts BSA in February 2019. Since then, all scouts have been granted an extension on their Eagle Scout applications to early February because of the coronavirus pandemic, which gave the first girls almost two full years to complete the Eagle Scout requirements.