Modernization ‘breathes new life’ into Girl Scouts facility in Fort Smith

Burnham Woods was decorated in vibrant Girl Scout Green on Tuesday (May 6) as more than 20 Girl Scouts and 50 troop leaders, community members, donors, and chamber representatives held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the $1.3 million renovations and additions to the center.

Located in a wooded oasis on Gordon Lane in Fort Smith, Burnham Woods is a 13.5-acre campus that has served as a get-away leadership and collaboration center for the Girl Scouts for almost 80 years. The new renovations and additions now elevate the center as the regional STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) hub for the organization.

“Our $1.3 million modernization effort ensures Burnham Woods breathes new life into this campus while expanding STEAM and outdoor programming for the more than 4,200 girls that we serve,” said Mary Grace Herrington, president and CEO of Girl Scouts – Diamonds of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

The renovations and additions include three main areas. Kelley Cabin, which primarily has been used as a troop house for meetings and award assemblies, was renovated to include 14 bunk beds for overnight stays. Outdoor programming serves as one of the four pillars of the Girl Scout leadership experience, Herrington said.

The arts building, which served as a regional office for staff, was “completely transformed from staff space to girl space,” Herrington said. The focus shifted to better accommodate art programming and design projects that transform STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into STEAM.

With the newly-added woodshop, Burnham Woods now features a woodworking space for participants to become familiar with tools that aid in design projects. One of the main goals, Herrington said, is to increase the percentage of girls enrolling in engineering or technology classes.

“If you can be introduced to it as a 5- or 6- or 7-year-old in a very fun way and have some badges that go along with it and the camaraderie and the sisterhood of Girl Scouts, then when you get to that middle school that is a STEM school, you’ve got this and you just go from there,” she said.

The Girl Scouts – Diamonds serve more than 4,200 Girl Scouts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The coverage area includes 79 counties — the entire state of Arkansas, as well as a few counties across the border into Oklahoma and Texas.

The renovation project started several years ago but stalled after the COVID-19 pandemic, Herrington said. One of her first tasks after becoming president and CEO almost a year and a half ago was to continue the stalled capital improvement project.

“We got everybody back at the table and said we are going to make this happen for the girls up here,” Herrington said. “Now we’re moving from renderings to real drawings to a construction schedule, continuing the fundraising, etc., because we were also on a deadline to finish construction by December of 2025, and that was a really important metric in a lot of the commitments to our funders and to the community.”

With major donations from the Windgate Foundation, Leo and Barbara Anhalt, Wells Fargo, Joseph Norton, First National Bank of Fort Smith, Deborah and Darrell Robinson, and ABB, the organization met its goal and focused this spring on finishing the details, such as installing signage, furniture and fixtures. Programming will be in full swing this summer.

“Our mission of Girl Scouts is always to build girls of confidence, courage and character,” Herrington said. “STEAM and outdoor learning are crucial programs that help us do just that. When you go to camp, girls are going to a place that’s built for girls. The programming is going to stretch their knowledge, it’s gonna stretch their abilities, it’s gonna challenge them, but it’s in the safety of a sisterhood where it’s OK to fail, OK to be silly, OK to laugh.”

For Channing Barker, the Girl Scouts – Diamonds board chair, Girl Scouts holds a special place in her heart. Five of her closest friends were Girl Scouts from kindergarten all the way through high school.

“It’s really nice to know that the people that you do life with — whether they’re in Seattle, Brooklyn, New York or Dallas – are all tied together through these pillars that we all tied ourselves to,” Barker said. “I love the fact that I’m able to give back through that aspect in the sense of something that gave so much to me.”

Girl Scout Willa Vansell had similar thoughts.

“The friendships you make in Girl Scouts aren’t just for meetings — they’re the kind that stay with you and grow,” Vansell said. “When I’m here, I feel love, hope and friendship all around me. There’s just something about this place that feels different — like you belong the moment you arrive.”

Burnham Woods is available to the community, schools and families to rent.