Our Mission
The Friends of Hidden Valley, Inc. was created to provide support for the Hidden Valley Camp through gifts of time, money, endowments and tangible items.
The goals of the Friends are:
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To seek and encourage gifts of time from our membership. Friends sponsor at least three annual volunteer days, typically in April, September and November.
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To identify resources and services for special projects, through grants and community outreach. Past projects include a butterfly garden, a wetland and prairie.
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To promote the usefulness of the camp to the community. Friends sponsor open houses for the public and are actively engaged in developing Habitat Discovery Packets that assist in explorations of the natural habitats.
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To ensure the passage of a wildlife area to future generations. Friends have created an endowment through the Douglas County Community Foundation (DCCF).
Friends of Hidden Valley Info Video
Carolyn Blaas and Mariana Remple, two of the co-founders of Hidden Valley Camp.
A Brief History
Hidden Valley was established by local Girl Scouts with funds distributed by the estate of the late Alfred Bromelsick. The camp is owned and managed by the locally-based Lawrence Hidden Valley Committee (LHVC) Inc., a non-profit organization composed of the adult Girl Scout membership living in the greater Lawrence, Kansas community. Their mission is to provide supplemental support to the local Girl Scour movement. Once very secluded, this primitive camp is now situated near the geographical heart of Lawrence, just northwest of Kasold and Bob Billings Parkway. Although now surrounded by residential and commercial areas, its hilly terrain features 40 acres of diverse habitat for youth to explore, use their senses, get their hands dirty, and their feet wet.
For over 50 years, Hidden Valley has been managed with both youth and wildlife in mind, returning the overgrazed pastures to prairie and woods. Its meandering streams represent the last remnant of the main stem of the Quail Creek watershed that has not been channelized. The first 50 years also brought a primitive cabin, two shelters, many campsites, fire rings and wandering trails. Most development and maintenance has been accomplished through annual distributions of the Bromelsick estate and the hard work of four generations of volunteers of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts working with their troops and families, and community members dedicated to providing our local youth with a safe and private natural wildlife area. Forty years later, in 1996, The Friends of Hidden Valley, Inc., organized to ensure a long-term commitment to Hidden Valley. Our mission is to provide support to LHVC in programs, maintenance, and goals that promote and benefit Hidden Valley Camp, now and in the future.
Projects by Friends have included picnic tables, solar-operated lighting, prairie restoration, wildlife habitat enhancement projects and hands-on materials to help kids and adults explore their natural environments using all their senses.
This easily accessible, urban wilderness offers our youth an alternative to groomed parks, playgrounds, organized sports, and computerized games, providing opportunity for infinite discoveries in their natural world. Please consider becoming a Friend.