Girls looking for more rigorous activities, like those in Scouts BSA Troop 19 from Marshallton, can now find them as official members of the Boy Scouts of America, writes Ximena Conde for WHYY.

The Boy Scouts decided to open its flagship program to girls in 2017 and changed its official name to Scouts BSA on Feb. 1. The banner organization remains the Boy Scouts of America and all the troops under the Scouts BSA program remain single gender. But this gives all-girl troops the chance to experience new things and participate in its events.

“They actually teach you leadership and wilderness survival, and they just teach you things you’ll actually need in life,” said 11-year-old Mia Christensen, a member of Troop 19.

Christensen joined her troop, one of the first in the nation to become an official member of Scouts BSA, at the Klondike Derby at the Horseshoe Scout Reservation in Peach Bottom last week.

“I feel like it just pulls me in,” said 10-year-old Lily Rohner. “I’ve never really considered myself one of those girly-girl types.”

Read more about Troop 19 from WHYY here.