We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Archives for November 2020

Camp Snyder’s Upcoming Space-tacular Summer

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Get ready to blast off for a space adventure at Camp Snyder this summer! Registration for Summer 2021 is now open.

New in 2021! Camp Snyder will be offering a weeklong Merit Badge program for Scouts BSA in addition to its flagship Cub Scout programs. Cub Scout programs are open to Cub Scouts – rising Tigers to rising Webelos.

Cub Scout Day Camp
Experience all your summer camp favorites five days a week!
Session 1: June 28 – July 2, 2021
Session 2: July 5 – July 9, 2021
Session 3: July 12 – 16, 2021

Cub Scout Resident Weekends
Pack all your fun into a weekend. Join us Friday through Sunday for non-stop fun from morning until night.
Session 1: June 25 – June 27, 2021
Session 2: July 9 – July 11, 2021
Session 3: July 16 – July 18, 2021

Scouts BSA Specialty Week
New! Snyder’s Merit Badge week for individual Scouts, ages 11-17. Campers can choose from a mix of outdoor badges and Camp Snyder STEM and Woodshop specialty badges. The program has overnight and day camper participation options.
Session: July 18 – July 24, 2021

Learn more about all our camp programs and save your spot for an Out of This World time at www.gotosnyder.org/summer

Michael’s Woodshop Welcomes New Youth Apprentices

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Michael’s Woodshop at Camp William B. Snyder is pleased to welcome its first two Youth Apprentices to the Woodshop Team. Brian Staton and Alexander Alvarez have recently completed training with their assigned mentor and are looking forward to providing assistance to the volunteer Shop Stewards during upcoming events. In particular, Brian and Alexander will be providing assistance during our upcoming PWD Days events where they will guide and assist Cub Scouts and parents through the car building process. In addition, they will be assisting during other shop activities such as Den activities, merit badge classes, and Eagle Scout projects.


The Youth Apprentice Program was designed to provide youth who have an interest in woodworking with the opportunity to further develop their woodworking and leadership skills. Youth will be trained on the setup, operation, and maintenance of many shop tools. In addition, they will have opportunities during shop activities to lead and assist youth and adults during projects and other shop events. The Youth Apprentice Program is open to all BSA registered youth who are 14 years old or older.

Michael’s Woodshop is maintained and operated by our volunteer Shop Stewards, Shop Assistants and now of course, our Youth Apprentices! As shop use and shop offerings expand, we are always looking to add more BSA registered adult leaders to our ranks. In addition, as female youth membership within NCAC grows, an increasing number of female youth are participating in our shop activities. As such, we are specifically seeking to add female adult leaders to our Team. Please assist us in this effort by sharing this request with those who may be interested.
For more information about the Youth Apprentice Program and other volunteer positions, please see the Volunteering section of the Michael’s Woodshop webpage or email the volunteer shop steward team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com



Giving Hope

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To begin, I wanted to do something to help underprivileged people during these difficult times. Ultimately, this desire led me to provide emergency food assistance, build new garden planters, and upgrade HOPE for NOVA’s (a non-profit that serves underprivileged people) “Hope House” in Manassas.

First, I began by communicating with the charity (Hope for NOVA, a nonprofit dedicated to providing services for underprivileged people), and once we had decided on an idea, I started planning how we would proceed. I chose to use an online registration program to recruit people. It was a sound system because it allowed me to easily track how many people were coming and divvy up jobs. While working on this project, I found the most challenging aspect was ensuring we maintained social distancing. Because the project took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to ensure the Scouts were safe. My solution to this project was to have families show up instead of individual Scouts since it would limit the risk of spreading Coronavirus. I ended up having entire family units doing different parts of the project. One family would pull weeds, another family would build the planters, another would take out trees, and another would haul away any waste.

After completing this work, it was very satisfying to look back and see what I had completed. During this project, I learned it’s always better to over-plan than under-plan. I had underestimated the number of Scouts that I’d need to complete the project, and I had to deal with the consequences of that decision. I should have ensured that we had more than enough Scouts rather than just enough. But I was also able to work on my leadership skills. I learned the importance of making sure you know what everyone is doing at any time. I had some trouble ensuring everyone was doing what I thought needed to be done, but once I figured out how to be more attentive, all went well.

Play Ball

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Shane R. of Troop 160 in Hendron, VA, plays football for Oakton High School’s football team in Vienna, VA. He is also a fan of his high school’s baseball team and respects their sportsmanship. So when he learned that the baseball team’s helmet and baseball rack were worn out, Shane decided to contact the coach to see if he could fix their equipment as part of his Eagle Scout Project.

Once the coach approved, Shane got to planning. He found some design inspiration for the racks with the help of the coach. When Shane decided upon a design, he had to figure out what type of material to use and how much it would all cost. He went to a few stores and some family friends and neighbors to see if they could donate some money and some wood for the project. As soon as he collected all the wood he would need, Shane got to priming the wood, and he began to recruit volunteers from his Troop, his family, and his friends to help him later. On the day of the project, Shane transported the primed wood to the school, where he and his volunteers would assemble the racks. In addition to building the racks, they also repainted the dugout’s walls.

Shane is glad to have finished the project and see how well the racks came out. Now looking back, he reflected on what he had learned, saying, “I learned how to be a better leader. I also learned it was easier to have step-by-step instructions with drawings printed out so helpers could follow easily. I also discovered that if you put the right people in certain tasks, it goes smoothly and gets completed the way I wanted it to.”

Aquia Troop 907 Girls (Troop 907G) Active & Growing!

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As the third Aquia Troop founded after Scouts BSA opened the Scouting Trail to young women, Troop 907 Girls (Troop 907G), has been active and growing despite the on-going challenges of COVID-19. Troop 907G was founded on 19 Aug 2020 with 5 Scouts and 7 adults and is chartered to Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Stafford, VA. After 2 successful recruiting campouts and AOL crossovers, the Troop currently has 11 Scouts and 10 adult Scouters. The Scouts are Peyton, Ella, Kera, Bella, Josey, Maddy, Keira, Becca, Mariana, Emma, and Mackenzie. The adults are Ken Todd, Sharon Patrick, Helen Brennan, Chris Reynolds, Kristina Reynolds, Melonie Walker, Michael Walker, John Patrick, Kari Hammond, Jonathan Reynolds, and Jason Smith. As the Founder of Baden-Powell remarked over 100 years ago about the power of getting Scouts into the outdoors: “The key that unlocks the Spirit of the Movement is the romance of Woodcraft and Nature Lore.” Well, the hearty Scouts of Troop 907G have found that key and (safely) unlocked the Spirit of Scouting in the outdoors ever since COVID-19 reared its head. You can’t keep these Scouts down!!

In April, Scoutmaster (SM) John Patrick set up a 1-mile orienteering course at Pratt Park near Fredericksburg, VA for the Scouts to work on their land navigation skills with map and compass. Scouts left the starting point at 1.5-hour intervals, so there would be no overlap with any other Scout. For health and safety reasons, each Scout was accompanied by one of their parents – avoiding close contact with other Scouts and adhering to the Buddy System. Kera, Bella, and Becca completed the course.

From the March COVID-19 lockdown through May, the Troop had been doing Zoom meetings and virtual campouts along with classes to work on some virtual Merit Badges’ requirements, but the Scouts were getting really bored with the virtual world (something we can all identify with, right?) So, under the guidance of their Scoutmaster, the Scouts began preparations in April and May for getting back into the outdoors.

In June, Troop 907G Scouts safely conducted a backyard campout at the home of the Scoutmaster as preparation for a planned long-term camping trip in July. Six Scouts Kera, Keira, Maddy, Josey, Bella, Becca attended and worked on Scout Rank advancements for the new Arrow of Light Scouts who had crossed over in April. The older Scouts, under the supervision of the Scoutmaster (SM) and Assistant SMs, worked on their Totin’ Chip requirements and even practiced using a bow saw and ax, but only in the “ax yard” the Scouts roped off to ensure a clearly visible safe zone for handling woods tools. The Totin’ Chip certification grants a Scout the right to carry and use woods tools by showing their Scout leader that the Scout understands and can safely demonstrate knowledge, skills, abilities and responsibilities for properly using and taking care of woods tools and living the BSA Outdoor Code (see: https://www.Scouting.org/awards/awards-central/totin-chip/)

Troop 907G also had one new Scout join the day of the campout and Maddy camped with the Troop that Saturday night. The Scouts prepared all meals keeping COVID safe practices in mind and under the watchful eyes of adult Scouters. The day culminated with a Court of Honor where Scouts were presented with rank badge and other symbols of Scouting achievement. There were 3 Scouts who achieved the rank of Scout – Keira, Maddy and Josey, 1 Second Class Scout – Bella, and 2 First Class Scouts – Kera and Becca. Rank badges, as well as 5 Merit Badges were presented – Becca earned Environmental Science and Citizenship in the Community and Kera earned Environmental Science, Citizenship in the Nation, and Dog Care. 3 Totin’ Chip Awards and 3 Cyber Chip Awards – Keira, Maddy and Josey were also presented with proper ceremony and congratulations! After a hearty breakfast on Sunday morning, the Scouts packed up and headed home ready as they could be to “Be Prepared” for their long-term camping trip coming up in July.

From 9 to 14 July Scouts Kera, Becca, Bella, Maddy, Josey, and Mariana were accompanied by 4 Scouters, John Patrick, Kari Hammond, Kristina Reynolds and Sharon Patrick, and 2 moms, Melynda Moran and Yaquelin Sanchez, as Troop 907G thrived in the outdoors during a long-term camping trip consisting of 6 days and 5 nights just outside of Luray, VA in the county park at Lake Arrowhead. The Scouts went horse-back riding, swimming, toured the Luray Caverns, tackled the obstacles and challenges of a Ropes Course, then ran through a hedge maze and returned to camp and went swimming again. On Sunday, the Troop relocated to another campground at the Shenandoah River Outfitters where the Scouts practiced setting up their tents in the pouring rain. It was a learning experience for everyone, but you can bet you’ve never seen Scouts set up their tents faster than they did in the rain! As Baden-Powell liked to say: “The rain reveals the true Scout.”

Sunday evening, all campers were treated to a nighttime lightening show for about 45 minutes – which everyone enjoyed from the safety of nearby cars. On Monday, the Scouts went on a 4-hour tubing ride floating down the Shenandoah River – a great time was had by all! During the evening hours, the Scouts sat around a campfire, telling stories, talking with each other and bonding in a way only fellow adventurers can in camp. On Tuesday morning, the Troop broke camp in true Scout Spirit, leaving nothing behind but their thanks for a good time, and then headed home tired, but with a lots of great Scouting memories.

Troop 907G spent the weekend of 21-23 August at Westmoreland State Park where the Scouts worked on some of their nature requirements for rank advancement and also worked on the Geo-Caching merit badge. 6 Troop 907G Scouts, Kera, Keira, Maddy, Josey, Bella and Ella, participated, as well as 3 girls who joined the Troop to see what Scouting was all about. The Troop 907G Scouts introduced the visiting girls to camping and cooking outdoors and camping in the rain. The campers’ big surprise came when the bathhouse backed up and they had to go to other campgrounds in the park to use the facilities.

September 18th to 20th saw 6 Troop 907G Scouts Kera, Maddy, Josey, Bella, Mariana and Emma of Troop 907G camping at the Flying Circus Air Field in Bealeton, VA and watching the Air Show on Sunday. The older Scouts were given the responsibility of working with the younger Scouts, including one who had just joined the Monday before the camping trip, on their basic Scout skills and rank advancements. Baden-Powell would have been proud, as he often said that “Scouting is a game for [youth], under the leadership of [youth], in which the elder [Scouts] can give their younger [Scouts] a healthy environment and encourage them to healthy activities such as will help them to develop citizenship.” Saturday afternoon, one of the pilots gave the Scouts a tour of his hanger which had 5 different types of planes in it and explained about how they do the Air Shows and what all is involved in the planning.

During the weekend of 23-25 October, Troop 907G camped at Christopher Run Campground on part of Lake Anna outside of Mineral, VA and worked on the Fishing Merit Badge. The Troop was conducting another recruiting campout and had another new Scout join the Troop. The Scouts participating in the campout were Kera, Ella, Becca, Emma, Mariana, Maddy, Josey and Mackenzie. Josey completed all of the requirements for the Fishing Merit Badge, while Mackenzie caught 2 small fish that she threw back. None of the other Scouts were lucky in catching any fish but that’s the way fishing goes sometimes. All of the Scouts enjoyed fishing so it’s a pretty sure bet they will do this again next year.

During all of camping trips and weekly meetings the Scouts took time to participate in The Jared Box Project. In total 8 Scouts – Keira, Maddy, Josey, Bella, Becca, Emma, Mariana and Ella – stuffed 14 boxes for children from pre-K to pre-teen/early teen, who are in the Emergency Room (ER) at Stafford Hospital, with items ranging from playing cards to coloring books and colored pencils, and other things. The boxes are given to the young children to help ease their anxiety from being in an Emergency Room. The Scouts decorated the boxes with stickers and included a get-well card in each box. On October 20th, 5 Scouts participated in presenting the boxes to members of the Stafford Hospital ER. Those Troop 907G Scouts who exemplified and lived the Scout Promise to “Help Other People at All Times” and the Scout Law to be “Helpful, Friendly, Kind & Reverent” were Kera, Josey, Maddy, Emma and Becca.

On all Troop 907G’s camping trips, the Scouts learned many lessons about how to thrive and be safe in the outdoors and how to keep all of their fellow Scouts safe too (especially during this time of COVID-19 concerns). This included safely preparing all meals and the importance of cleanliness, including personal hygiene and doing good “KP” (Kitchen Police) by properly and thoroughly washing dishes. The Scouts slept in separate tents and used disposable plates and silverware for sanitation purposes since beginning to camp this past June. The Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) also designated one Scout on each camping trip who is responsible for taking the temperature of everyone attending the outing – Scouts and adults – and recording it in the Troop first aid book.

All Troop 907G Scouts have become fully impressed with the need to do things safely and with keeping the health of everyone involved in mind. As Aquia Scouter Dick Haas (aka: The Ancient One) likes to say: “KISMIF!” which means “Keep It Safe, Make it Fun!” This is the key to successful Scout programs. And WOW! is Troop 907G successful!

Blankets for Our Furry Friends

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When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my Eagle project, I thought about possible career and future paths that I am interested in. Veterinary Medicine has been a significant interest of mine since I was young, and this interest inspired me to do a project that could help animals. So I decided to look into different shelters in my area and what they needed from me. That’s how I found the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA). I decided that I would help make blankets and snuffle mats (a type of ripped blanket that dogs like to play with), and collect any items they may need.

I decided to split my project into two sections: making blankets/snuffle mats and collecting other material donations. I began by recruiting Scouts from my Troop by emailing them to see if they were interested. Then I had them help make blankets and snuffle mats, and asked Troop families for donations such as cat and dog food, unused toys, litter, among other things. When COVID-19 became a reality, I had to put my plans to a halt temporarily. So I ha to adjust my plan to work online, and I brought supplies to each volunteer’s house before a Zoom session and picked up completed mats and blankets afterward. In each Zoom session, I used the EDGE (explain, demonstrate, guide, enable) method to demonstrate and teach volunteers how to make the mats and blankets. During this time, it was quite challenging to get supplies from stores and then get them to each individual’s home. Luckily, I had my driver’s license for my project. Still, the time it took to get enough supplies before each session, cut them into the correct sizes for each volunteer, and then drive to each person’s house to deliver and pick up was a tricky part of the project. My favorite aspect was seeing the Scouts over Zoom learning how to make the mats or blankets. A few of the girls in my Troop came to two sessions to learn how to make both mats and blankets, and some even asked for more materials after the first session so they could independently apply what they learned again! It was exciting for me to see their enthusiasm both for helping the animals through my project and continuing their skills outside of the learning sessions.

By completing this project, I learned the difficulty of organizing groups, primarily digitally, to work towards a common goal. I didn’t expect how hard it would be to get schedules coordinated, but by the third session, I realized how much easier it was for me to plan compared to the first. I grew as a leader; I learned more about using the EDGE method and applying it to real situations. I gained more experience in finding the flaws in teaching plans and adapting them over time.