We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Articles

Eagle Project Builds Community at Home and in Ecuador

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The Arlington Catholic Herald published a story about a special Eagle Scout project that strengthened relationships at St. John Neumann Church in Reston and with the church’s sister parish, Niño Jesús Church in Manta, Ecuador.  With the help of many volunteers, the Scout, Morrow, built a set of 14 Stations of the Cross then created English, Spanish and bilingual booklets containing reflections that he sought from 14 ministries of his church. He delivered the stations in person to the Niño Jesús Church and worked with 15 youth to install the stations. Some of the youth turned out to be Scouts in the Ecuadorian program. Read the full story in the Arlington Catholic Herald: https://www.catholicherald.com/article/local/simple-eagle-scout-project-fosters-community-with-ecuadorian-parish/

Michael’s Woodshop Recognizes Distinguished Volunteers

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Pictured: CJ Staton (left) & Mell Cunningham (right)

On May 7, Michael’s Woodshop presented the Distinguished Volunteer Award to volunteers CJ Staton and Mell Cunningham in recognition of their “many years of consistent and dedicated contributions of time and talent to the development and operation of Michael’s Woodshop”.

CJ began volunteering in the fall of 2017, when Michael’s Woodshop was still in the concept phase. He was engaged in the initial planning and construction, helping with the installation of the insulation and walls, running conduit, pulling hundreds of feet of wire and installing dozens and dozens of receptacles throughout the shop. He is a regular volunteer during program sessions and is in the process of upgrading our jigs and templates using his 3D printer. Among his most notable and valuable contributions has been the development of many of our most successful programs; Pinewood Derby Days, Baloo the Builder, Webelos Build It and our Youth Assistant Program, which he continues to lead today.

Mell began volunteering in the spring of 2018, assisting with the completion of the lumber rack, the first major improvement in Michael’s Woodshop. For the next 7 months, Mell volunteered on an almost full-time basis completing the interior improvements including all of the work benches, shelving, tool storage systems and the dust collection system. After the shop officially opened in November 2018 (and continuing today), Mell has consistently spent several mornings a week in the shop working on numerous shop improvements and preparing materials for youth activities. He is a prolific “jig maker”, designing and constructing jigs to support youth activities and is currently developing our third summer camp project design (including project prototypes, jigs and evaluating process flow).

Please join us in recognizing CJ and Mell for their incredible contributions to Michael’s Woodshop. If you are interested in volunteering, please see “Join the Michael’s Woodshop Team” on our webpage, or email any questions to MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com.

NCAC Eagle Scout Completes the Mount Everest Base Camp Trek

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Michael Hooper an Eagle Scout from the Colonial District (Troop 680 Eagle, March 3, 2020; Grand Slam of High Adventure 2020)recently completed the Everest Base Camp trek. Michael said that while he was struggling to make the climb he remembered his intro to backpacking five mile round trip to Manassas Gap on the Application Trail shortly after he crossed over to the Troop and later completed his Backpacking Merit Badge with his Scoutmaster, friends, and fellow members of the Hawk Patrol as well as our trips to Philmont and Northern Tier (Okpik dog sledding).The Everest trek took him 11 days in total. Six and a half days trekking up the mountain, two acclimatization days, and two and a half days trekking down the mountain. While the trek up was difficult as each step towards basecamp at altitude became laborious and his breath was constantly out despite flying up the mountain the previous few days, he finished the entire trek two days early because they were moving so fast, and they ended up skipping a stop. He said the views were some of the best views he has have ever seen in his life.Michael lives in Virginia and returns from India and Nepal in June and will go back to UVA in the fall.  He hopes to register as an adult leader when he comes back so that he can do a few backpacking trips with the Troop 680 Scouts when he’s not busy at school.Shared by: Scouter John Mirvish

Cheverly Pack 257F at the Patuxent District Cub-n-Pal

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Pack 257F had a blast at the Patuxent District’s Cub-n-Pal over the weekend at the American Legion Youth Camp in Cheltenham. This year’s theme was Cubmaster Gadget and we enjoyed 6 stations ranging from knots and nature to knife safety and orienteering. The Cubs had a blast!

Troop 1066 Discovers How the Horseshoe Crab Can Save Lives

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Scouts from Troop 1066 located in Jefferson, Maryland routinely pursue merit badges as a part of their Scouting Program. During the month of April, they chose to complete the Chemistry Merit Badge. During several meetings, Scouts learned the differences between physical and chemical changes, why atmospheric pressure can affect hikers and scuba divers, and why caramelization makes food taste delightful. Scouts also discovered why manufacturing single-use items can be harmful to the environment and why it’s important to safely store and dispose of products that could harm the environment. Scouts completed the Chemistry Merit Badge by visiting the biotech company, Lonza Walkersville, Inc located in Frederick County, Maryland. The Walkersville location is the largest manufacturing site for Lonza Bioscience and has had a footprint in Frederick County since 1974. Scouts toured the facility and learned about a lifesaving product Lonza manufactures at the location. LAL, Limulus Amebocyte Lysate, is found in the blue blood of the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab and is a key component in Endotoxin Detection Kits. This incredibly unique compound is instrumental in detecting endotoxin found in Gram-negative bacteria. Endotoxin is widely present in the environment and exposure could lead to sepsis in humans. In order to ensure that Lonza creates the highest quality products, its Quality Control Laboratory uses chemistry to test raw materials arriving at the facility and finished products prior to shipping to customers. Scouts wore lab coats and safety glasses as they learned to weigh material, transfer liquids with a pipette, and watch a chemical reaction used to test reagents. The Scouts ended the Chemistry Merit Badge with newfound knowledge of the critical importance of a 475-million-year-old species and how the principles of chemistry can affect their everyday life.

Troop 55 Presented Volunteer Award from the North District of the George Washington Memorial Parkway NPS

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In April, BSA Troop 55 (Great Falls, VA) got presented the Volunteer Award by Ms. Franice Sewell,  the Supervisory Park Ranger from the North District of the George Washington Memorial Parkway National Park Services. Troop 55 was honored for community service, stewardship, and partnership with the Great Falls National Park (VA).

For many years, Troop 55B & 55G scouts and scouters have supported this neighboring national park with many Eagle Scout projects, Leave No Trace (LNT) education sessions, Cub Scout Day at the Park, as well as three years of biweekly litter pick up projects during the nation’s COVID-19 challenge. Currently, Troop 55 has five Eagle Scout candidates working with the Great Falls National Park on their Eagle projects.

Scout Thomas Y. (LNT project lead) and Drew K. (Litter pick up project lead) represented Troop 55 and received the award from Ranger Sewell, along with Troop 55 Eagle Scout advisor Mrs. Kristie Kim and Scoutmaster Jeff Ye (Troop 55B).

In addition to the Great Falls National Parks, Troop 55 volunteers supported many local, regional, and national parks with many service projects: Wolf Trap National Park, Daingerfield Island National Park, River Bend Regional Park, Sandy Run Regional Park, Fairfax Difficult Run Stream Park,  Great Falls Grange Park, and South Run Park,  to name a few.