We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Articles

Pack 1100 “Join Forces” with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden & Military Families

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Pack 1100 recently earned their Art Explosion pins in an extraordinary way. The Military Program at the Lorton Workhouse asked them to participate in a project for First Lady Dr. Jill Biden‘s Joining Forces program. First Lady Biden is both a military mother and grandmother, she has witnessed first hand the great amounts of sacrifice these families make. She shared a poem written by a fourth grader whose parents are stationed overseas. The student explained her military suitcase is filled with both happiness and sadness having to relocate constantly.

Being that April is the National Month of the Military Child, Scouts were provided copies of the student’s poems. They decorated suitcases and wrote reflections representing what the poem meant to them. The suitcases will be on display in the East wing of the White House.

 

Outdoor Ethics Spring 2023

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Meet & greet and information session for Outdoor Ethics Guides
Tuesday 4/25/23 at 7pm on zoom. Join the zoom meeting to meet current & aspiring Outdoor Ethics Guides (youth) & NCAC Outdoor Ethics Committee members and build on your knowledge & confidence in leading outdoor ethics in your unit. For YOUTH. Register for the OE Guide meet & greet.

Leave No Trace Master Educator course
May 14-19, 2023 at The Summit in West Virginia (not in NCAC but close). A major goal for this course is to graduate effective & active Leave No Trace Master Educators who will return to their home council & conduct the key Leave No Trace Trainer courses needed to support their unit, district & council outdoor programs. More info about the Master Educator course.  Register for the course.

Outdoor Ethics Orientation courses -in-person in Brandywine, MD
The goal of this 90-minute course is to introduce the concept of Outdoor Ethics in a fun & engaging way to a group with little experience in outdoor ethics. It should help youth & adults at all program levels understand the general principles behind Scouting’s outdoor ethics program.
Saturday 6/10/23 at 12:30-2
Saturday 9/9/23 at 12:30-2
Sunday 12/3/23 at 12:30-2

Outdoor Ethics Guide courses- in-person in Brandywine, MD
This 2 hour course taught by NCAC helps orient Outdoor Ethics Guides to this position of leadership in their unit by reviewing the responsibilities of the Outdoor Ethics Guide position, providing ideas on how to carry out this role, practicing some activities & games, & sharing resources.
Saturday 6/10/23 at 2:30-4:30
Saturday 9/9/23 at 2:30-4:30
Sunday 12/3/23 at 2:30-4:30

Leave No Trace Trainer courses in 2023
9/25/23 at 7pm online & 9/30/23 at 9am in-person in Germantown, MD
(watch for the link to register on the NCAC calendar)

10/16/23 at 7pm online & 10/21/23 at 9am in-person at Camp Snyder
Register for the October 2023 LNT Trainer course

If these courses do not work for your scouts/scouters or if you would like a member of our Outdoor Ethics Committee to lead an outdoor ethics-themed pack or troop meeting, please email your request.

Upcoming events

  • Next Roundtable: April 12 – Tell me about Project Learning Tree!
    PLT works with Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to provide scouting leaders with ideas and outdoor, hands-on activities to help support Cub Scouts adventures & Scouts BSA merit badges. PLT provides fun & inspiring activities that can help scouts advance! Marnie Lammle, PLT’s South Dakota Advocate, will introduce us to this nationwide program & its instructional materials
  • Register for the 2022-3 year of BSA Outdoor Ethics Roundtables
    Complete this form once for the whole year. Spell out your council name.

Updates from BSA

  • Save the Date: National Outdoor Conference Sep 27-Oct 1, 2023 at Philmont

Best practices, games & activities:

  • Outdoor Code hand gestures: watch this 13 second Outdoor Code video to learn hand gestures to help you remember the Outdoor Code. Thanks to Paul Schimke for this video!
  • Ways to Make Your Trash Cleanup More Sustainable: Any time you pick up trash, you are creating a positive impact, but by incorporating these tips, that impact can be even greater. No matter how you give back, your outdoor areas appreciate you. Read this Leave No Trash blog for tips to make your trash cleanup project more Earth-friendly!
  • Take the LeaveNoTrash pledge, then take ACTION: Every year the world generates 2.1 million tons of waste. This April, join Leave No Trace for its international #LeaveNoTrash movement. Together we have the power to make to a difference, remove trash from the outdoors and keep it healthy, protected & thriving. Take the pledge.
  • Are you straining your dishwater? Animals are attracted to all the food scraps that we leave behind. Straining your dishwater allows you to capture food particles that you can then put in the trash or compost. That way you won’t be leaving behind tasty tidbits for the squirrels, bears & other animals and you won’t be littering. Buy strainers & practice straining dishwater at your next troop meeting. Read the blog about gray water disposal or watch the video
  • Four Ds for your campfire: For best results while creating your Leave No Trace campfire, gather wood using the Four D’s.
    Dead: Wood that has been dead long enough to be dry.
    Down: Physically separated and down from living trees.
    Dinky: Smaller in girth, than one’s wrist or forearm. Easy to break and to burn completely through.
    Distant: Wood should be collected 200 feet from camp to avoid firewood mining and the effects of site creep.

 

2023 Provisional Camps: Solo Summer Adventures

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Calling Scouts BSA, Venturers, and Sea Scouts! Want to attend camp? Is your unit going during a week that doesn’t fit your schedule? Need a second week of summer camp? Is your unit not doing a high adventure this year? A Provisional Summer Camp program could be the answer!

Provisional camp is a program offered to individual youth to attend summer camp on their own or in a small group without their unit and without having to bring their own adult leaders. Individuals form a Provisional Unit for the week, made up of other individual campers. Adult supervision is provided either by adult volunteers, camp staff, or a combination of both. In order to participate, youth need to be registered in Scouts BSA, Venturing BSA, or Sea Scouts BSA. Boys and girls are welcome! There is no minimum age requirement for standard camp programs, but most high adventure programs aimed at older scouts have a minimum age requirement.

National Capital Area Council offers a number of provisional summer camp experiences from standard summer camp experiences to backpacking and sailing high adventures. Check out the different options below!

Goshen Provisional Camp

At Camp Marriott, Goshen Scout Reservation
Make new friends as you enjoy all the activities – whether that is New Scout Quest for new scouts, Goshen Vets for older scouts, standard camp favorites like swimming and rifle shooting, or unique offerings at Eagle’s Eyrie and The Guild. Goshen Provisional Camp runs weekly, Saturday to Sunday, from June 25 thru July 29, 2023. Learn more at www.gotogoshen.org/provisional

Scouts BSA Specialty Week

At Camp Snyder
Attend as a day or overnight camper and get a chance to earn standard and specialized merit badges at some of the unique facilities, like the Woodshop. New scouts should check out the Green Bar Bill program to work on rank advancement. Specialty Week runs one week only, so don’t miss it! July 16 – July 22, 2023. Learn more at www.gotosnyder.org/summer-camp/specialty-week

High Adventure Council Contingents

The NCAC High Adventure Committee annually sponsors trips for individuals to National High Adventure bases including Philmont, Sea Base, and Northern Tier. Go backpacking in the Cimarron, sailing in the Caribbean, or canoeing in the Boundary Waters. Participants must be at least 14 years old. Dates vary.
Learn more at www.ncacbsa.org/high-adventure

Lenhok’sin Provisional Trail Trek

Find adventure at NCAC’s very own local high adventure base! Lenhok’sin offers backpacking with stops at outposts for adventure activities. Go stand-up paddleboarding, try your hand at blacksmithing, barter with the Mountain Man, and have other adventures. This trek is sponsored by the NCAC High Adventure Committee at Goshen Scout Reservation’s Lenhok’sin High Adventure. Participants must be age 13 or older. Offered one week only, so don’t miss it! July 2 – July 8, 2023. Learn more at www.gotogoshen.org/lenhoksin

Goshen Order of the Arrow Trail Crew

Join a crew of Order of the Arrow youth dedicated to cheerful service for a two week experience. The first week focuses on training and service. Learn about outdoor ethics and backcountry conservation as you apply your skills to the Lenhok’sin trail system. The second week is the full Lenhok’sin trail trek experience. Choose your outposts and enjoy the adventure at a reduced cost. Participants must be age 14 or older. GOAT runs June 18 – July 2, 2023. Learn more at wipit470.org/goat.html

Life Scout Builds Half Acre Monarch Pollinator Habitat in Poolesville, MD

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My name is Jason Woodman, I am a Life Scout with Troop 1094 in Darnestown, Maryland, and a freshman at Poolesville High School in Poolesville, Maryland. I am my troop’s Outdoor Ethics Guide. I’ve been reading about endangered Monarch butterflies for a while now. Monarchs are amazing because of their migration. They fly 3,000 miles all the way down to Mexico every fall to winter in the forests. Then in the spring, they fly back up to the United States to breed. Clearly, environmental issues have affected the Monarch butterflies like climate change and drought. While reading about Monarch butterflies I learned that many pollinators are disappearing. I decided I wanted to complete an Eagle project that would help Monarch butterflies and other pollinators.

I live in the town of Poolesville which is surrounded by the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. People here really love the environment and nature. We are a town of only 5,700 people but we are surrounded by farms. We are lucky to have a lot of parks with walking and biking trails. There are already two established pollinator habitats however they are not really seen or accessible by the public due to their locations. I wanted my pollinator habitat to be located in a very visible location where I could not only make an environmental impact but could also educate the public about the importance of pollinators.

As I was researching my pollinator habitat idea I learned about the BSA Distinguished Conservation Award (DCSA). The DCSA award is the former Hornaday Award. It encourages scouts to design, lead, and carry out a conservation project. The project must be designed to address a conservation issue or need in the local area and it must benefit the environment or creatures that live there. There are nine conservation project categories to choose from and you must complete two projects in two different categories. One project may count as your Eagle project. I decided I wanted to earn this award and my first project would be in the category of pollinator habitat conservation.

In order to make a significant impact on the environment, I knew I needed to create a large project. I needed at least ½ acre piece of land from the town. First, I had to present my idea to the Town of Poolesville Parks and Recreation Board. They agreed that my idea was a good one and recommended I present my idea to the Town of Poolesville Commissioners at one of their public meetings. Thankfully, the Town Commissioners really liked my initial proposal. They agreed to grant me a ½ acre piece of land and gave me a budget of $6,000 for pollinator plants.

The piece of land they granted me was a back entrance to Stevens Park. There is a walking/bike trail that runs right in front of the open land. The land was just flat grass. The town was mowing this piece of land from mid-March through November at least once a week. My idea was to completely take away the need to mow. I worked with a local landscape company called Fine Earth Landscape. They helped me design seven gardens that would contain 391 native straight species pollinator plants. These plants were one gallon in size. There were 12 different varieties which included two types of milkweed and colorful plants like Lobelia Cardinalis which attracts hummingbirds. A field of native wildflower seeds would then surround the seven gardens. The idea is to have the ½ acre filled with native straight species pollinator plants. It will take a few years to completely fill in the seven gardens and the wildflower meadow.
I knew this project would require a lot of people to dig the holes. I decided to have a team lead for each of the seven gardens as my point of contact. I decided to give each team lead a map of their garden so they followed my plant design. I estimated I needed about 30 people to help dig 391 holes for the plants. I reached out in person and via email to my Darnestown BSA Troop 1094, Poolesville BSA Troop 2027 for girls, Poolesville BSA Troop 496 for boys, teammates from my Upper Montgomery Lightning high school ice-hockey team, and other citizens from the community.

My project day was March 25, 2023, and it rained – A LOT! The entire area became a giant mud pit. I put a message out to everyone I recruited that this event would be rain or shine. I anticipated just a few of my fellow Troop Scouts showing up to help me with my parents. I was so surprised that 60 volunteers arrived to help plant the habitat despite the rain! Thanks to all of their help we had this habitat planted in two hours just when the rain stopped. Everyone was covered in mud but everyone said they had a lot of fun. I was nervous when so many people showed up however, it became a really easy project to lead. I think my success was a result of all my hard pre-planning. Everyone literally went straight to work digging holes and placing the plants in the ground.
The following Friday I went back to the site and installed my education signs. I have five signs from Monarch Joint Venture which have QR codes people can use to read more about the importance of Monarchs. I also installed the main habitat sign explaining the importance of pollinators. After I installed the signs, I spread 50 lbs of native straight species wildflower seeds.

My town’s local newspaper, the Monocacy Monocle, recognized my efforts. Our local town’s Facebook page congratulated all of the volunteers for helping in the rain and creating such an incredible habitat. At the last Town of Poolesville Commissioners meeting, Jim Brown, the President of the Poolesville Commissioners said, “This is single handedly one of the best scout projects that has ever taken place in Poolesville.” I am really flattered that so many in the community are excited about this project and that they are so supportive.

So far, I have over 150 hours into my project of planning and planting. However, I’m not done with this project yet. Right now, I am going back once a week and making sure the plants are doing ok. I’m excited that I’ve started to see some growth in the bare root plants. The 2nd part of my project is having a pollinator educational booth on May 6th at the Poolesville Springfest festival. Here I had some native straight species plants on display and explain to the community why they should plant native straight species pollinators in their backyard and how even a small amount of plants can make a big environmental impact.

Throughout my scouting career so far, I have earned 84 merit badges, earned the World Conservation Award, the 50th Anniversary Environmental Protection Agency Award, National Outdoor Achievement Award for Conservation, the National Outdoor Ethics Action Award, five other scout awards, and became a Leave No Trace Trainer. I hope to earn my Eagle Rank in May after completing my Scoutmaster Conference and Eagle Scout Board of Review. I will be attending my first High Adventure this summer at Summit Bechtel. Then I will start planning my 2nd project with the goal of earning the BSA Distinguished Conservation Service Award (DCSA). My future plan is to attend college to become a wildlife biologist.

NCAC Scout Wins Local and State SAR Eagle Scholarship

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Ethan Morlu of NCAC Troop 1369, chartered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7916, is an accomplished Eagle Scout and citizen. His application and essay earned First Place with the COL William Grayson Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and again at the SAR State level competition for Virginia.

Ethan got involved in Scouting in preschool by tagging along at his older brother’s Cub Scout Pack meetings.  He spoke very fondly about his earlier memories in Scouting  ” I had so much fun spending time with my older brother’s den, learning both scouting skills and doing quirky activities. We made air vortex cannons and chased each other around shooting rings of smoke. I also loved the energy of the monthly Pow Wows, where they would host a raffle, announce achievements, and the different groups would put on skits. The pack was also very welcoming to families, letting siblings build and race pinewood derby cars in the annual race. Due to how much I enjoyed my time tagging along to meetings, I was so excited when my mother decided to sign me up for the program.”
Ethan has been involved in Scouting ever since, holding several leadership positions in his Troop. Ultimately Etahn decided to pursue his Eagle Scout rank, completing environmental projects for a local Middle School. Ethan was introduced to the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) when he was presented his Eagle Scout SAR certificate at his troop’s court of honor by Tim Cline.
The SAR’s Eagle Scout Scholarship competition began in 1980 and is composed of three parts –  an essay, an application whose criteria includes leadership, merit badges, and volunteering; and a four generation Ancestor chart. Tim Cline leads the competition for the Col William Grayson Chapter of the SAR which covers the Sully, Patriot, and Prince William Districts of NCAC. This is the third year in a row the winner of the Virginia State level competition came from NCAC and the Col William Grayson SAR Chapter! The SAR supports the local community in many ways by providing historic preservation of sites and artifacts related to the American Revolution, providing Color Guards in Continental or Militia uniforms for meetings or events such as Wreaths Across America, and presenting to student youth groups about the American flag just to name a few.
With encouragement from Tim and the SAR Eagle Scout Scholarship team, Ethan began to write his essay. Ethan recalled:
“My essay was about Jeremiah O’Brien and the capture of the Margaretta. This was a naval skirmish that took place after the townsfolk of Machias, Maine, had set up a liberty tree celebrating the victories at Lexington and Concord. A British ship accompanying a merchant ship threatened to raze the town to the ground if they did not remove the liberty tree. The town responded by rallying behind O’Brien, commandeering the merchant ship, and capturing the British ship in a naval battle. I had never heard of Jeremiah O’Brien before drafting this essay, much less the Battle of Machias. To me, it seemed like an obscure part of the Revolutionary War that was important for others to know about. I also felt as though it was a perfect example of how the fight for liberty was each colonist’s responsibility and is something important to fight for.”

When asked what he learned most during his scholarship application process Ethan shared “With each scholarship, I have to transcribe my experiences, successes, and growth on paper, and seriously examine where I’ve come from and where I am going in life. I’ve found that I’ve come to appreciate the aspects of research and introspection that comes with the process. This scholarship has once again reminded me of how I’ve spent much of my life helping others and improving myself in the process. It also reminded me that despite my tendency to dwell on my failures, I have accomplished a lot to be proud of. I also have strong support from my family and other mentors who have watched me grow over the years and shaped me to be the person I am today. Winning this scholarship makes me feel blessed to know people want me to succeed and are helping me along the way.

Ethan is now studying Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He continues to be a scholar and a leader working diligently through his courses. He explained “Throughout my years in scouting, I’ve spent a lot of time developing my leadership. I attended National Youth Leadership Training at Impeesa when I was 13 and served as Instructor, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster, and now Assistant Scoutmaster over the course of my time with my troop. This leadership has been instrumental as I’ve gone into college, knowing when to step up and lead while working on team projects. Additionally, scouting has helped instill a strong moral compass within me through the scout law and oath, giving me a guide for navigating situations and finding people who share my values. Heading into my future, I will be able to become a leader in industry, implementing the values that I gained through scouting.”

Ethan and his brother, Nathan Morlu, were also among the 13 service-minded students across the U.S. and Canada who were chosen for the Chick-Fil-A Scholars Inaugural Class. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has awarded more than $25 million in scholarships in 2023, investing in higher education for more than 13,000 restaurant team members, and now for the first time, outstanding community members. Read more at https://www.chick-fil-a.com/stories/inside-chick-fil-a/community-members-surprised-with-scholarships

NCAC Congratulates Ethan, Nathan and the entire Morlu family on these amazing accomplishments!

 

Fingerprinting & Traffic Safety Merit Badges

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Montgomery County Police Department has been hosting a youth career development program, Exploring, for decades! Their Explorer Post 1986 is eager to lend a hand to the scouting community and will host 2 workshops teaching the Fingerprinting and Traffic Safety Merit Badges.

This event will take place on Saturday, April 29 at the Montgomery County Police Training Academy.

Schedule:

9:45AM Checkin

10AM Fingerprinting (15 youth)
11:15AM Traffic Safety (15 youth)
12:30PM Dismissal

Scouts BSA and same-age friends are welcome!

 

The Explorer Post Advisors are registered Merit Badge Counselors with NCAC, and will be able to sign blue cards for scouts who complete all requirements at the event.

The registration fee for the event is $22; this covers class materials for both merit badges and will go to support Explorer Post 1986. We hope to see you there!

Register here: Fingerprinting & Traffic Safety Merit Badges