by Sara Holtz, Hornaday Adviser
Pack 1530 in Powhatan District earned the prestigious William T. Hornaday Unit Award, one of several awards that honor William T. Hornaday, the head taxidermist at the Smithsonian who helped establish the National Zoo, and was the first Director of what is today known as the Bronx Zoo. He is widely credited with saving the American bison from extinction.
Units earn the Hornaday Unit award when at least 60% of registered youth participate in a substantial conservation project that meets the rigorous standards of the Hornaday program.
Pack 1530 participated in an invasive species control project led by Boy Scout John H. of Troop 159, who is working towards the coveted Hornaday Badge. The project address the growth of Japanese stiltgrass as an invasive species at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia. Japanese stiltgrass is considered a highly invasive plant because it is not native, spreads aggressively, and crowds out native plants. John’s project aims to manually remove stiltgrass from an area identified by Frying Pan Farm Park staff, planting of native grasses and plants in their place, and future use of that area for educational purposes with youth visitors to the Park.
“Unusual prizes are won only by unusual service”
-Dr. William T. Hornaday
Pack 1530’s Cub Scouts, parents, siblings, and alumni participated in 5 work days in August and September at the Park to pull Japanese stiltgrass. Pack 1530 also helped educate the public about the project and about invasive plant control by having a booth at their school’s Open House in August. They will continue to participate in this project by volunteering in subsequent phases to replace invasive stiltgrass with native species, which will help ensure sustainability of the project.
For more information about William T. Hornaday awards in NCAC, go to www.NCACBSA.org/Hornaday. Our council’s Conservation Committee includes more than 20 Hornaday Advisers who are ready to assist Scouts and units in pursuing significant conservation projects to earn Hornaday awards.
Don’t see an adviser in your District? Contact Conservation Committee Chair Will Rodger through the webpage and he’ll help you find someone!
Want to recruit more youth to your troop? Don’t hold a “troop open house.” Sure, it is one of the three key recruiting methods – But, I say don’t do it.
A contingent of Scouts and leaders from Troop 5 in Lima, Peru attended Camp Olmsted this past summer. Scouts and leaders traveled from 4 different countries to enjoy a week at summer camp during their winter break in the US before going back to school. Highlights of the week were rifle and shot gun shooting, sailing on Lake Merriweather and the Olmsted Olympics. The contingent enjoyed meet-ing Scouts from the US, Scouts with ties to Peru living in the US, and Zack our Staff Guide from Bogota Columbia. The three Scouts earned 16 merit badges and one attended the Trailhead Program. Plans are being made for a larger contingent next summer and a return to Camp Olmsted.
The University of Scouting, a supplemental training opportunity for all adult Scout leaders, returns to Hayfield High School on February 23. It is the one time during the year where you can find the widest variety of training opportunities in all program areas all in one place. 
Did you know there is an easy way to double the impact of your contribution to local Scouting programs? It’s called an employee giving program!
Piedmont Pack 196, chartered by St. Lukes Lutheran Church and School, is a family pack out of Culpeper, VA, and started their year off with an amazing cook out! This is a yearly event, in August, that welcomes returning and new families with plenty of fun activities and food. The Cub Scouts built and decorated raingutter regatta boats and rockets and then had a blast racing their boats against one another and shooting rockets with a compressed air launcher. All the youth had a great time getting to know their new den leaders and members and even welcomed their first girl dens!