Scouts from Troops 1916 and 2119 at Redeemer Lutheran Church in McLean, VA ready to head out on the C&O Canal Tow Path for a 50 mile bike ride from Cumberland, MD to Great Cacapon, MD on October 12th.This is their seventh ride for the Cycling merit badge after completing two tens, two fifteens, and two twenty-five milers. The Scouts finished their ride in under 6 hours!
Adventure
Outdoor Ethics Awareness
The Outdoor Ethics Awareness course is an action & information-packed introductory course that teaches attendees the BSA version of outdoor ethics:which includes Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly, and the Land Ethic. The course is suitable for scouters and mature scouts. We hope as many units as possible are able to send at least 2 scouts and 1 scouter; this will allow your unit to have youth & adult members qualified to lead Outdoor Ethics at all outdoor events and help your scouts & scouters complete some of the requirements to earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Scouts https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/outdoor-ethics/awards/scouts-bsa/ or NCAC award for Cub Scouts http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/New-NCAC-Outdoor-Ethics-Awareness-award.pdf
Oct 23 at 7-9pm
Providence Community Center (not RECenter)
3001 Vaden Dr, Fairfax
https://scoutingevent.com/082-OEO19
Nov 6 at 7-9 pm
Westminster Presbyterian
2701 Cameron Mills Rd, Alexandria, Virginia 22302
https://scoutingevent.com/082-31700
By the end of the class, the participants should have:
-Knowledge of Outdoor Ethics
-Knowledge of the Outdoor Code
-Knowledge of how Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly! and The Land Ethic / -Stewardship support the Outdoor Code
-Knowledge of Outdoor Ethics Awareness and Action Awards Program
-Knowledge to locate additional Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly! and BSA Outdoor Ethics resources and opportunities for further training
After this course and completion of the on-line Leave No Trace On-Line Awareness course and Tread Lightly! on-line Awareness course, participants should have enough knowledge to
– earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award
– conduct Outdoor Ethics workshops & activities within their respective units
– lead Cubs & Scouters to earn the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/New-NCAC-Outdoor-Ethics-Awareness-award.pdf
– help Scouts & Scouters earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness award https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/outdoor-ethics/awards/scouts-bsa/
Invite your Scout & Scouter friends!
Sea Scouts Take on “Safety at Sea” Adventure
Over 200 members of Sea Scouts BSA, the U.S. Coast Guard and other BSA units gathered on September 7 at the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay for the 2019 “Safety at Sea” Adventure. Despite the threats posed by Hurricane Dorian all week, the weather was perfect and the scouts jumped in (literally) to a day of safety, career and environmental STEM training with volunteers from the Active Duty and Auxiliary Coast Guard.
The morning opened with a Search & Rescue demonstration from a helicopter deployed from Stations Atlantic City. The ultra-awesome blaze-orange helicopter hovered over Curtis Bay while the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer (the Coast Guard’s version of Top Gun) dangled from a harness a hundred meters below. Once that demonstration was complete, the pilot swung over to the nearby ball field and in a huge cloud of dust, landed the craft to open for tours and questions.
From there, Scouts began rotations around the base. At one station, flare training involving live flares was a huge hit. Alternating between traditional hand-held flares, or the pistol-type, scouts under the careful watch of range safety officers and trained Coast Guard professionals got to learn first-hand how to light magnesium flares in case they ever have an emergency.
Just up the dock, other Scouts put on the orange Mustang Suits – full body life jackets designed to keep them afloat and warm should they ever have to abandon their craft in ice-cold arctic waters. Across the harbor, a Damage Controlman Petty Officer 3rd Class fired up a P6 pump to teach Scouts how to either fight fires or flooding, depending on what emergency they faced. Others worked with Firemen on mastering a fire hose with target practice exercises where objects 25 meters away had to be moved with a careful stream of the powerful water jets.
Scouts also toured the Coast Guard’s famous 29 feet rigid hull inflatable Response Boat – designed for rapid deployment to emergencies, drug interdiction or other missions. Up the hill, oil was poured into a laboratory tank to demonstrate how dangerous oil spills can be, and how the Coast Guard managed both the spread and fire risk of this dangerous contaminant.
For Scouts who watched the Rescue Swimmer and asked to ride in the harness – they were introduced to the kind Coast Guard recruiting team who discussed job opportunities available. For those with grander aspirations – representatives from the prestigious Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT were available to discuss America’s only “merit only” service academy, where no congressional appointment is required. Cadets enter by their merit alone for the tuition free, paid college education.
Troop 58 Breaks Summer Camp Record!
Ashburn’s Troop 58 Swoops into Summer Camp!
Summer may be over, but the stats are rolling in. This year was the Troop 58’s largest group yet to swoop into Summer Camp, as over 50 Scouts and adult leaders from Ashburn’s Troop 58 attended Camp Shenandoah in Swoope, VA in mid-June. Camp Shenandoah has been serving Scouts for almost 70 years, since 1950. Across the troop, the Scouts worked on 143 merit badges and attended 22 other classes like stand up paddleboard.
Sixteen of the troop’s recent cross-over Scouts joined in the fun and successfully completed the Timber Mountain Program. Troop 58’s Treasurer, Wilson Chua, also conquered a 1 ½ mile swim around Hope Lake earning his Mile Swim patch. Water-related merit badges earned by the Scouts included swimming, lifesaving, motorboating, canoeing, kayaking, rowing, and oceanography. The final lakeside campfire on Friday night included Troop 58’s rendition of TopNotcher – always a classic! One of the troop’s Life Scouts, Daniel Han, had such a great time at Camp Shenandoah and made such a good impression that he was offered a job at the camp.
When he arrived back at home that Saturday, he did his laundry returned to Camp Shenandoah the next morning – as a member of the camp staff for the remainder of the summer! Troop 58 is also prepared to attend the Sea Base Out Island Adventure in late July. During this high adventure trip, 2 crews of Scouts flew to Miami, FL, drove to the Brinton Environmental Center, and then paddled to Big Munson Island in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. They camped there for an action packed week of ocean kayaking, snorkeling (day and night), fishing, sailing, and exploring the ocean – all without running water and electricity!
Remember camp registrations are quickly approaching, be on the look out for the registration dates for Camp Shenandoah!
TREAD Lightly! Trainer Course
The TREAD Lightly! Trainer Course, is the newest component of the BSA Outdoor Ethics program was recently opened to Scouts ages 14 and over for the FIRST TIME EVER. The minimum age to be able to take the course was originally 18 years old but was changed in 2019.
Patrick Martinez, Connor Gephart & Teagan Gephart were the FIRST in their respective Districts to successfully complete the TREAD Lightly! Trainer Course on Sunday, September 22, 2019 at the United States Coast Guard Station campground.
The course is designed to help volunteers promote the message Responsible Recreation where lands and waters are protected. The course is centered on mechanized recreation focusing on the TREAD Lightly! Principles designed to minimize impacts on roads, trails, and the wildlands they access according to the course description.
Patrick, Connor and Teagan learned how to share the TREAD Lightly! concepts and understand the role outdoor ethics plays in the recreation community. They learned the TREAD Lightly! Principles of Responsible Recreation and were provided with the knowledge and tools to conduct workshops and coordinate community outreach as the FIRST youngest TREAD Lightly! Trainers in their Districts. The boys are qualified to present the TREAD Lightly! message to Scouts and others in their District, State or Region. Also completing the TREAD Lightly! Trainer course are: Michael Gephart, Scout Master Troop 13 and David Martinez, ASM Troop 996.
If you are a Scout over 14 years old and your interested in the Tread Lightly! Trainer Course contact:
TREAD Master Trainer
ScoutmasterMN@aol.com
703-495-8221
9190 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Phone: 301-530-9360
Scouts Participate in Leave No Trace Activities
NCAC Scouters recently had the amazing opportunity to participate in Leave No Trace (LNT) activities with the LNT Traveling Trainers. This energetic, two-person team travels around the country visiting national, state, and local parks to spread the word about LNT by engaging the public in participatory games and activities. LNT is a set of principles that guides people in thinking about the impacts of their actions in the outdoors (#LeaveNoTrace) while also having a great time (#EnjoyYourWorld). Not surprisingly, LNT is one of the foundational elements of BSA outdoor ethics and BSA outdoor code.
The Traveling Trainers did a phenomenal job of engaging our NCAC LNT Trainer and LNT Master Educators in the hand movements for the 7 principles of LNT, a relay game about the 10 essentials, another game about durable surfaces, an activity to guess the mystery water pollutant & how to properly dispose of it, and an exercise about scenarios they find the most disturbing with respect to impacts on the environment.
Our Scouters are proud to note the learning was not unidirectional. They have so much experience teaching LNT to Scouts & Scouters that they shared a few new tips and games with the Traveling Trainers, making for a great exchange of experiences by people passionate about minimizing their impact in the outdoors.
Scouts, venturers and their scouters interested in learning more about outdoor ethics can complete 5 requirements to earn the Outdoor Ethics Awareness award (https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/outdoor-ethics/awards/scouts-bsa/). Not to be left behind, Cub Scouts in NCAC can earn our council’s Cub Scout Outdoor Ethics Awareness award (http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/New-NCAC-Outdoor-Ethics-Awareness-award.pdf) by completing 4 requirements.
For scouts aged 14 and older plus scouters, NCAC will offer the LNT Trainer course twice this fall; see the NCAC Outdoor Ethics page (https://www.ncacbsa.org/training/outdoor-ethics/) for information.
Enjoy your world. Leave No Trace.