Scouting Programs

Jamboree On The Trail – May 8th

Jamboree On The Trail (JOTT) is an annual day for the World Scout Movement to hike together. All Scouts, whatever their age and wherever they may be in the world, are invited to participate in whatever way they can. Cubs and younger Scouting sections could visit a local nature trail as part of a weekend camp. A Scout Troop might check out a hiking trail while working on badge requirements. A Venturing Crew might make a Service Project out of restoring or maintaining a hiking trail.

In their own way, everyone will be hiking the same direction: towards a better future through Scouting. JOTT is held on the second Saturday of May each year.

Register your Den, Patrol, Unit, District or Council for a traditional in-person group hike or doing a social distanced hike with your family. https://jamboreeonthetrail.org/

History

JOTT started with a Canadian Scout Troop who hiked part of the Trans Canada Trail in 1997. This lead to the idea of a Scout hiking day for all sections and on any trail. Further discussion set the date for the first event as April 25, 1998; late enough that those in the Northern parts were likely to have trails free of snow on which to walk.

Reading list messages about the idea, UK Scouters began to wish that he could take part in this too. It then occurred to them that this needn’t be limited to the shores of Canada as there are trails to walk on all over the world. Scouters quickly agreed that this could be a world-wide event.

Now that the event was born, they discussed what to call it. For a while it was going to be World Wide Walk because it had been started through discussions on the World Wide Web. In the end, they decided on Jamboree On The Trail (JOTT).

The inaugural JOTT had over twenty-four thousand participants in seventeen countries around the world. From this beginning, Jamboree On The Trail has grown. JOTT 1999 had thirty thousand participants and JOTT 2000 was bigger still.

Jamboree On The Trail is the only international annual event for every member of the Scouting family; Scouts of all ages and all sorts. It is an ideal opportunity to come together in spirit with Scouts all over the world and to promote the world-wide aspect of this growing Movement.

Over three working days, 35 Scouts from Pack 888 in Colonial District led an invasive plant removal project, with 15 boys and girls from BSA Troop 993, Troop 876 and Troop 680, one Girl Scout from Troop 874, 40 adults and nine siblings, 101 people total to combine for 223.5 total service hours. They completed a sustainable environmental service project to apply for their fourth Hornaday Unit Award. This is the sixth time any unit will earn the award four times. The project in 2017 involved removing invasive Bradford Pear Trees; the project in 2018 was planting native trees, shrubs and perennials at the Mount Vernon Government Center; and in 2019 the project was building a pollinator garden at Hollin Meadows Elementary School.

When their annual spring service project was postponed by COVID-19, Pack 888 worked with Hornaday Advisor Sara Holtz to identify a project in their community, which offered space to gather scouts safely. They found a park in Fairfax County Park Authority’s (FCPA) Invasive Management Area Program (IMA) (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/invasive-management-area), and with IMA site leader Tim Resch, worked remove invasive plants such as English ivy, Japanese stiltgrass, Bush Honeysuckle, Oriental Bittersweet and Japanese Holly, from Hollin Meadows Park in Alexandria.

A big change from previous environmental service projects was the goal – instead of building pollinator gardens or planting native species, this project’s goal was destruction and removal of non-native plants. Mr. Resch began each work day with an information session on identifying specific invasive plants and how to properly remove them.

Safety was a top priority, and in compliance with BSA guidelines and FCPA IMA guidelines, wearing masks was required, and physical distance was achieved by breaking down into small groups, each assigned to a specific area, to allow individuals to spread out.

Webelos Rosie Edwards said “We had just been doing zoom meetings and things this summer, but at the service project I actually got to see my Den in person. It was really nice!”

Webelos Zoe Runnels said what she liked most was “doing it with other people and seeing how big the pile was that we made.”

Arrow of Light Carson Latimer said “It felt good to do something that was helping the Earth. And I could all see the progress we made.”

And Wolf Jakob Bongiovanni really enjoyed the vine cutting, and enjoyed the destruction.

Arrow of Light Leonardo S. Arevalo wrote a summary of the project, how the purpose was “to remove invasive plants, like English Ivy, which damages trees’ bark, later it will overtake the tree to kill it. The leader who made this task told us the strategy, to roll the English Ivy like a carpet. Pack 888 enjoyed helping Mother Nature to protect the trees to receive pure oxygen. I hope people are helping to protect this planet.”

“It is an incredible honor to receive the Hornaday award four times,” said Pack Cubmaster, Tom Scala. “Pack 888 has a longstanding commitment to conservation and preserving the integrity of local landmarks and natural settings. Our conservation service projects are an important part of our commitment in giving back to our local community, and we are humbled to receive this prestigious award that recognizes the importance of that commitment.”

Picture by Jennifer Scala