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Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Leave No Trace

Outdoor Ethics Newsletter

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The July newsletter featured an interview with Paul Schimke, NCAC scouter, LNT Master Educator, LNT State Advocate (MD)…

As we know, outdoor ethics is a critically important aspect of scouting. It is central to everything we do in BSA, how we live the outdoor code/law/oath/motto, how we use resources wisely & how we live as humans on planet Earth. Sara Holtz, Chair of the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Committee & Leave No Trace Master Educator, created an Outdoor Ethics newsletter that includes upcoming courses, best practices, interviews with members, news from our community, awards, project ideas, etc

In the June newsletter, we recognized Dan Ambrose, Brent Peate, Carol Brown, and Griffin Roblyer – new NCAC Leave No Trace Master Educators!

Complete this form if you’d like to subscribe: https://forms.gle/bWfZwwZduhFXQSvA6

You do not need to be an Leave No Trace Trainer/Master Educator, Tread Trainer, Master Tread Trainer, or in NCAC to subscribe, so please subscribe and please share this with scouters interested in outdoor ethics, Leave No Trace, Tread Lightly, the Land Ethic, environmental issues, conservation practices. There are currently subscribers from 12 councils!

Evelyn Bruno led the OE Orientation and OE Guide courses in June in Brandywine. 
In the June newsletter, we get a glimpse of the Outdoor Ethics Guide course held in Oakton – scouts are seen here straining the dishwasher.

 

Scouts and Scouters at the Oakton Outdoor Ethics Guide course demonstrate the thumb trick. 

Virtual Leave No Trace Trainer Course

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Written by: Scout Louis

The Leave No Trace Trainer course teaches Scouts and Scouters the 7 principles of Leave No Trace (LNT) at more than a basic level. This next step on learning outdoor ethics gives each of its participants and teachers a new and refreshing view that goes more in depth than the simpler, half day session that is available on a high adventure trip. The class helps its students better understand why LNT is important, how they can implement its teachings, and how to pass on the knowledge that they have learned to their home Units, Crews, Ships, and communities.

The course is traditionally taught in an outdoor environment, over the course of a weekend. However, due to restrictions with the current COVID-19 pandemic, a different approach was offered: an online Trainer course. The course was completed over the course of a week, from the homes of the participants and instructors over Zoom calls. This way, each of the participants could safely learn the material and still be trained in a timely manner.

While the experience lacked the luster of an outdoor setting, I still enjoyed the course. The spread of the information over several days allowed the messages to really sink in with me, and with the reduced group size I felt a close connection to both my fellow participants and the instructors that taught us. With this class I was able to broaden and strengthen my knowledge of LNT and its importance for protecting the natural environment.

LNT is an important part of Scouting that can be easily overlooked or forgotten. Learning to take care of the environment, for both ourselves and those who come after us, helps preserve the beauty and experiences people seek in the outdoors. With the new information acquired from this class, I am confident in bringing the material to my unit as an older Scout, to my OA Chapter as the Camping Promotions Chairman, and to everyone that I continue to meet in the future as a Leave No Trace Trainer. I continue to aim to protect the outdoors and improve the enjoyment of people- Scouts, Scouters, and the general public- while in nature.

UPDATED – NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award for Cubs

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The PEAK Online course to learn the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace.

The requirements for the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs have been updated to include a new online Leave No Trace awareness course for kids ages 7-12 called PEAK Online. It includes videos and activities to help kids understand the Seven Principles and how Leave No Trace skills and ethics can help protect the outdoor places we love. This online PEAK course replaces the Leave No Trace online course.

Updated requirements to earn the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs:
1. Learn the BSA Outdoor Code
2. Watch the National Park Service Leave No Trace (LNT) video
3. Take the LNT online course
4. Participate in an Outdoor Ethics activity with a person who has taken the Outdoor Ethics Orientation, the LNT Skills course, the LNT Level 1 course, or the LNT Level 2 course.

The NCAC Outdoor Ethics Committee created this patch program to recognize Cub Scout youth and adults who are active Leave No Trace practitioners and to encourage & promote ethical outdoor behavior beginning at a young age. Outdoor Ethics is needed today more than ever before when millions of scouts regularly recreate in parks and public lands. The impact of this use cannot be ignored but can be minimized by teaching and practicing Outdoor Ethics as Cub Scouts and continuing as Boy Scouts and adults.

 

The NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs.