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Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

outdoor ethics

Pack 1859’s Journey to Earn the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award

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Cubs in Pack 1859 from Sully District are earning the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs. Before the recommendations to suspend all in-person Scouting events, they dedicated their last pack meeting to Outdoor Ethics and Leave No Trace!

Pack 1859 holding Leave No Trace reference cards.

The NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award has 4 requirements.
1. Cubs and Scouters recited the Outdoor Code together as a pack. The Outdoor Code captures the essence of the Scouting Outdoor Ethic and establishes our aspirations and commitment.

2. They viewed the Leave No Trace video, produced by the National Park Service and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. This video introduces the 7 principles of Leave No Trace.

3. Cubs and Scouters learned some of the principles by playing interactive games with a person who has taken the Outdoor Ethics Orientation, the Leave No Trace Trainer course, or the Leave No Trace Master Educator course. They played the trash timeline, the durable surface game, a wildlife habitat matching game, the animal vault game, and the thumb trick.

Cub Scouts determining whether surfaces are durable for hiking.
Learning the Thumb Trick to respect wildlife by keeping a safe distance.

4. At home with an adult they will take the Leave No Trace online awareness course. This online course can be tricky, even for adults, so do your best.

The NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award for Cub Scouts .

To learn more about LNT check out their online awareness course!

Register for the Outdoor Ethics Leave No Trace Trainer Course!

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What is the purpose of this class?

The Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity Scout, Venturing, and Sea Scout programs all include outdoor stewardship, care for the environment, and Leave No Trace as part of their programs. This course is offered to train adults as Leave No Trace Trainers and youth aged 14+ to serve their units as Outdoor Ethics Guides. Every Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity Scout, Venturing, and Sea Scout unit should have at least one individual fully trained in Leave No Trace.  

We recommend that youth complete this course before serving as in the troop Outdoor Ethics Guide position.

Who should attend?

Venturers, Sea Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Scouts BSA aged 14+; adult Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Varsity, Venturing, and Sea Scout leaders; and District and Council leaders and trainers.

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What will I learn?

This course is designed to enhance your understanding of Leave No Trace practices and outdoor ethics, and to increase your level of expertise and confidence in teaching Leave No Trace skills. This class is both active and highly interactive. You will be introduced to concepts and methods that will advance your knowledge of Leave No Trace issues in both developed and high adventure environments, expand your repertoire of low-impact skills, and increase your effectiveness in teaching these important skills to others. You will be qualified to lead a unit in completing the last requirement for the BSA Outdoor Ethics Awareness award and the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness award for Cubs.

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On completion of this course, participants will be registered as Leave No Trace Trainers with the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and with the BSA. Students will receive Leave No Trace teaching materials, a certificate of course completion, a Leave No Trace Trainer lapel pin and patch, and a BSA Leave No Trace Trainer card.

This course is instructed by nationally designated Leave No Trace Master Educators and Trainers. Attendance for the entire duration of the training is required.

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(Campsite location, equipment list, and other course details will be emailed to participants a few weeks prior to the course. Each participant will have an assignment to prepare for the training.) Please remember this course is taught entirely in the outdoors and we will camp out Saturday evening.

To register for March 28-29, 2020 at Camp Snyder visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-NV1, for April 18-19, 2020 at Izaak Walton League in Gaithersburg please visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-MD1# or June 6-7, 2020 in Southern Maryland visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-SMD. 

Leave No Trace Trainer Course

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My name is Quinton Waddy, I am the Outdoor Ethics Guide for Troop 1188 in Manassas, VA. I am a Life Scout working on my Eagle Scout rank. During a weekend in October my father and I took the Leave No Trace Trainer course, which is recognized by Scouts BSA, and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. The Cub Scout, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scout programs all include outdoor stewardship, care for the environment, and Leave No Trace as part of their programs. This Course is designed to enhance your understanding of Leave No Trace practices and outdoor ethics, and to increase your level of expertise and confidence in teaching Leave No Trace skills.

My experience taking the LNT Trainer course was amazing. You can take the course in a car-camping setting or as a backpacking trip, I chose the backpacking trip for a more hands-on experience. I met many wonderful people and made new friends. There are seven parts to LNT: Plan Ahead and Prepare; Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces; Dispose of Waste Properly; Leave What You Find; Minimize Campfire Impacts; Respect Wildlife; and Be Considerate of Other Visitors.

I enjoyed my time learning about the different parts of LNT from keeping our environment clean to digging cat holes. I went in thinking it was going to be an awkward and boring weekend, but I enjoyed every second of it because of the fun and games each trainee had planned for their subjects they had to teach. I taught Pack it in Pack it out. I had my fellow trainees play a matching game with the time it takes an item to be processed back into the earth and the chronological order of them to degrade. They had a fun time figuring it out and it worked on their communication, leadership, and teambuilding skills. The program gets everyone in attendance involved, anyone participating will teach a subject and play the games that are created by the teacher of each subject.

This program has helped me and my Troop out so much already. I had the Scouts in my Troop and in the Cub Scouts practice Leave No Trace while they were doing Scouting for Food. Leave No Trace is a great program and I recommend that all Scouts take it because it goes more in depth to the meaning of our Outdoor Code.

Here is a website on LNT and Tread Lightly where you can take online quizzes and earn awards. https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/outdoor-ethics/awards/scouts-bsa/

Pack 572 Leaves No Trace

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Last month the theme for our pack meeting was Leave No Trace. Ms. Holtz came to our meeting and taught us about the Outdoor Code and the Leave No Trace Principles. She showed us how to be safe in the outdoors, and what we can do as Scouts to keep the environment clean.

We also got to play some fun games where we learned about how long different types of trash take to break down. Let’s just say that styrofoam never goes away!

I never thought about what she called ‘micro trash’ before. That’s what happens when you just peel off a corner of a granola bar and it gets lost in the leaves on the ground. It’s easy to lose and not good for the environment.

Everyone had a great time and learned a lot. Thank you, Ms. Holtz!

Scout Odin Apsey
Pack 572
Den 2

For more information on the NCAC Outdoor Ethics Awareness Award for Cubs vistit: http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/New-NCAC-Outdoor-Ethics-Awareness-award.pdf

Outdoor Ethics Awareness

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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!

Scouts for Conservation

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Scouts displayed their conservation projects as part of the Sustainable Garden Tour hosted the weekend of June 9 by the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. The annual garden tour features homes, churches, schools, and libraries with native plant landscaping, rain barrels, wildlife habitat, composting, rain gardens, and grass-free front yards.

One Eagle Scout presented his Hornaday Badge project and Eagle project to remove invasive plants at South Run Rec Center in Springfield, Virginia. He led an effort to mobilize volunteers to remove invasive vines and plants. Invasive plants are plants that are non-native and spread so quickly and aggressively that they prevent native plants from growing. The Fairfax County Park Authority’s Invasive Management Area (IMA) program coordinates site leaders at over 60 sites throughout Fairfax County.

Another other Eagle Scout discussed his project to remove highly-invasive Japanese stiltgrass at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, Virginia. He orchestrated several work days for Scouts and the public. During the second phase of his project, he led volunteers to plant common milkweed and other native plants in the area where the stiltgrass had been removed. This project also collaborated with the IMA program and helped the Scout earn the a Hornaday Award in addition to his Eagle Scout Award.

This garden tour provided an excellent opportunity for Scouts to educate the public, advocate for environmental action, and showcase some of the amazing conservation service projects led by Scouts.