Author: Troop Webmaster

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National Trails Day – Sat, 2 June

Now there’s nothing a scout troop likes better than to be on the trail – so see if you can find a way to celebrate next Saturday… as it’s National Trails Day!

Organised by the American Hiking Society, #NationalTrailsDay is a concerted effort to improve a large number of trail miles, and to raise awareness of the benefits of our national, regional and local trails.

There are only a couple of ‘official’ events near us, but there are many many ways to share our appreciation of outdoor trails.

  1. Take the pledge – to leave the trail better than you found it. This is an easy one for all Scouts given our adherence to the Outdoor Code
  2. Join a working party to improve a trail
  3. Donate or buy some Trail merch

 

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Trip report: Henry Coe 2-nighter

Our April 2018 weekend event was a 2-night, 14-mile hike in Henry Coe State Park.

It’s been a while since the Troop did a Friday through Sunday trip; fortunately we were rewarded with beautiful still, clear weather for the night walk from the Park HQ to the Manzanita Point campgrounds.

On the way, we did some star-gazing, found a toad, and almost missed the site (thanks Mateo!). Everyone managed to setup their tents in the dark without issue.

On Saturday we awoke to the sounds of birds (and wild turkeys). The weather was cool but bright for the entire day – perfect for hiking. The route was tough – c 8 miles, with a 1600-foot continuous climb up from Poverty Flats to the top of Middle Ridge. We had a new scout, and some less-seasoned family members on the trip and they all came through with flying colors!

Sunday was a short, but tough, walk out – tough from the 25% slopes more than the light rain. A great mini-adventure.

T260: Henry Coe 1804

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Yard sale fundraiser success

via John L.

We had a great day today for the yard sale.  We enjoyed a tremendous turn out from both Scouts and families.

We made a grand total of $526! This is money that helps directly fund and support our high-adventure activities.

Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.

Yard sale photo gallery

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Retiring the flag

After having fun practicing fire building recently, the Troop put those skills to an important use last week: the retirement of several flags that had been entrusted to us after the end of their useful life.
The U.S. Flag code states that, “the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning“

The Scouts led four separate ceremonies, taking turns to play different roles and try different content. Always treating the flag and the proceedings with dignity.

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4 new Order of the Arrow members elected

via Scout A:

Last Monday, we had our Order of the Arrow (OA) election. , The OA is an honor society in the BSA that recognizes scouts who “best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives”.

In our OA election, we had our scouts vote on other scouts who were First Class and above on joining the Order of the Arrow

At least 50% of scouts must be present in order for the election to take place. After the introduction from our district representative for OA, the scouts were handed ballots to vote for the scouts they thought were worthy of receiving the opportunity of becoming Arrowmen.  However, they must not choose their friends, but choose those who are always helpful, kind to others, and generous in even the grim of situations.

Four Troop 260 Scouts were elected to join the OA and will be formerly inducted in the coming month.  Huge congratulations to all!

 

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Scouting is bouncing back in… Iraq!

Great news from the global scouting world: Scouting in Iraq is bouncing back strongly with 25,000 male and female members. Iraq originally joined World Scouting in 1914 – that’s only 4 years after BSA was founded in the USA!

[su_quote cite=”The New Arab” url=”https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2018/4/3/iraq-scouts-make-comeback-in-former-is-bastion-mosul”]But in 1999, the world scout body evicted the Iraqi chapter because it was allegedly being used by former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime for military training. But the Iraqi scouts kept operating. In 2017, they were readmitted into the international scouting world and have since grown to 25,000 members across the country.[/su_quote]

Play the short video below to learn a bit more

[twitter_video id=”982261277853605890″]

 

 

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Fire lighting challenge

The PLC planned a fireflghting skills development session for last week: two teams, the first to get the twine to burn through wins!

Photo gallery below, click for more

What did the Scouts learn? Lots!

  1. remember the Fireman Chit basics: water handy, shovel/fire tool, distance and safety
  2. make haste slowly – prepare your stages, especially the tinder and kindling
  3. trying to get natural tinder to take a spark (as opposed to a match and paper) is hard! Practice makes perfect.

I have a feeling that this will be an activity the PLC decides to repeat before too long 🙂

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BSA focus on female youth participation

Now that female youth are welcomed in Cubs and scouts is opening up to female youth too, it is great to see official BSA communications highlighting their participation.

The latest Scouting Wire has a feature story on female Cubs participating in the recent pinewood derby.

Here at Troop 260, our focus has long been on high adventure scouting for all the family. Watch this space for upcoming information on how we are moving early to formally extend our Troop to female youth.

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Get outside with 260 – it’s good for your brain!

A recent Scouting Wire article highlights research from Spain and the US that shows being outside in nature has a positive impact on kids’ brain development

[su_quote cite=”Scouting Wire”]The study from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has found that long-term exposure to green space during childhood is associated with structural changes to the brain that lead to improved memory and less distraction. Additionally, children who grew up in environments with more exposure to nature had more activity in the regions of their brain associated with learning and social skills[/su_quote]

Read the full article here.