Scouting, Volume 80, Number 4, September 1992 Page: 80
98 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Green Message (from page 41)
gain?
Dave Catlin, Advisor to Explorer
Post 58 in Springfield, Mo., offers a
ready answer. "Our goal is to give
them as diverse an array of experi-
ences in the field of conservation as we
At a nature center
in Missouri,
Explorers take part
in fish and quail
surveys and join
other volunteers to
remove litter along
a creek bank.
can," he says, "and make it fun at the
same time."
Catlin manages the Springfield Na-
ture Center, which is part of the Mis-
souri Department of Conservation and
is also the post's chartered organiza-
tion. To help the facility, Explorers
transplanted prairie sod from an indus-
trial park construction site, creating a
natural outdoor exhibit of flora that the
nature center lacked. They've also
learned wildlife management tech-
niques by taking part in area fish and
quail surveys.
When the nature center adopted the
entire length of Galloway Creek, which
runs through the center's land, post
members joined other "stream team"
volunteers in removing litter along the
banks.
But the Explorers' efforts have gone
even further, working on biological and
habitat assessments of the creek.
They've completed chemical tests of
the water and assessed erosion, flood
plain vegetation, and aquatic insect life
—all indicators of stream quality.
Post 58's activities include key char-
acteristics that might be on every
leader's project wish list. A project, for
example, should:
• be lively, varied, challenging, and
geared to the group's capabilities
• let young people use and expand
their skills and knowledge
• be worthwhile and memorable.
Ideally, a service project should lead
to a greater appreciation for the natu-
ral world and a lasting desire to pre-
serve and restore it.
You can get project ideas by taking a
good look around your own community
and reading your local newspaper.
Contact city agencies and local
branches of state and federal depart-
ments concerned with the environ-
ment and conservation.
Check with local high school and col-
lege science departments. Best of all,
include your Scouts or Explorers in the
it
id!
"Don't eat that—it's been on the ground
search. They'll probably come up with
some innovative ideas that will please
everyone in the group.
Look for all possible types of in-
volvement. For example, Explorers in
the new recycling Post 500, chartered
to the Beautification Board of We-
tumpka, Ala., will serve the environ-
ment and learn about the business
In Arkansas, a
troop has planted
1,500 trees per
Scout, although it
will be years before
they realize the
full benefits of
their efforts.
world. Their varied activities include
contacting businesses to evaluate
waste goods, investigating markets for
selling recyclables, and gaining experi-
ence in good recycling practices.
Training your group
As a fifth-grade science teacher and
the 1987 Arkansas Conservation
Teacher of the Year, Paul House had
invited representatives from state
agencies to speak at school and help
with a field day at his farm.
As Scoutmaster of Troop 6 in Jones-
boro, House asked the same agency
people to train his Scouts in conserva-
tion. Preparing them for future envi-
ronmental service projects, agents
counseled Scouts for working on Soil
and Water Conservation, Forestry,
and Fish and Wildlife Management
merit badges.
Northeastern Arkansas now glows
greener because of Troop 6, which is
chartered to Jonesboro's First United
Methodist Church. Since 1989, the
troop has planted 1,500 trees per Scout
at the Pine Trails Scout Reservation.
They provided a food source for wild
animals by planting bundles of shrubs
and trees in the state game and fish
commission's "Acres for Wildlife" pro-
gram. And they've gathered acorns
and cypress seeds for later sowing into
the wetlands along the St. Francis
River, restoring trees to land taken out
of tillage.
"They'll be grown men before they
realize what their efforts have done,
but it will be well worth it," says
Scoutmaster House. "Reclamation of
the wetlands of Arkansas will be very
80
Scouting September 1992
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 80, Number 4, September 1992, periodical, September 1992; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353640/m1/80/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.