This Week in Scouting – October 15th, 2010
Hi Scouts! The Boy Scouts of America released a brand new merit badge pamphlet and circular badge this week and they should be in Scout shops by December. It’s all about Geocaching, and if you haven’t tried this new techno-version of “hide and seek” then you really need to give it a shot.
This is the perfect way to bring technology, adventure and the outdoors together as one. You use a handheld GPS device to help find the cache, and your Scouting skills to do it safely and efficiently. It is a truly fun and exciting hobby.
Take a look at the stories below. If you didn’t want to try it before, you’re going to want to now!
One of the goals of incorporating geocaching to the Scouting community was to get involved and engaged with thousands upon thousands of geocachers across the country. This gets existing Scouts more enthused and introduces potential new recruits to Scouting.In fact, if you’re looking for a way to recruit more Scouts, consider organizing a local geocaching event. It’s a great way to get your local youth community involved in a Scouting-type event and get them interested in joining. Just make sure you always keep safety in mind at all times!
Here’s a great recruiting event game we found at geoscouting.com – Sample Geoscouting Game.
Another great benefit of geocaching is how you can use it to promote, showcase or introduce an event or happening in your organization or local community.The folks over at the Lone Star District, part of the Circle 10 Council in North Texas, have put together an outstanding example of exactly how to do it.
They’ve put together an extended geocaching event which will showcase the contributions of their local Eagle Scouts.
Great job – and great idea! Lone Star Cache To Eagle Series (click on the FAQ link for all the details)
Geocaching is so big in certain places around the country that they dedicate full weekends and organize entire Camporees around it.Here’s a cool blog post from “RedHedMary”, wife of an avid geocacher and Scout. She describes the last several days helping set up, and then attending and participating in a local Grand Rapids Area Boy Scout Geocaching Camporee.
Sounds like you had a lot of fun, Mary. If you happen to read this blog, or if anyone else out there is experienced with setting up this type of event, let us know if there are any more tips you can share to coordinate and organize a
geocaching Camporee. Just leave a comment below.It’s a super-fun way to get more boys and girls involved with Scouting and Venturing – Geocaching Camporee.
Our Volunteer of the Week this week is none other than Dr. Mary Stevens. Dr. Stevens has been involved in Scouting since 1986. Over the years, she has volunteered her time and energy as a Tiger Cub, Den and Webelos Leader. She is a currently a Scoutmaster and Venturing Crew Leader.
Those credentials alone would put Dr. Stevens into the running for our Volunteer of the Week. But this is geocaching week – and this is where Mary Stevens excels!
An avid geocacher for many years, Mary put her geocaching and Scouting experience together and coined the term GeoScouting (GeoScouting.com), which is the use of geocaching to supplement or promote Scouting. She also proposed and created the geocaching event at the 2005 BSA Jamboree and the 2007 World Scout Jamboree. In addition to that, she authored an informal geocaching book called Geocaching for the Boy Scout Program.
And she did all of this on her own time, as a volunteer.
This is a very special week for Dr. Stevens as she also created the requirements for, and wrote the official BSA Geocaching Merit Badge. Congratulations to Dr. Mary Stevens. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and bringing geocaching to the BSA!
Well, that’s it for this week. As usual, we encourage everyone to leave a comment below with your thoughts and comments. Or, if there is a story we missed, you can let us know too.
Have an awesome week!