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Welcome and thank you for your interest in conservation. The intent of this web page is to educate and inform those in the Scouting community regarding initiatives available for conservation and the scouting program. It is also intended to be a one-stop clearing house for information regarding scouting conservation awards and programs available currently in the Clinton Valley Council.
Scouting since it's inception has had conservation woven into it's very fabric. Conservation is defined as, "Noun, 1. The action of conserving; protecting from loss or being used up; avoidance of waste. 2. The official protection and care of forests, rivers, and other natural resources. " per the World Book Dictionary. This definition is in line with the 9th point of the Scout Law regarding being thrifty.
Conservation for our scouts can play a very important role in a sense of ownership that our boys feel in their communities The development of good citizens is one of Scouting's aims, and citizens need to practice sound environmental living and conservation of natural resources. There is need for an extended program that will encourage young people to
Look at the entire process of resource use
Analyze how actions and judgments often create problems
Understand decision-making processes related to the environment
Seek out common sense methods that can be applied at home, in the community, in the state, and in the nation
Help improve quality of life
To provide this extended program is what the Conservation Committee hopes to do through promotion of the conservation awards program that is already set up through scouting, and by building relationships with our local, state, federal and non-profit agencies.
The conservation awards and program also provide a great way for your scouts to earn their advancements. Whether it is rank requirements for a Wolf Cub to Merit Badges for the First Class Boy Scout to the Ranger award there are ways for your scouts to earn them and help their communities as well.. It allows for both ideas for outings as well as providing opportunity to learn about helping our neighborhoods at the same time. This opportunity is not limited to just our suburban and rural neighborhoods but applies to our cities as well. We have ample opportunity there to help our environments and our neighborhoods to become cleaner, safer and more prosperous.
So with that I welcome you to our little corner of the web, and ask you to look around. You will find the cub and boy scouting handbooks, the boy scout field book, as well as the conservation handbook to be excellent references for a lot of the requirements and projects. For those wanting ideas and sound ways to do them the Conservation Handbook (available through the scout shop) is a good resource. |
