Leave No Trace (Paddy Pallin Podcast)

Cameron Crowe from Leave No Trace Australia is the guest in the current episode of the Paddy Pallin Adventurer Series of Podcasts;

Leave No Trace Podcast

How many times have you wanted to do something positive for the environment but not known where to start?

Cameron Crowe felt the urge to make a positive contribution to conserving our environment and has spent the last 9 years establishing the Leave No Trace education program in Australia. Through the promotion of the Leave No Trace principals Cameron and others at Leave No Tace are making it easier for you and I to minimise our impact when in the outdoors by providing the information we need to make a positive change in our behaviour.

In this episode of the Paddy Pallin Adventurer Series of Podcasts you can hear Cameron’s inspiring story of the Leave No Trace principals and the growth of the organisation in Australia. This is a truly inspirational story not to be missed.

Paddy Pallin: Adventurer Series Of Podcasts: Leave No Trace
Duration: 44:00 m – Filetype: mp3 – Bitrate: 128 KBPS – Frequency: 44100 HZ

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St George’s Day 23-April :: Knights of St George

The Scout movement has been celebrating St. George’s Day on April 23 since its first years, and St. George is the patron saint of many other organizations. [1] St. George’s Day commemorates the passing of the Patron Saint of Scouting and Rovering, Rovers around the country hold ceremonies to commemorate the occasion each year and all Scouts are welcome to join them. [2]

“I look to you chaps to be the knights of the Twentieth Century.”
— B-P

Scout in the role of Saint George.
From Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys (1908)

I have a little totem hanging over my writing-table. I have it there because it is an inspiring little figure. It helps to tune one up when there’s an ugly or a difficult job on hand.
When we were a rich country and used to have real sovereigns to spend, that same figure was to be seen there. It is a man on a horse, tackling an ugly-looking dragon. St. George is his name.
I have got a lot of drawings, both ancient and modern, of him.
There is one that I like better than the rest, not because it is a better picture, for it isn’t ; but because in it St. George is shown with a devil of a grin on he is tackling the dragon with a smile, cheerily, and he means to win.
And that is the way to tackle any difficulty however ugly it may look.
— BP, Rovering To Success

In a traditional Rover Crew an invested Rover is knighted as a Knight of St George, before being invested the probationary Rover goes through squire training which also has its basis in the training of Knights. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

LINKS:
[1] St George’s Day [wikipedia]
[2] St. George’s Day [Scouts Australia]
[3] The Traditional Rover Scout Handbook by Sir Baden-Powell [inquiry.net]
[4] Rover Squire’s Vigil by Sir Baden-Powell [inquiry.net]
[5] Rover Squire’s Investiture by Sir Baden-Powell [inquiry.net]
[6] A Rover Scout Investiture [Rover 101]
[7] Rover Scouts – Scouting for Men [Scouting Milestones]
[8] The Dump – Rovers [The Dump – Resources For Scouting]

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Australian Pinewood derby kit

We had discussed the possibility of using a Pinewood/KubKar activity in 2009 as our year off from the Billy Cart Derby. I have found an online local supplier of Pinewood Derby Kits, namely the Rangers Australia store.

I purchased a couple of the complete kits to see what shipped with them;

kit

I have been having an email discussion with Rangers Australia, and they can arrange for us to do a bulk purchase so that we save on postage (and save on GST if we have a registration number for not paying GST).

Complete kit:
* Pinewood Derby Kit complete with patch $10.00

Component pricing:
* Pinewood Derby block $3.00
* Pinewood Derby axle kit $3.00
* Pinewood Derby wheel kit $3.00
* Pinewood Derby wheel and axle kit $5.00

Complete kit (no badge):
This makes the cost of a kit without the badge;
* Pinewood Derby block, wheel and axle kit $8.00

Badges:
We would need to get a custom badge manufactured or perhaps purchase generic BSA badges.
eg. Pinewood Derby® 09 Emblem Price: US$1.19

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JOTT 2009 · Jamboree On The Trail

Saturday, May 9, 2009
Scouts Walking Together World Wide

Jamboree On The Trail is an annual day for the World Scout Movement to hike together. All Scouts, whatever their age and wherever they may be in the world, are invited to participate in whatever way they can. Cubs and younger Scouting sections could visit a local nature trail as part of a weekend camp. A Scout Troop might check out a hiking trail while working on badge requirements. A Rover Crew might make a Service Project out of restoring or maintaining a hiking trail. In their own way, everyone will be hiking the same direction: towards a better future through Scouting. JOTT is held on the second Saturday of May each year. [1]

The Australian JOTT contact is Peter Thomas < australia@jott.org >

Nillumbik District Cub Scouts will participate in the 2009 Jamboree of The Trail on Saturday 9th May. More details will be made available closer to the date.

There is no District JOTT activity but we will have a 1st Eltham JOTT Hike.

LINKS:
[1] JOTT: Jamboree On The Trail [JOTT]
[2] JOTT · Discussing Jamboree On The Trail, an international event for the worldwide family of Scouts [Yahoo!Group]
[3] Jamboree On The Trail (JOTT) [Scouts NewEngland]>

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ANZAC Day 2009

via Scouts Victoria Newsletter April 2009;

Anzac Day Generally
Many Groups and formations support the ANZAC ceremonies. Correct, smart uniform is required on these public occasions. It is our policy that it is the responsibility of the leader in charge of this day’s activity to specify in advance the nature of the trousers, footwear and head ware expected with the now standard blue shirt.
Wearing a uniform is about uniformity and it is important for the community to see this on this occasion.

Anzac Day In Melbourne
All members are advised to ensure they are wearing full uniform and are wearing long trousers of the appropriate colour, along with dark brown or black shoes. Multi coloured sneakers are not acceptable. Members not dressed in a fitting manner will not be permitted to carry out a role as part of the official Scout presence. This is our chance to perform a valued service and present a great image of Scouting. Let us consider the dignity of the day and respect the wishes of the RSL and returned service personnel.

Their Service Our Heritage Badge
Each year those Scouts who participate in an ANZAC Day in April or Remembrance Day in November event and show they understand the history of ANZAC & Remembrance Day, are able to be presented with a ‘Their Service Our Heritage ‘ badge. This year as for last year, the badge will be the reduced size to fit on the blue uniform. The three year cycle of over locked coloured borders will remain.
Badges may be ordered by contacting Reception at Victorian Scout Centre. Pricing will be $1.50 (including postage and GST).
Youth who turn up to help with the Melbourne ANZAC Day March will receive a complimentary badge on the day.

More details regarding Their Service Our Heritage Award over on the Gellibranded blog.

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Preparations – Sir John Hunt’s preparation for Everest (1953)

Sometimes “Be Prepared” can be said lightly, sometimes being prepared is something you really need to work at. I am currently reading Sir John Hunts publication detailing the successful 1953 Everest expedition that I had picked up in hard copy and put into my reading pile. As I was reading, I thought this extract gave an interesting perspective on being prepared.

THE ASCENT OF EVEREST
CHAPTER THREE
PREPARATIONS: ONE
ORGANIZING a major expedition, whether it be to the Himalaya, the polar regions or darkest Africa, is a formidable business. I have experience only of the first of these undertakings, but I can now sympathize deeply with those who have the cares of planning and preparing missions in other realms of adventure or research. Imagine that you are charged with the task of fulfilling, in company with others, a long and exceptionally arduous task, in some remote and uninhabited corner of the earth’s surface, where climatic conditions are extreme. The success of your mission depends primarily on the human factor, on the joint efforts of every man in your team, and failure moral or physical by even one or two of these would add immensely to its difficulties. You have the responsibility of seeking and selecting these men, in whom you are looking for a happy combination of qualities which are difficult to reconcile. You will not be able, in most cases at any rate, to test these qualities, at least in conditions comparable with those which will confront you it is unlikely that you will even be acquainted with most of them beforehand. You have to ensure that the party is suitably clothed and equipped to carry out its job in the especially rigorous conditions, and that it takes with it all the tools it is likely to require for the job, bearing in mind that communications will be so extended, slow and difficult that you must be entirely self-contained for the duration of your mission. Some of this equipment is highly specialized, and difficult questions of design and quantities have to be decided. Provisions have to be calculated for the whole period of your absence from civilization and they must be carefully chosen; a diet must be established suitable to the climate and the nature of
the work. All these numerous items of equipment and food must be ordered, many of them only after thorough testing in conditions as nearly as possible approximating to those likely to be met. Arrangements must be made for packing, cataloguing and moving them, as well as the party, to the starting-point in a distant land, and from that point onwards by more primitive transport to the area of operations. Last but by no means least of these manifold headaches, and governing the whole enterprise, is the problem of financing it; it is your job to calculate the costs. To complete this picture, suppose that you are given a bare minimum of time to launch the expedition and that you take it on with the ever-present possibility of its being cancelled when the preparations are well under way. You also realize that it will be necessary for you to make provision for a second expedition to carry on in the event of failure. In such a predicament you would, I fancy, be inclined to think that you were faced with as tough an assignment as any you had ever undertaken or were ever likely to in the future. …
— Sir John Hunt (1953) The Ascent of Everest

Gives a whole different outlook for the next time that you are packing for a camp.

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ScoutLinks April-2009

“I want Scouts to promote responsible risk-taking amongst young people because as a nation we are ensuring our kids grow up in strait jackets, where they take no risks. As a boy, I enjoyed camping and climbing in Scouts. I accept there is going to be a risk involved but Scouts are best placed to help manage that risk and now, more than ever, we need to stop wrapping our kids in cotton wool and let them discover their true potential.” — Dick Smith (2008-Dec)

UK Scouting Magazine
April/May 2009 page.
Scouting Magazine April/May 2009 [PDF]
Cub Scout Supplement [PDF]
Scout Supplement [PDF]

May 2009 BSA Cub Scout Theme: LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS

• USSSP Baloo’s Bugle [PDF]: Volume 15 Issue 9 – April 2009
• BSA Cub Scout Program Helps May 2009 [PDF]
  (2008-2009 Program Helps Full Download [PDF])

• Buckeye District Roundtable May 2009
  Leave Nothing But Footprints [PDF]

• CubCast Leave Nothing But Footprints – April 2009, part 1
  CubCast Spring Recruiting – April 2009, part 2

Boy’s Life Magazine
Links found in April 2009 Boys’ Life magazine

The Dump
This month my featured book from “The Dump” Resources For Scouting is; Letters To A Wolf Cub [PDF]. This book is a good read, I have managed to pick up a few of these second hand for my Scouting library.

Letters To A Wolf Cub – No. 6. in the Gilcraft series. Deals with the Tenderpad, First and Second Star Tests in a manner which is understandable by the Cub himself, and points out the parallels between the Cub tests and the Jungle books. Is a companion volume to WOLF CUBS, and just as useful to the Cubmaster.

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