Scout camp’s new Skilled Trades Center will introduce young people to in-demand fields

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At the Middle Tennessee Council’s Boxwell Reservation, Scouts learn to shoot a bow and arrow, swim, and survive in the wilderness. Starting next summer, thanks to some generous donors and forward-thinking Scouters, they’ll also learn to fix a leaky faucet, paint a house and change a car’s oil. Those essential life lessons will be delivered inside a new …

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Retired BSA professional’s second act: A YouTube channel teaching outdoor skills

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As instructional YouTube videos go, it isn’t the fanciest. There are no slick graphics, fancy transitions or endless calls to “smash that subscribe button.” Instead of frenetic, this host is patient as he takes viewers through an 8-minute overview of three basic canoeing strokes: the sweep, the power stroke and the J-stroke. But what this …

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Camp Barstow’s bundle system keeps Scouts learning at summer camp

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If you’ve attended summer camp with your unit, you’ve probably had to help Scouts who couldn’t find their merit badge class sites or had trouble getting from one site to another in time. The staff at Camp Barstow in Batesburg, S.C., came up with a solution. Camp director Jason Spangler and program director Chris McDuffie implemented a …

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Troops and ships in this council use an Honor Bell to salute people and events

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It’s heard at somber moments, like the anniversary of 9/11, a funeral for a fallen firefighter or a memorial to soldiers killed in the line of duty. It’s heard in happier times, too, like Independence Day, Constitution Day and Eagle Scout courts of honor. All across the Old North State Council in North Carolina, the Honor …

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10 facts about the first Wood Badge course to celebrate its 100th anniversary

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A century ago, in a forest not far from London, a group of Scouting volunteers made history. Over a span of nearly two weeks, they experienced a course, devised by Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell, that offered “practical instruction as to how a camp should be run.” Quite a bit has changed since the world’s first …

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‘Linked troop’ Wood Badge course at SBR will blaze a new trail for training

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An inventive new Wood Badge course, scheduled for January 2020 at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, will give participants a chance to experience the “linked troop” model used by many Scouts BSA troops. Everything about the course breaks the Wood Badge mold in exciting ways. There’s the fresh format, the location at the BSA’s newest high-adventure …

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Book goes ‘Back to Gilwell’ to uncover ‘The History of Wood Badge in the United States’

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Update, Nov. 20, 2019: The book is back in stock at a new publisher. You can order it here. A new book published by the Boy Scouts of America tracks the fascinating history of Wood Badge, from its founding by Lord Baden-Powell in 1919 to its current role as the BSA’s essential training program for …

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Summit Bechtel Reserve hosts its first Wood Badge course, creating a template for other councils

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Even as Wood Badge prepares to turn 100 next year, it’s still charting new territory. Last month, a group of Scouters from across the country held the first Wood Badge course in the history of the Summit Bechtel Reserve. While the syllabus for this essential leadership training for Scout leaders was unchanged, this was a Wood …

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Man finds treasure trove of long-lost Wood Badge documents

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Today’s Wood Badgers can get by without a handkerchief, canvas wash basin or second spoon. But those were considered essential pieces of gear 70 years ago at the very first Wood Badge course in the U.S. It’s been seven decades since July 31, 1948, when 29 men descended on Schiff Scout Reservation in New Jersey to …

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Earn this special patch to celebrate 70 years of Wood Badge in U.S.

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On July 31, 1948, William “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt served as Scoutmaster at the first official Wood Badge course in the United States. Seventy years later, Wood Badge has grown into an essential training experience for adult volunteers. You’ll find proud Wood Badge alumni — myself included — in every council in the country. Celebrate …

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