Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
Scouts BSA

Outdoor Programs

Scouts BSA is designed to take place outdoors. It is in the outdoor setting that Scouts share responsibilities and learn to live with one another. In the outdoors the skills and activities practiced at troop meetings come alive with purpose. Being close to nature helps Scouts gain an appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. The outdoors is the laboratory in which Scouts learn ecology and practice conservation of nature's resources.

Ideals

The ideals of Scouts BSA are spelled out in the Scout Oath, the Scout Law, the Scout motto, and the Scout slogan. The Scout measures himself against these ideals and continually tries to improve. The goals are high, and as the Scout reaches for them, he or she has some control over what and who he or she becomes.

Advancement

Scouts BSA provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. The Scout plans his/her advancement and progresses at his/her own pace as he meets each challenge. The Scout is rewarded for each achievement, which helps the Scout gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Patrols

The patrol method gives Scouts an experience in group living and participating citizenship. It places responsibility on young shoulders and teaches members how to accept it. The patrol method allows Scouts to interact in small groups where members can easily relate to each other. These small groups determine troop activities through elected representatives, the Patrol Leaders.

The Scout Troop

Scout Patrols are organized into Troops, under the leadership of an elected Senior Patrol Leader, and encouraged and advised by an adult Scoutmaster and his (or her) assistants. The SPL and Patrol Leaders make up a Patrol Leaders Council which plans and carries out the Troop's program.

The Troop will usually have an outing once a month, and most troops will plan a major trip or high adventure activity at least once a year, such as a touring trip to Washington DC, or a hike on a Historic Trail. 

Troop Meetings

Most Troops hold regular weekly meetings - see the chart, below, to see when each of our District's Troops meet. 

At the weekly Troop meetings, Scouts can work on their advancement, learn Scout Skills, plan for their next outing, play games and generally have fun. Meetings may also involve guest speakers or field trips to local points of interest. 

Summer meetings are usually less formal, with the Scouts taking advantage of the good weather and late sunsets to hike or swim or do other outdoor activities. 

Going Places...

Scouts are active, by definition. You'll find them out on the hiking trail, or riding their bikes around Cayuga Lake on a weekend bike hike. 

Summer Camp

What would a Scout's Summer be without a week at Summer Camp? Our Council operates two camps - Camp Barton on Cayuga Lake and Camp Tuscarora in the Catskills.

Food is always a hit among hungry Scouts - here at the Hungry Games, a Camporee on a cooking theme.

Several times a year the Troop will meet with other troops for a weekend activity, usually organized by the District or Council. These "Camporees" often involve competition between Patrols in games involving Scout Skills, physical activity, and problem solving. Sometimes a Camporee will focus on a Merit Badge or a theme such as Nature or Survival.

See our Scrapbook page for pictures and descriptions of past District Camporees. 

Scouts practice firebuilding skills at a Winter Camporee

Scouts earned Aviation Merit Badge and got to fly at a Flying Camporee

A World-Wide Movement

A Scout is a member of a world-wide movement - there are Scouting organizations in almost every country. While he is in the Scouts, a Scout may have the opportunity to take part in an International activity involving Scouts from other countries, such as a National Jamboree or the Blair Atholl Scottish Jamborette, or he might host an overseas Scout here on home visitation. 

If you are interested in starting a new Pack, Troop or Crew in your area, please contact the Taughannock District Executive at DE@TompkinsCortlandScouts.org

A note on girls in Scouts BSA

Girls between 11-17 years of age are eligible to join Scouts BSA (the program formerly called "Boy Scouts"), but each troop is single-gender, called "Scouts BSA Troop (x) for Boys" or "Scouts BSA Troop (x) for Girls". A sponsor can sponsor a troop for boys, or one for girls, or it can choose to sponsor two affiliated troops, one for each gender. The two affiliated troops may share a single troop committee, and may meet at the same time and place and plan joint activities - but each troop must have its own Scoutmaster (that is, one person cannot be Scoutmaster of both troops). An affiliated boy troop and girl troop pair has the option to use the same troop number for everyday use, although for paperwork purposes the two troops will have some difference in the BSA computer records - so, for example, if the sponsor of current Troop 46 forms an affiliated girls-only troop, it might be "Troop 6046" in the computer, but all of the girls and boys and leaders would wear "46" on their sleeves. The first girl troop in our district, for example, is Troop 613 in Trumansburg, affiliated with Troop 13 for boys. 

It should also be noted that Scouts BSA is a program of the Boy Scouts of America. All youth members in the Scouts BSA program, boys or girls, are called, simply, "Scouts". Scouts BSA Troops for Girls are not a part of, or connected with, the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), which is a separate organization.  Girls who are members of Scouts BSA should never be referred to as "Girl Scouts", which is a trademark of the GSUSA.