Camping

In the outdoor setting, our Scouts share responsibilities and learn to work together. The outdoors is where the skills and activities learned in Troop meetings come alive with a purpose. Being in nature helps Scouts appreciate the wonder of the outdoors and humankind’s place in the universe. The outdoors is the laboratory for Scouts to learn ecology and practice conservation of nature’s resources. Scouting has always been a green organization, teaching conservation before it was popular. Scouts always leave our campsite better than the way we found it.

The outdoor experience is also important because it creates challenges and adversity in a controlled environment where Scouts can overcome and bond as a team. You learn quickly how to build a campfire on a cold night! Put a tent or a tarp up on a rainy campout. You also learn how to improvise when a piece of equipment breaks when you are on a backpacking trip miles into the backcountry.

The outing in Scouting also has roots in the origination of Scouting. In 1907, Lord Baden-Powell used his book, “Scouting for Boys,” for his experiment, taking a handful of boys from London to Brownsea Island. From that first book and campout at the turn of the last century, scouting has exploded and been established in every free country.

So, the long and the short is that three-quarters of 'Scouting' is 'outing.' But it is one tool to teach character, citizenship, fitness, and leadership. 

You can find the Bob White Lodge Where to Go Camping Guide here.