The Scouting Stuff Podcast

By The Scouting Stuff TeamKids & Family

The Scouting Stuff Podcast episodes

November 26, 2021 Finding Volunteers
How do you attract volunteers to Scouting?
Podcast Topics
Ken and Colin attempt to tackle a question that almost every section of every Scout Group has to deal with at some point: how to handle a shortage of qualified volunteers — whether you call them Scouters, Leaders, or Cub/Scoutmasters — and how to go about attracting new volunteers to the program.

It’s going to be hard to start; that’s pretty much a given. Running program when you’re short on people is difficult, and you’ll likely have to get a bit creative; maybe you’ll need to borrow Scouters from another section within your Group, or maybe you’ll need to borrow Scouters from another Group entirely. Maybe you’ll need to schedule activities that see two sections come together in one space, so that Scouters can be shared between sections.

But the important thing is to find ways to keep running a program for the youth...and then go all-in on that program. Do whatever fun and crazy things cross your mind, or the youths’ minds. Because effective recruitment probably starts not with begging or cajoling parents into signing up, but in making sure that the youth are engaged and having fun, week after week.

And once you’ve got that happening, the next steps in the recruitment process become easier.
Shout-Outs
Firstly, we have a shout-out to Scouter Charles, who sent us a link to ScoutmasterCG’s chart of different types of camp fuels, which discusses the ethics of each: https://scoutmastercg.com/disposable-propane-cylinders-2/

Secondly, Scouter Carl from the 6th Stockport Scouts sent us an update on how things are going for his group. He’s been navigating the challenges of a career change as well, but it sounds like Scouting in Stockport is alive and well...and even going on camps!

Thirdly, Scouter Shane from Cub Pack 290 in New Hampshire reached out to see about arranging a chat between a couple of Arrow of Light Scouts from his pack, and any interested Cubs and Scouts from the 59th Edmonton. Happily, that discussion — a requirement for Arrow of Light — was able to happen recently.

And, as always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
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Music
Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod
53 min
November 25, 2021 Scouting Five - Week of November 22, 2021
Scouts Canada appoints a new Chief Scout, Arab and Asia-Pacific NSOs meet and greet..and yes, Scout groups still need volunteers.
News Stories
Arab and Asia-Pacific hold first-ever International Commissioners Gathering | World Scouting

Scouting for leaders: Scouts BSA seeking adult volunteers | Heraldrepublican

Mooresville Cub, Boy Scouts collect food for FeedNC | Mooresville Local News

Wyre Scouts - As you'll know, recently we tragically lost one of... | Facebook

Scouts Canada - "With you, I would like to help put forth the... | Facebook

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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
9 min
November 19, 2021 Scouting Five - Week of November 15, 2021
Scouts collect food and sell Christmas trees...and stolen Scout Group vehicles are returned.
News Stories
Now a couple of stolen vans are... - SYP Operational Support | Facebook

Boy Scout council moving to 26-acre ‘Adventure Center’ | wrdw.com

Scouting for Food event to assist those in need | theintelligencer.com

Christmas trees are now available... - 1st St. Albert Scouts | Facebook
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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
5 min
November 06, 2021 Scouting Five - Week of November 1, 2021
Scouts head to COP26, Scout groups (always) need volunteers...and Scouts BSA introduces a new Merit Badge.
News Stories
Local Scouts groups see popularity surge but need more adult leaders | NanaimoNewsNOW

Scouting alive and well in Saanich; 1st Douglas Scout Hall celebrates 40th anniversary | Victoria News

Burnaby teen aims to bring joy to seniors with birthday serenades | CBC News

Introducing Citizenship in Society, the BSA’s newest merit badge | scoutingmagazine.org

Your Scout can help shape the future of Scouts BSA within new youth council | scoutingmagazine.org

Why Scouts are Going to COP26 | World Scouting
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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
8 min
October 29, 2021 Get Your Group Online
These days, it really is quite imperative - for both growth and ease of contact - that a Scout Group have some kind of online presence.
Podcast Topics
Ken and Colin — recording live and in public! — discuss the importance of Scout groups having some sort of online presence, and then for two reasons.

Even having something like a Facebook Page for a group — or a website with a contact form — enables members of the community to find your group and get in touch easily, if (say) they have questions about the program or need a little guidance as to how to get their child signed up. This also enables other members of Scouting to get in touch with your group easily, if (again, say) they’ll be visiting the area and are looking for an opportunity to link up.

Beyond that, though, having an online presence can help drive recruitment, and maybe even fundraising, for your group. This is the way that younger parents — and youth themselves — communicate, research, and reach out; if you’re not meeting them where they’re at, you run the risk of missing them entirely.

Google Domains is a cheap way to get a domain name, and allows you to then use Google Sites tech to build a basic site. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter need no introduction...and for those feeling a little braver, these free resources may help create an even richer web presence.
Shout-Outs
A first shout-out goes to Scouter Greg, who wrote in asking for some guidance on accessing the oft-discussed Burtonsville Island.

And a second shout-out goes to Scouter Carl, who wrote in to inform us that Squirrel Scouts merchandise was back in stock at The Scout Association’s online store.

And as always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
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Music
Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod
42 min
October 28, 2021 Scouting Five - Week of October 25, 2021
Scouts take part in JOTA-JOTI and learn to code...and Cub Scouts are bringing flowers to hospital staff.
News Stories
Cub Scouts in Nanaimo raising money to present bouquets to hospital workers | Nanaimo News Bulletin

As sex abuse victims consider a settlement, Boy Scouts of America weighs in | Arkansas Times

Young people worldwide connect over the Internet and airwaves for JOTA-JOTI event | World Scouting

Scouts learn to code during JOTA-JOTI and Expo 2020 Dubai | World Scouting

Asia-Pacific first-ever collaboration on humanitarian mapping signed | World Scouting
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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
8 min
October 07, 2021 Scouting Five 159 - Week of October 4, 2021
A Scout earns the Cornwell Award...and Scouts BSA is likely not infringing Girl Scouts’ copyrights.
News Stories
Judge says he plans to rule for Boy Scouts on Girl Scouts' trademark claims | Reuters

Cookham scout group celebrates centenary - Photo 1 of 1 | Maidenhead Advertiser

Sheffield scout gets rare Cornwell award for courage and determination | BBC News
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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
6 min
September 30, 2021 Camp Fuel(s)
Which camp fuel is best? Turns out, that’s a loaded question.
Podcast Topics
Ken and Colin — live from the garage, this time! — discuss the various fuels that are available for use in things like camp stoves, lanterns, and heaters, and how they compare to each other as regards things like weight, cold temperature performance, ease of use, and more.

It will not surprise the listener that there is a fairly large amount of controversy in the outdoors/camping enthusiast communities about which fuel type is best. That being said, Ken and Colin don’t come down wholly in favour of any one fuel in this episode, for reasons which will hopefully become apparent.
Shout-Outs
Firstly, a somewhat overdue shout-out to Chuck Fraser, who followed up with us after his prior shout-out regarding the knife safety worksheets he helped put together.
Additionally, Scouter Carl wrote in to catch us up on some news from over in England:
Wondered of you'd be interested in this story for scouting 5?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-58678414.amp

A scout awarded the Cornwell Badge for courage and determination. Quite an inspiring person!

Our scouts are taking part in a nice range of outdoor activities and meeting in our usual church hall again.

Beavers have a badge day and pantomime organised and the cubs have an activity camp at our local activity centre.
Scouts are hiking next weekend and camping for remembrance weekend to brush up on our scouting skills, we had an influx of young scouts moving from cubs and a number of people new to scouting so we now have a young and inexperienced troop.

The group has had a lot of interest and we have pretty much filled up all the sections. Looks like people have been desperate for things to do during our lockdowns and seen that scouts were offering that, well definitely in the area we serve anyway!

Finally we have a little squirrel in the making (literally), our 3rd child is due in February 2022 and I'm hoping a squirrel drey will be ready for them when they turn 4.
And, as always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
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Music
Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod
58 min
September 24, 2021 Scouting Five - Week of September 20, 2021
Scouts host a “Gin and Ale” fundraiser, Labware’s founder is honoured by Scouts BSA...and “a father for international Scouting” is remembered.
News Stories
Labware's Kershner to be honored at Boy Scout fund-raiser | Delaware Business Now

Tributes to “father for international Scouting in Western Europe” | Delano News

Garstang Scouts to hold ‘Gin and Ale’ fundraising night ahead of Malawi expedition | Blog Preston

Key Hearing on Fate of Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Plan Underway | Insurance Journal

Boy Scouts' bankruptcy leaves religious groups open to lawsuits | Axios
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Music
Unexpected Hoedown in Bagging Area, by Doctor Turtle
6 min
September 16, 2021 Squirrel Scouts
A new Scouting program has been launched in the UK!
Podcast Topics
Ken and Scouter Corey (Hawkeye) discuss the newly-launched Squirrel Scouts program that The Scout Association in the UK has brought online. It’s a brand-new program — which has been a pilot project for the last two years, and was based off of a Northern Ireland “feeder” program that wasn’t officially a Scouting section but encouraged youth to join up once they were old enough for Beavers — aimed at 4, 5, and 6 year old youth...especially in communities that have been traditionally under-served by Scouting programs in the past.
Shout-Outs
Firstly, to Scouter Matthew, for sending in a photo of his daughter — a White Tail Beaver — wearing their group’s custom-designed woggle:
The recent episode on the woggle prompted me to get a picture of the unique woggle that our group has been using for many years. I couldn’t get an exact year that it was introduced. For a long time they were cut from pine, but these days we have been getting them cut from sheets of wood on a CNC machine.
Also, a shout-out to Scouter Carl for providing us a look at the Squirrel Scouts logo (which is awesome!).

As well, a note of thanks to osbot for sending in a new 5 star review of the podcast:
Just getting back to Scouting as my own kids are of age. This podcast has been a great connection for me to get into a Scouter mindset and rediscover a passion from my youth. I appreciate the wisdom on things like knife safety as well as the regular news updates.
Corey also gives a shout-out to Colin, who at the time of this recording had been incognito for a couple of weeks, dealing with projects at work.

And, as always, a big thank you to the folks at Scouting Radio for rebroadcasting Scouting Stuff episodes to their worldwide Scouting audience. If you're listening to us on Scouting Radio right now, let us know; reach out and get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
Subscribe
Follow Us and Subscribe
Send Feedback
Email Us | Leave Us a Voice Message | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Discord | Leave Us a Review
Music
Slow Burn, by Kevin MacLeod
1 hr 9 min