Girl and Boy Scout Projects
Volunteering & Outdoor Fun
Community Service:
Here are some ideas:
Pick
up trash along trails. Problem areas are the reservoirs (trash from
fishermen, especially in spring), Riverview Trail, and sections of Oak
Valley Trail near Shelton Avenue (trash from cars). The fishing area
at Silent Waters has been attracting garbage lately. Spring is the
best time for picking up trash.
Spread woodchips on trails. Woodchips
are delivered by the City for free - you just need to spread them onto the
trail using wheelbarrows, shovels and heavy rakes (bring your own).
This is a relatively easy project with instant gratification. Fall is
the best time of year to do this.
Remove leaves from trail in fall,
especially at Riverview Trail.
Adopt a section of trail ("Trailkeeper").
Adopt a section of river ("Riverkeeper").
Adopt an Open Space Parcel ("Landkeeper").
Adopt a sign kiosk (repair damage from
vandals, keep information posted inside).
Beautify park entrances and roadsides
- plant flowers, etc.
Trail
improvements: Kiosks, bridges, signs, drainage, grading, repair ATV
damage, plant trees ... see
Wishlist for ideas.
Most projects should be
coordinated with the Conservation Commission or Trails Committee. For
trail projects, contact Bill Dyer, Trail Committee Chairman, at 926-0424, or
Teresa, the Conservation Agent, at 924-1555 x315 or
conservation@cityofshelton.org.
Inquiries not involving trails should be directed to Teresa.
If you would like credit on these pages for services that your troop has
contributed (past or present), please email photos and provide a description of what was done and
the troop number and school that was involved (to the same email address as
listed above).
Fun: Don't forget to plan fun
outings on the trails. The trails around Hope Lake (aka Nell's Rock
Reservoir) are scenic and popular. There is also a
self-guided nature hike that troop leaders can make use of. For
Brownies and Cub Scouts, walk a trail ahead of time and then make a list of
interesting things for the kids to look for on that trail (for example, bobbers
in a tree, mushrooms, pinecones, frogs, etc).
Here is a hand-out
prepared for a May hike along Hope Lake for Brownies. This can be incorporated
into the Brownie "Eco-Explorer" Try-it.
There is also letterboxing, which involves finding a hidden box based on
clues. Check websites such as
www.letterboxing.org for a listing of letterboxes hidden along the trails in
Shelton (eight boxes were listed as of fall 2006), and the clues for finding the
boxes. For information about how to letterbox, see
http://www.letterboxing.org/GettingStarted/getstart.htm.
Fall and winter are the ideal times to take the kids outdoors. You
don't have to worry so much about bugs, poison ivy, ticks, sunburn, mud, and
heat, and the experience is generally more pleasurable. Best months:
September, October, and November. Winter is good for seeing animal tracks
in the snow (Nicholdale Farm is recommended
for seeing wildlife tracks). However, it does get dark early, so it's best
to meet on the weekend rather than after school.
 Badges:
There are a wide variety of Scout patches to work towards on
our trails, including the Girl Scout fun patch "Leave Nothing but Footprints"
(left photo). In addition to patches offered by the Scouts, there are
letterboxing patches offered by various groups, and the City of Shelton is
working on patches to offer in the future.
Camping: The Boy Scouts have a
small camp at Nicholdale Farm. The Girl
Scouts do not have a camp in Shelton, but the City may make a campsite that
would be available to Girl Scouts (stay tuned for more info...) |
