Webelos Outdoorsman requirement #12

[kentbower]

Webelos Outdoorsman Activity Badge requirement #12 reads:

"12. Visit a nearby Boy Scout camp with your Webelos den"

 

The big question I have is this: Does that mean with your den visit *the event* or *the place*?

 

Our den has visited a Boy Scout camp (the place), but we haven't visited a scout camp while Boy Scout camp (the event) was being held.

 

 

[Scoutfish]

I'd take it to mean exactly what it says: visit the camp, not a campout.

 

Of course with our Webelos, it just happened to work out that our camp visit was during a Boy Scout Camporee that the Webeos were invited to attend as guests of out troop. They intergrated the boys into a "guest patrol" and assigned a troop guide and a PL to them.

 

Technically, just visit the camp. But if you can work something else into it...that would be awesome!

[Eagle92]

WOW that requirement has changed since back in the day. It use to be camp with a troop. I am assuming they want you to visit with a troop in the field to not only get a taste of the outdoor life, but also to see the various troops in your area in action.

 

Me personally I'd try to get the troop to allow the Webelos to camp with them. It get the boys pumped for Boy Scouts, can solve the "camping fever" for a few months, and get the parents use to the patrol concept and comfortable with the troop leaders.

[kentbower]

Eagle92,

I think you are thinking of requirement #4:

"4. With your parent or guardian, camp overnight with a Boy Scout troop. Sleep in a tent that you have helped pitch."

 

#12 ("Visit a nearby Boy Scout camp with your Webelos den") is a separate requirement...

[ScoutNut]

As SF stated, the requirement is simply to visit a camp.

 

I think the idea is for them to see the facilities/activities that they will be getting to use/do when they are Boy Scouts. Something to spur a bit of interest in the next program level.

 

 

[momof2cubs]

I'm still unsure of this one...the camps we as a pack go to are the same ones that the boy scouts go to. They are council owned camps. I think when my kid did this pin, they did other requirements.

[Troop185]

I visited Boy Scouts camps with Webelos for many years. It is a lot, lot better, when the scouts are there.

 

For the last 15 years or so, one of the summer camps our troop goes to, is Owassippe on the west side of Michigan. The Sunday of the weekend that they begin summer camp, I have the 1st year Webelos from our sister pack, up to my cabin (on the west side of Michigan) for a three day weekend. We always stop on the way home on Monday, to visit the camp, and see the scouts. One year, we even got to eat lunch with the Boy Scouts.

[SSScout]

One is not to add to or subtract from the requirements, yes? But nothing prohibiting the enriching of the fulfilling of the requirement....

 

There are camps (the site, place, area) and there are CAMPS (the active, in place, doing thing).

 

**Many local camps are used by Troops "off season". Contact the camp ranger or director and try to visit while a Scout Troop is in residence, if not during the real season.

 

** Visit (day visit) your local Webelos Weekend (Webelos Woods?). Knock on the tent pole of your favorite Troop and say "hello".

 

** Contact your favorite Troop , who is sponsoring one of the activities at the WWend, and workout camping with them that weekend. See above, "guest patrol" idea.

 

** Contact your favorite Troop and find out where they will be camping (camp(ground)) and visit it while they are there.

 

 

 

[kentbower]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

SSScouter,

"One is not to add to or subtract from the requirements." This is really why I posted the question in the first place. We have our own Day Camp planned and a full day's worth of activities. Our reservation is at a Scout camp (but there will be no "SCOUT CAMP", the event, in progress while we are there).

 

It's also about a 40 minute drive, so I'm considering that this may fulfill that requirement. ?

 

Somewhat unrelated poll, but I'd love people's input: suppose you took your Webelos Den and their parents (who helped their boy pitch the tent) to camp overnight at a scout camp with a troop. Would you pass off both 4 *AND* 12?

"4. With your parent or guardian, camp overnight with a Boy Scout troop. Sleep in a tent that you have helped pitch."

"12. Visit a nearby Boy Scout camp with your Webelos den"

 

[momof2cubs]

My district sure doesn't think so. In the flyer posted about Webelos Woods camping, they state that requirement 4 is not met. Their words: "Although Troops will be present, Troops will not be

leading this event which is the intent of this requirement". But they say this about requirement 12: "By attending (Webelos Woods) this requirement is achieved".

 

The thing is you only have to do 2 of the first 4 requirements.

[Twocubdad]

That's the sort of crap you get from blowhards as the district and council.

 

1 -- when did it become the buisness of the district camping committee to dictate to packs and den leader when a requirement is meet or is not meet? What are they, some sort of priesthood, interpreting holy requirements for the unwashed masses? I have my own copy of the handbook and am fully capable of reading and understanding the requirements myself, thank you very much.

 

2 -- Perhaps it comes as part of their training for the priesthood, but what gives them the inside track of the INTENT or the requirements? And since when does that matter? We go by the plain-language text of the requirements. I can think of four or five "intents" of the requirement, none of which matter one wit.

 

3 -- These twits have no idea of how you are running your program. Maybe some of the troops present is your brother troop and they are there specifically to work with your Webelos?

 

Bottom line -- apply the requirements as written; run your program as you see fit. Tell the camping committee "thanks for sharing."

[qwazse]

Two,

 

You know how this happens. Somebody in MomOf's district asked for a rule, and the event organizers felt obliged to make one.

 

Kent,

 

My suggestion: Have the boys read the requirement. Then ask them if they think what they did meets it. If they say "Of course, don't you speak English?" then sign off. If they say "How is it different than my back yard if there aren't any Boy-Scouts there?", then schedule an opportunity to visit where a troop is setting up camp!

 

Honestly, if I were an SM, I would love to meet the latter group of boys!

[Eagle92]

2Cub,

 

You think that is bad, see the otehr thread where the council limits a pack to 2 family camp outs/year outside of the council run ones.

[momof2cubs]

I found outdoorsman a very easy pin to fulfill if you attend a district event like Webelos Woods or Webelos Encampment. Our district mandates that web dens cannot camp on their own unless the leader has that OWL training that no one wants to get because it takes a whole weekend. So basically district "encourages" packs to attend district webelos camping events in order to get this requirement done.

 

However, going camping for a weekend with your webelos den should fulfill most if not all the requirements for this pin.

[Scoutfish]

Going to a boy scout camp while a boy scout activity is happening is not adding to the requirements. It's just taking advantage of oppertunity.

 

Saying that the requirement is not considered complete unless it happens during a boy scout event would be adding to the requirements.

 

Just going to look around and explore meets the requirements. We were still planning on doing this when we happened to get invited by the troop - which was also about the time district mailed us flyers for the camporee too.

 

 

Killed two birds with one stone.

 

And the way I see it is like looking at a model home that is completely empty versus one that is decorated and furnished. In one instance, you can see what the house looks like, but in the other instance, you can visualize a home.

 

And I can unerstand why momof2cubs district said what they did. They are thinking of the spirit of what is going on. They are thinking of camping with A troop. Not a bunch of troops at an event where the Boy scouts are reallly being no different than cub scouts would be at a parent/son weekend.

 

Matter of fact, I see the distrcit is actually doing you a favor. How many people have ever checked something off, then later found out they were wrong, or that somebody really, really blurred the lines in order to check it off.

 

I do the same thing myself as a CM, I will let my DL's and parents know when a certain activity can be applied to certain requirements of certain ranks, and when I know they can't.

 

Why? So the boys are not shortchanged and also to prevent a "close enough" mentality from being born.