Campfire Ash October 23, 2008
Posted by thetrainerscorner in Uncategorized.Tags: Ash, Boy Scouts, Campfires, Cub Scouts, Outdoors, Scout Leader, Training
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Hi fellow Scouters,
Hopefully you are a campfire ash collector. If not, you should consider collecting ash from campfires. “Why would I want to do that?” you may ask. Here’s some things to think about.
At the pack level: We started collecting a cupful of campfire ash from each pack campfire about 5 years ago. Each collection gets added to the pack collection (which is in a popcorn tin, of course) once it cools down. What makes this special is that at the beginning of each campfire, we sprinkle some from the pack ash collection to the fire. We talk about the scouts that have gone through our program and are with us “in spirit” when we sprinkle the ash. In my opinion, this is such a great way to start a campfire. Of course, you need to have a pack that’s really active in the outdoors to do this.
At the den level: One thing I’ve done in both dens that I’ve lead is had my own collection of ash from each campfire. I also record the attendance of my scouts at each campfire. When my den graduates to Boy Scouts, they will get a collection of ash from each campfire that they attended, along with a listing of the campfire date, location, and anything noteworthy about that campfire. They also get a challenge: Keep adding to this collection of ash in Boy Scouts. The goal is not to have a momento of Cub Scouting but to get them to keep going outdoors and keep attending campfires. Hopefully the boys will do this.
In Scouting,
-Jeff <><
very interesting.. wish I’d thought to start this 25 years ago when I was a scout. Will have to see if we can get this to work in our troop. Fun idea.
[...] we started talking about the traditions of scouting. One tradition we talked about was the use of campfire ashes to connect the current campfire to those that have gone before. The idea is that you bring ashes [...]