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Scouts take on national jamboree Number of Yellowknife Scouts plummets to eight
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 1, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
With all the demands on the time of parents and children, a long-standing tradition is falling by the wayside.
Paxton Ramm takes a moment to calm herself while rappelling down a rock wall as Quinn Levesque looks on. - photo courtesy of Yellowknife Cubs and Scouts |
However, those who still participate in Yellowknife's Cubs and Scouts programs say they help teach youth important life skills.
"We think we're in the business of building citizens and leaders people who can make their own way in the world, whether that's in downtown Toronto or in the wilderness on the Ingraham Trail," said Michael Kalnay, area Commissioner for Scouts Canada NWT.
Seven of the city's eight remaining scouts got to test these skills first hand last month during the Canadian Scout Jamboree in Sylvan Lake, Alberta.
From July 6 to 13, a camp of roughly 6,800 youth and leaders sprang up on Camp Woods near the small Alberta resort town, where organizers set up a wide variety of activities from hiking to rock-climbing to making chain mail to digging for dinosaur bones. There were also traditional scouting activities like learning about outdoor survival and orienteering.
"We did a lot of stuff," said Gabe Layden, 12, who has been scouting for eight years.
For him, the highlight was rappelling down a wall something he had never done before.
"Mostly, it was just the atmosphere of being there," said Layden.
A long-standing Scout tradition is trading badges, which kept the Yellowknife Scouts busy as their badges were coveted by other groups.
Scout Quinn Levesque, 12, said he collected "thousands of badges" during the event.
"What we tell the parents is they're not going to recognize their kids when they come back because they're going to be taller and independent and all that good stuff," said Kalnay, adding the Scouts were responsible for cooking their own meals, keeping their camp in order, waking themselves up in the morning and planning their daytime activities.
"Those are skills lots of kids don't have when they go away to university," he said.
ENROLLMENT DROPPING
In the 22 years he has been involved in Scouting in Yellowknife, Kalnay has seen the number of youth involved drop from about 200 down to the present eight.
"There used to be hockey, and then there was Scouting. And now we have dancing and judo and horseback riding and gymnastics and all sorts of specialized facilities people have put together for the kids," he said. "There's a million things for kids to do and there's also less kids now than there used to be, in terms of total numbers."
More demands on kids' time also means more work for parents, he said, noting there has also been a drop in volunteer involvement. However, next year there are experienced leaders lined up for each age group Scouts Canada runs four programs: Beavers for boys and girls aged five to seven, Cub Scouts for ages eight to 10, Scouts for youth aged 11 to 14 and Ventures for those 15 and older which makes it a good year to volunteer, said Kalnay.
"You won't be on your own," he said.
Aside from being one of the oldest programs for youth in Canada, scouting is important because it teaches about outdoor survival, community involvement and helping others.
"You learn a lot of skills that you wouldn't learn anywhere else," said Layden.
Eric Brown, a Yellowknife troupe leader who has been involved with Scouts for 54 years, agrees.
"I enjoy seeing the kids succeed. They almost always come out of the scouting program with a better idea of life and, I think, as better people," he said.
A registration session for youth and volunteers is scheduled to be held Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
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