Join us to hear from our Camp Leadership Team about our 2023 Scouts BSA, Venturing & Sea Scouting camp programs. Moritz Schmid, Mayflower Council Vice President of Program will kick-off the meeting. We will then provide an update on the plans to improve upon and upgrade last year’s program and administration.

Dear Mayflower Families,

Like you, we are very excited and looking forward to Summer 2023 and everything that comes with it. First and foremost in that recipe for summer fun is summer camp.

Coming out of the pandemic, and as we look to utilize our council’s community spaces to their best ends, we have decided on the makeup and presentation of our summer camp program.

This summer, we will center our overnight programs at Camp Squanto and our day programs at Camp Resolute. This strategic change will help us concentrate our promotional efforts for each program in a single location and maximize our program offerings at each camp. As such, it will also help us to ensure we provide the best possible camp experience to our campers and leaders.

Given the long history of the council’s work at both locations, we were reluctant to take this step. However, now that we have taken that first foray into a new era of the Mayflower Council’s summer camps, we feel strongly that we have made the correct decision.

Any troop that has reserved space for the 2023 Camp Resolute season has been personally contacted and offered the opportunity, and several incentives, to try Camp Squanto. If a unit should choose to attend another camp, we will refund their site deposit fee.

Meanwhile, in this new era, we feel confident that we are staying true to the Scout Law, the council’s mission, and current best Scouting practices.

After all, Baden Powell said, “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.” And we believe that this is true whether it be in a day camp or overnight camp setting.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Rick Riopelle, Director of Field Service.

Yours in Scouting,

Ian Johnson
Council President

Josh Paulin
Council Commissioner

Bryan Feather
Scout Executive / CEO

Cub Scouts can #AdventureOn during the winter months…

Yes, it’s cold. Yep, it’s snowy. However, just like Scouts BSA, Cub Scouts can still find outdoor fun, too.

That was the theme of a recent repost of a 2010 article entitled, “Hot tips for cold-weather fun with Cub Scouts.”

For Scouting, Mark Ray wrote:

Tim Tocket, a Scouter in Pen Argyl, Pa., always thought the BSA had a rule forbidding Cub Scouts from camping when temperatures dipped below 32 degrees. Not so. The “Age-Appropriate Guidelines for Scouting Activities” states that only Scouts BSA members and Venturers may participate in winter camping. But the addition of heated cabins (when you follow appropriate Youth Protection guidelines) can make winter activities with overnight stays suitable for Cub Scouts. With cabins available, a Scout who gets too wet, too cold, or too tired can head inside.

Of course, The BSA Guide to Safe Scouting is the definitive list of rules and guidelines for winter camping and sports. However, Ray pointed out a few general thoughts about Cub Scouts in the cold.

Tips included:

• Give plenty of packing guidelines to parents and adult leaders and stress layering for warmth…

• Pack extra items of everything warm. Domino suggests bringing a stash of extra hats and mittens for Cub Scouts whose gear gets wet, lost, or forgotten…

• Remember hydration. Campers need plenty of fluids, even in the cold.

• Offer plenty of hearty food, and keep meal preparation simple.

• Cancel or postpone if the forecast calls for heavy snow or extremely low temperatures

Even better, in yet another article, “Making Winter Fun for Your Cub Scouts,” Ray said, keep the C-O-L-D in mind. 

Clean: Keep your insulating layers clean and fluffy. Dirt, grime and sweat can reduce the warmth of a garment.

Overheating: Adjust your layers of clothing to match the temperature, and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

Loose Layers: Wear several loosely fitting layers of clothing and footgear to get maximum insulation without impeding your circulation.

Dry: Sweaty, damp clothing can cause your body to cool quickly. Avoid clothes that absorb moisture, and keep clothing around your neck loose to let body heat and moisture escape.

Looking at the weather forecast for tomorrow at Camp Resolute: 34-degrees and cloudy.

Sounds like it’s time to #AdventureOn.

New video highlights Mayflower Council’s 650-acre destination for adventure…

Hey, did you know it’s winter? “Wonderful” snow, sleet, and freezing temps for at least a few more months. As the commercial jokes, “495 is a pahhhhking lot.”

YUCK!

And now, with the holidays in the rearview, we need something significant to look forward to; something that speaks to sunshine and swimming and well, warmth.

For those of you who live near Mayflower Council and Plymouth, Massachusetts, specifically, you need not look any further than the LeBaron R. Barker Scout Reservation.

Of course, right there in Myles Standish State Forest, Camp Squanto boasts 650-acres of year-round camping.

However, during the summer months, Camp Squanto will again feature seven weeks of “high-quality, long-term camping” for Scout troops and individual Scouts.

The official site explains:

Our Scout camp is awesome, fun, week-long, overnight camping adventures for Scouts BSA and Venturers that provide an outstanding program of education, adventure, and purpose in a beautiful, wooded environment with natural ponds. Scouts can earn merit badges and take advantage of advancement opportunities. They’ll also enjoy swimming, canoeing, sailing, fishing, nature, archery, shooting sports and learn lots of Scouting skills! All under the guidance of our trained staff members.

Curious? Want to know more about Camp Squanto?

Check out this video:

And then read all about Camp Squanto here.

This time-honored Scout tradition need not wait until your next campout…

At our most recent Scout Troop Court of Honor, among various and sundry cookies and brownies and doughnuts, there was one, very popular, dessert. 

Prepared by our Scoutmaster (and Eagle Scout), his Pineapple upside-down cake went fast.A BSA tradition, pineapple upside-down cake is cooked in another scouting staple – a Dutch oven.

Back in 2916, Tim and Christine Conners broke down the basics of Dutch-oven cooking.

“Dutch-oven cooking is as much a part of Scouting as tying knots. But learning to cook in a Dutch oven can be a bit intimidating. After all, they can be heavy and kind of messy, and the cooking style involves a little math.”

But a Scout is brave. And a Dutch oven is a really excellent tool.

“A Dutch oven is such a versatile cooking tool that when you bring one to camp, it’s like bringing the kitchen from home,” added the Conners. “It can be used to fry, sauté, bake, stew, roast, or slow-cook — any time of day and for nearly any type of meal. 

“It’s not uncommon for a single recipe to involve several cooking methods using the same oven.”

And the article, entitled, “A Dutch-oven cooking primer” includes tips on getting started with a Dutch oven, additional tools, cleanup, storage, safety tips, and recipes.

Check out the story here. 

Then enjoy the video recipe for pineapple upside-down cake.

We are excited to be opening both camps this summer after a very difficult year and a couple months of limited opportunities for our Scouting families as we’ve continued to work through this pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic has created an environment where the summer camp staff member pool is more limited than usual, leaving us with a handful of vacancies. 

In both Resolute and Squanto, we could use a handful of additional program staff, especially in aquatics, but also in sports, Scoutcraft, handicraft, COPE/climbing, and ecology. At Resolute’s Adventure Day Camp, we are also in need of den leaders. Additionally, Resolute also has a couple of key vacancies we are continuing to work toward filling, including program director (at Adventure Day Camp), climbing director, and shooting sports director.

Please consider working at one of our camps if your schedule allows it. Otherwise, please share this with others whom you are in contact with regularly and whom you believe has the capacity to serve in this role.

Our council has begun transitioning to a new online event registration platform named Black Pug, which is used by almost half of all Boy Scout councils nationwide. The previous system, Doubleknot, was a major step forward when we adopted it nearly 16 years ago. After careful, thoughtful and detailed evaluation we believe the Black Pug platform will be an improvement, addressing multiple issues brought up by our members and volunteers and improving your experience when signing up for camps and other activities and accessing the council calendar.

The transition to Black Pug has already begun. Many of our recent events and summer camp sign-ups have been utilizing the new platform. Black Pug will soon become the new platform for the council calendar providing many of the most requested features including calendar subscription links and RSS feeds. We anticipate the full integration of Black Pug into the council website to be completed by June 1.

Individuals and units will have until July 31 to archive any data on the Doubleknot system they wish to retain and we will be sunsetting Doubleknot in Mayflower Council in early August. 

We are excited to be sharing this new event registration system with you and we thank you for your patience as we make this transition. We look forward to serving you better. If you have any questions or need assistance with Black Pug please contact Lisa Olson our Black Pug subject matter expert.

Susquehanna, Mayflower, Juniata Valley, Washington Crossing, Five Rivers, Westmoreland Fayette and Baden Powell Councils are excited to offer for the 2nd year, an alternative summer camping experience in 2021 – Camp in a Box 2021.

Camp-in-a-Box 2021 provides the opportunity to select from 45 merit badge offerings (tentatively) and/or participation in the New Scout Program.

The Scout will have the opportunity to complete all or most of the requirements for each merit badge offered. Seventeen of the merit badge offerings provide the Scout the opportunity to complete all of the requirements to earn the merit badge. Twenty-eight of the merit badge offerings provide the Scout the opportunity to complete most of the requirements to earn the merit badge but will require completion of selected requirements after Camp-in-a-Box. After Camp-in-a-Box, some councils may provide in-person opportunities to complete some of the remaining requirements, but not all. Thus, the Scout will likely have to coordinate with a local counselor to complete many or all of the remaining requirements.

Scouts will have the opportunity to enroll in up to five offerings in a week – all merit badges or a combination of New Scout Program classes and merit badges.

List of Tentative Merit Badges

Tentative Schedule

Planned class size limit

The maximum size limit for any class will be 15 Scouts, with a few classes limited to 10 Scouts.

Cost

The all-inclusive fee for a Scout participant will be $135.

International Water Safety Day, May 15, aims to spread water safety education and drowning awareness.

Suggested ways to observe the day include:

• Adults: Update your Safe Swim Defense and/or Safety Afloat training.
• Units: Present the “Aquatics Safety” Safety Moment at a unit meeting.
• Cub Scouts: Work on an aquatic-related adventure, such as Floats and Boats (Tigers), Spirit of the Water (Wolves), Salmon Run (Bears), or Aquanaut (Webelos/Arrow of Light).
• Scouts BSA: Work on an aquatic-related merit badge, such as Lifesaving or Swimming.
• Sea Scouts: Review a Sea Scout Safety Moment video, such as Life Jackets or 10 Boating Essentials.
• Venturers & Explorers: Review Safe Swim Defense principles and plan a safe aquatic activity for the summer.

Find more tools on the BSA Aquatics Resources webpage.

Thank you for your interest in attending Camp Squanto for the 2021 summer season. We continue to work diligently with the Town of Plymouth Department of Public Health and in accordance with the changing reopening guidance from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with respect to the camping and youth services sector to determine how we can offer a safe and exciting program while doing everything we can to keep our Scouts, leaders, and staff healthy and safe.

We are excited to share with you that we have, with the approval of the Town of Plymouth, crafted a program schedule and a list of merit badge offerings. We will be offering the following merit badges for which cohorts can register over four different 50-minute blocks during the day: Sailing, Rowing, Kayaking, Canoeing, Swimming, Lifesaving, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Shotgun Shooting, Fly Fishing, Cooking, Camping, Pioneering, Emergency Preparedness, Orienteering, Wood Carving, Leatherwork, Metalwork, Mammal Study, Reptile and Amphibian Study, Bird Study, Sustainability, Environmental Science, and Climbing. An entire cohort will have to register for one badge and travel to the area of camp where that badge is offered, per current state guidelines. However, for Scouts that do not want to work on the badge, there will be a program area-related opportunity for Scouts to work on. For example, if a cohort registers for Cooking merit badge, but only 8 Scouts want to work on the requirements, the other 4 Scouts will have the option to work on another Scoutcraft related-skill.

We understand that current Commonwealth of Massachusetts guidance places many limitations on traditional flexibility. However, this does afford us some flexibility at camp this summer with our merit badge offerings. This year, rather than offering set merit badges at certain times, all merit badges will be available at all program areas, limited only by the number of cohorts that a program area can accommodate at one time. This means that, in a normal year, Ecology may offer one section each of Reptile and Amphibian Study, Mammal Study and Bird Study during the day and Scouts would have to find a way to work their schedules to get in to these badges if this is what they wanted to take. This year, if Ecology can accommodate 3 cohorts while maintaining the required social distancing, all three could work on the same badge in individual cohorts, if they all wanted to take the same badge. As part of the registration process, cohorts will select their program area, time slot (9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50, 11:00-11:50, and 2:00-2:50), and then the badge that they would like to take.

We will be offering afternoon program offerings in shooting sports, boating, swimming, Scoutcraft, handicraft, and ecology in one hour blocks that cohorts will be able to sign up for prior to arriving at camp. In many ways, the afternoon will look similar to a normal week of summer camp. To go over this schedule in greater detail and to answer questions that you may have about summer at Camp Squanto in 2021, we will be holding another summer camp leaders meeting virtually using the same YouTube platform as our April meeting. Please join us on Monday, May 24 at 7:00pm.

Please keep in mind these important deadlines fast approaching:

NEW Unit Commitment Deadline: Friday, May 14
Please let us know your intentions by completing this form RICK – please add link

Early Bird Registration Deadline: Friday, May 28

We are working diligently to offer the greatest flexibility that current Commonwealth of Massachusetts guidance will allow and that is in keeping with the intent of the guidance – to keep everyone safe and healthy at camp this summer. Thank you for being part of the Camp Squanto family. We look forward to seeing you in just over two months for an exciting, fun-filled, and safe program at Camp Squanto!