Boy Scout Jamboree

August 3, 2010

It is raining this morning, a good steady rain, not the typical flash thunderstorms that had occasionally and temporarily disrupted activities at the 2010 Boy Scout National Jamboree over the past 10 days. This one seems a bit mournful and probably fitting for this day as it is the last day of the Jamboree. Really, it’s just a half day, because the scouts and scouters will spend this time breaking down their camps and packing things up to leave by noon.

It has been a wonderful 100th birthday party for the BSA. There has been lots of excitement on stage and at the adventures centers. Zip lines, repelling, rock claiming, biking, boating and shooting, all great activities enjoyed this past week.

But, there were some serious and thoughtful moments as well. On the last full day of the Jamboree scouts wrapped up merit badge work they had started earlier in the week. In the Conservation Trail area forestry, bird watching and botany were some if the favored science relate subjects scouts focused on achieving merit badges for. They learned about how to conserve our natural resources and how to manage those resources for sustainability.

Scouts were introduce to the concept of an all-lands approach to conservation having the opportunity to visits with over a dozen different government land management agencies and other conservation organizations located all together here at the Jamboree Conservation Trail.

This Jamboree has been a very successful one and likely the last here at Fort A.P Hill. The U.S. Army has been a most excellent host for over the last 30 year. All good things do come to an end, but in this case it is more a changing of the guard. The Boy Scouts have purchased 10,600 acres of land in West Virginia and is aggressively working towards building the infrastructure necessary to support this huge event. For now, at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, we tear down the Jamboree National Forest information boards and take Smokey Bear’s advice to douse the campfires and stir the ashes, in the rain.