Taughannock District
Baden-Powell Council, BSA
District Activities

Cross-Program Activities | Cub Activities | Scouts BSA Activities | Venturing Activities | National and International Opportunties

For contact information see the Contact page

Download District Activity Summaries for 2021-2022 Scout Year in PDF Format: Cub Scout Events - Scouts BSA/Venturing/Sea Scout Events

Cross-Program Activities

Groton Trails Day of Service
September 18, 2021

Many hands make light work, please help improve Groton town trails!

Many jobs are available, suitable for all ages and fitness levels. You can help with:

• Stair building

• Weed eating (not literally - you don't need to eat them, just cut them back)

• Trimming

• Sign sealing

• Updating trail markings

• Moving sticks and stones to make a clear trail

If you can bring any of the following tools, that would be helpful (but please label them so they come back to you):

• shovels

• sledgehammers

• mallets

• weedeaters

• loppers / pruning shears

• trimmers

• polyurethane spray

• hammers

• orange spray paint

Lunch will be provided for anyone signing up for more than 2 hours. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C4FADAA2EA2F58 help1 or email CAPS@TCScouts.org 

To help, please come to the pavilion at Sykes Park where you will be allocated to a particular part of the trail. Thank you in advance!

Download a flyer here (PDF)

All Aboard! 
Come hike the Dryden Rail Trail - and bring a friend!
October 16, 2021 

Railroads were once incredibly important for our area - Cortland, Ithaca, even Freeville were major rail junctions. Today, only a few freight lines remain - and tail trails cross our area over the old trackbeds. On October 16th we'll hike the Dryden Rail Trail, which runs from Freeville to Dryden Lake. 

This event will be for all members - there will be fun activities for all current members, and this will be a great recruiting opportunity for Packs and Troops to pick up new members. If a Cub or Scout brings a not-yet-registered friend, both will get a special gift and will be entered into a drawing for a railroad-oriented prize. 

Each program level will have its own age-appropriate activities and hike lengths, and we'll all gather at Dryden Lake Park for a wide array of activities for all levels. 

• Download a list of Stations - PDF

Cub Scouts will have the option to hike one mile (recommended for Lions and Tigers), two miles (recommended for Bears and Wolves) or three miles (recommended for Webelos/Arrow of Light Scouts). 

• Cub Flyer (includes station listing) - PDF
• Cub Pack Reservation Form - PDF

Scouts BSA Patrols will hike the whole trail from Freeville to Dryden Lake, about five miles, with the option to continue on to Harford (on foot or otherwise) to camp on Mike Brown's land. Scouts will be able to complete a number of requirements for Railroading Merit Badge and meet with a Merit Badge Counselor at the end of the hike.  

• Scouts BSA Flyer (includes station listing) - PDF
• Scout Troop / Venture Crew / Sea Scout Ship Reservation Form - PDF

Cub Scout Activities

See the Camping Page for Cub Day Camp, Cub Resident Camp and Cub Adventure Weekends (including "Boo at Barton")

Cub Weekends, Day Camps and Resident Camp

For more information on Cub Day Camps, Cub Resident Camp and Cub Adventure Weekends - see the Camping page and Council Cub Camping Page for information

Pinewood Derby Rules

The Taughannock District has established the following rules for District-level Pinewood Derbies. Packs should consider adopting the same rules, so that Cubs can be confident that their cars will be able to compete equally at the Pack and District levels.

• Rules - in MS Word format (updated Jan 2018)

• Rules - in PDF Format (updated Jan 2018)

• Diagram for car wheels and axles

Taughannock District Pinewood Derby
March 5, 2022
Cortland Area (to be announced)

Download a "Save the Date" flyer (PDF)

Scouts BSA Activities

Fall Shooting Sports Day
Camp Tuscarora
September 18, 2021

Baden-Powell Council presents its annual Fall Shooting Sports Day! It will be September 18, 2021 at Tuscarora Scout Reservation. This will be an opportunity for Scouts to safely shoot rifle, shotgun, and archery as well finish PARTIAL merit badges from Summer Camp. 

For details and to register, see https://scoutingevent.com/368-shootingsportsday2021

Virtual Merit Badge Sessions

• See the District Announcements page,  Council Calendar and District Facebook Page for announcements of Merit Badge Sessions - these sell out quickly, so if your Scout is interested, act quickly. 

Venturing / Exploring Activities

There are no planned District Venturing / Exploring Activities at this time.

National and International Opportunities

Scouts: How would you like to spend July 2022 in Scotland?

The Blair Atholl Scottish International Patrol Jamborette will be held between July 19th and July 29th, 2022, at Blair Castle in Blair Atholl, Perthshire, Scotland. We have signed up to take two patrols of Scouts (total 12 boys). It's still a bit tentative (not taking chances with the pandemic, BSA is not at present permitting international travel for US Scouts), but the Scottish Council announced in mid-August that the Jamborette will occur. In the assumption that things will change for the better by July 2022, we're beginning our monthly meetings in September to begin planning our three-week trip.

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a Scout. Our plan will be to leave the USA around July 11th, and we'll spend a week's touring around the UK. Exactly what we do during our week's touring will be planned out by the Scouts during our monthly meetings between September and December of this year - you can see what we did on our dozen previous trips (and planned to do in 2020, had we been able to go) on our website https://www.BPBlairAtholl.org/ 

At the end of the touring we'll be picked up in Edinburgh or Glasgow and taken to Blair Castle at Blair Atholl in Perthshire, where each patrol of Scouts will join up with a patrol of Scottish Scouts for ten days at the Blair Atholl Scottish International Patrol Jamborette. You can find lots of pictures and descriptions of what sort of activities are offered at the Jamborette at the same website. https://www.BPBlairAtholl.org/ 

It's an important part of the Blair Atholl experience that for the time of the Jamborette each of the merged Scottish/International contingents function as a Scottish patrol under Scottish leadership. We international leaders will get jobs at the Jamborette - Mike Homrighaus and I will probably be tour guides at Blair Castle - and, other than the Country Fair on the Saturday of the Jamborette, we'll only see the Scouts in passing. They will be immersed in Scottish Scouting, and will have the maximum opportunity to get to know the Scots and the other international Scouts in the other mixed patrols in their subcamp.

In past years, the Scouts would go home with their Scottish counterparts at the end of the Jamborette for home hospitality. Unfortunately, with Covid-19 restrictions still likely to some extent (or, at least, unknowable at this point), the Scots can't offer home hospitality in 2022. Instead, if we want to do it, they will offer to hook our contingent up with a Scottish Scout Group for a form of hospitality at their Scout Hall. We'll discuss all of that at our planning sessions - at this point, no one is even sure what that might look like. I'm sure the Scots will let us know as things progress.

The contingent has filled up, as of mid-July 2021, and we are now taking names for a waiting list from Scouts who will be at least 14 years old and not yet 18 years old as of July 19, 2022. If you have a Scout who is interested in being part of the contingent, download an application form and return it to Scotland@TCScouts.org as soon as possible. You can get the form in MS Word .DOC format or Adobe PDF format.   

Questions? Contact me at Scotland@TCScouts.org 

- Mike Brown, Blair Atholl Contingent Leader
and Baden-Powell Council International Representative

International Events Coming up

BSA National  has a page on "International Adventure Awaits" - check it out!
For the most up-to-date information on Scouting events around the world, see the WOSM Events Page or download latest revision of the World Organization of the Scout Movement International Events List (PDF)

2021

• Oct. 15-17 Jamboree-on-the-Air and Jamboree-on-the-Internet - annual Scout/Ham Radio and Internet event - see https://www.jotajoti.info/ 

2022

• January 3-13 - Australian Jamboree (canceled)

• July 18-28 - IRELAND  16th World Scout Moot - canceled. 
• July 19-29 - SCOTLAND - Blair Atholl Jamborette - The Blair Atholl Jamborette has been held on the grounds of Blair Atholl Castle every even numbered year since 1946 except 2020 when it was cancelled because of COVID-19. Scouts Scotland has annoucned that will be holding the event, although BSA has yet to approve international travel by US Scouts. With fingers crossed, the Baden-Powell Council will be sending a contingent - see our Blair Atholl Website for details of our past trips and announcements of the next one.  For the official web site, click here. 
• July 30 to August 6 - ENGLAND - Chamboree 2022 - Cheshire Showground in Tabley - ages 10 to 17 - For the web site, click here.
• July 30 to August 6 - ENGLAND - Kent International Jamboree 2022 -  For the web site, click here

  No specific dates announced yet: 

  • January - NEW ZEALAND - 15th New Zealand Venture (Our winter is summer in New Zealand.) For the web site, click here
  • July - DENMARK - Jamboree Denmark - They expect more than 35,000 Scouts.  This event is held once every 5 years and sponsored by all 5 Danish Scout Associations that are members of WOSM.  More information soon.
  • ENGLAND - Poacher 2022 - Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln - postponed to 2022 - For the web site, click here
  • ENGLAND - Durham 2022 - postponed from 2020 - Wolsingham Show Ground in the Wear valley.- ages 10 to 18 - For the web site, click here. 
  • ENGLAND - Norjamb 2022 - Norfolk Showground just outside Norwich - most of the information on the web site is from Norjamb 2018.  For the web site, click here.
  • ENGLAND - Red Rose 2022 - Westmorland Showground in England's Lake District - most of the information on the web site is from Red Rose 2018.  For the web site, click here.
  • FINLAND - 8th International Finnjamboree - Evo campsite in southern Finland - For the web site, click here
  • SWEDEN - Swedish National Jamboree - Norra Åsum outside of Kristianstad in the southern parts of Sweden.- ages 10-18 - For the web site click here

2023

• World Scout Jamboree - South Korea

• CANADA - Pacific Jamboree - Camp Byng, British Columbia.  To learn about the 2019 Pacific Jamboree and watch a jamboree video, click here

Questions on International Scouting? Contact B-P Council International Representative at international@TCScouts.org .