Green Scouting
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Since the 1980s, self-styled Green Scouts have appeared in several countries, related to the protection of the environment and in some cases linked to Greens Parties. However, specifically environmentally-minded Scouts have existed since the very earliest days of the
Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...
movement.


Background

In response to a rash of devastating fires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the
State of Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
established a group of
Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
s called the ''Michigan Forest Scouts'' in 1912. A similar group, with nearly identical badges, was later established in the
State of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...
. The purpose of these organizations was not character building, as it was with the
Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
, and there were no ranks or merit badges. Instead, the Forest Scouts were charged with protecting the state's
forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s, and as a result were considered
auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of some kind to a military se ...
fire wardens. Although the BSA typically disapproved of such groups, it was not so with the Forest Scouts. In one of the BSA's annual reports, the Forest Scouts are mentioned with approval and a note is made that "the groups are headed up by Boy Scout men and that the Forest Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America are closely affiliated."
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
has had direct involvement with Green Scouting on at least two occasions, when on September 3, 1999 he was made a Patron of the Global Movement of Green Scouts in
New Delhi, India New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
. Scouting organizations in
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
include the Association Nigerienne des Scouts de l'Environnement (ANSEN), founded in 2003, which seems to have UN accreditation.


Controversy

The
World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...
has clearly stated its firm opposition to use of the words "Scout" and "Boy Scout" by Green Scout organizations, and made their position clear to all international
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
al and
non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
involved with the environment, such as the United Nations' Environment Program and the World-Wide Fund for Nature.Listserv
/ref> :"There is room for all in the fight to protect nature and the environment,... but there is no room for creating confusion between that fight and the broader purposes of an established educational organization such as World Scouting and its duly authorized member associations around the globe." explained Jacques Moreillon, Secretary General of WOSM in the 1990s. Several national WOSM member organizations issue a
World Conservation Award The World Conservation Award is issued by many of the national Scout associations affiliated to the World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scou ...
.


See also

*
Traditional Scouting Traditional Scouting is "old-fashioned" or "back to basics" Scouting in some form, often with an emphasis on woodcraft and scoutcraft activities. As a pluralist movement, there is no one set definition for the term, but most traditionalists share ...
*
Green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...


References

{{Scouting in the United States International environmental organizations Non-aligned Scouting organizations