Minnewaska Hike March 2014

Cold, windy, sunny, then snowing, windy again, and then sunny and warm, what a day for a Troop hike.  Add in the significant amount of snowfall still on the ground and we had a heck of a hike to introduce Troop 4 outings to our newest scouts.  We covered 6 miles over narrow trails, rocky outcroppings and snow covered carriage trails that tired me me out and I suspect did the same for the scouts.

Thanks to William for doing the planning, it was a fantastic day.

For all the picture from the day please check out the following link to the Minnewaska folder of our Troop 4 album.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/MinnewaskaHike?noredirect=1

Vinecutting at Baxter Preserve March 2014

We completed our third Vinecutting project at the North Salem Open Land Foundation's Baxter Road Preserve.  We had 11 Boy Scouts, 3 volunteers from the school earning community service credit, and 4 parents who helped give us a hand.  This is the largest group we have had working and the results with the extra hands were clearly visible in the areas we worked.  The scouts and volunteers spent over 4 hours each working on saving the trees from the invasive vines destroying the forests.

Our Troop 4 scouts were fantastic, they all worked hard and I think they enjoyed themselves.  They should all be proud of the service they provided to the community and the environment.  I am proud of their effort and commitment.

Thanks to Gloria Stein from the NSOLF who brought our hungry crew pizza and cookies to fuel up on.

We will be back next November in this ongoing and never ending project.

For more pictures of the day check out our photo gallery here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114081196567743974684/VineCuttingMarch2014?noredirect=1

March Update

While it doesn't yet feel like spring, Troop 4 is getting ready to start our spring program.  Last Monday we crossed over 7 new boys and welcomed them and their families into the Troop 4 family.

We have two outings planned this month.  The first is our ongoing community service project to help cut vines at the open land Foundation's Baxter South Preserve next Saturday 3/8.  This is a community event sponsored by Troop 4 so if your scouts have any friends or family who would like to help out for part of the day please make sure your scouts invite them.  The scouts wil be on site from 10am to 3pm and community members are welcome to drop by anytime between 10:30 and 2:30.  We will share more details with the new scouts at Monday's meeting.

On 3/22 we plan on taking our first hike at Minnewaska State Park.  We will be away most of the day but returning before dinner.  William, the scout in charge of planning this activity will have more details for the scouts during our 3/17 Troop meeting.  We will also use that meeting to to start teaching the new scouts some of the basics that all scouts need to safety take part in our outdoor activities (first aid, map reading).

Our Troop meeting calander for March is 3/3, 3/17, and 3/31.

The leadership Greenbar meeting is 3/24.

Looking into April our first campout is scheduled for the weekend of 4/4.  We will need to know who is going by our 3/17 meeting.  Will, our scout in charge of planning this event, will use part of the 3/17 meeting and all of the 3/31 meeting helping the scouts prepare for their first campout with us.

Looking forward to seeing everyone Monday night.  Please remember to bring your Scout handbooks.