Nature has turned the hillsides all around us the bright emerald green of Spring, and warm afternoon sunshine is bringing out the California poppies and wildflowers! Read through this monthly newsletter to find out how you can be involved in fun outdoor programs and great opportunities for Scout youth and adult leaders alike. Join us in making the best of Scouting in Marin!

Reminder: please forward this monthly newsletter to other people in your unit who may not be receiving it, or suggest visit our website, or sign-up for a subscription here!

Unit leaders, don't forget to assign someone from your Pack, Troop or Crew to attend our regular monthly Roundtable meeting for leaders and parents! This gathering via ZOOM will start at 7:30pm sharp with opening ceremony and brief announcements for all program volunteers together. The Scouts BSA group will then go into their own break-out session.

with Commissioners Roger Dickerson & Mike Blum!

By now we're sure you've all heard about the large landslide which occurred during the early hours of Friday morning, March 10, 2023 along a key section of Iron Springs Road shown at left and prohibiting further vehicle traffic into Camp Tamarancho. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of engineering and construction required to rebuild access, it is projected that this situation will impact our Council activities and for much of the remainder of 2023. An updated FAQ document can be downloaded by clicking on the image at left.

But Camp Tamarancho is still open and still an idyllic spot for your unit’s weekend campout. Cub and Scouts BSA campers are hiking in and some units may need to adapt their planning for this style of camping, but there are also great benefits for our Scouts and our families in experiencing camp this way. Some of our Troops have been hiking into Tamarancho for years; for them this will not be a new experience. However for some, especially Packs, this will be a shift away from car-camping. We hope you find this weekend camping information useful.

On Saturday, May 6 at 10am, join Marin Water & Parks Conservancy staff for a 2-hr walk around Lake Lagunitas to learn about the work being done to ensure the Mount Tamalpais Watershed remains resilient in the face of looming threats from wildfire, invasive species and disease. The Mt. Tam Watershed collects 75% of the Marin Water District’s supply, making this stewardship critical to ensure the delivery of fresh, clean drinking water to more than 191,000 customers in central and southern Marin County. Led by Parks Conservancy Project Manager Danny Franco, Marin Water Natural Resources Program Manager Carl Sanders and GrizzlyCorps Fellow Natalie-Francesca Woods, this combination walk, discussion and Q&A is part of the 2022-23 One Tam Summit: Peak Health series.  For more information or to register, click here!

On Saturday, May 13 at 1pm, join Marin Water's GrizzlyCorps fellow and our Watershed Stewardship intern on a guided walk around Lake Lagunitas, including visits to the spillway, foot bridges and 450 feet of elevation change over Pilot Knob trail. Along the way, visitors will get a chance to see the various ongoing and completed work implemented by Marin Water staff to improve ecological health and reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire on the Mt. Tam Watershed. Volunteers and visitors are asked to meet at Lake Lagunitas Parking lot at 1pm Parking passes are required, and can be purchased at the ranger hut near the Sky Oaks Ranger Station. Registration is encouraged, but not required; please click here!

Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM) has reestablished its long running Aviation Merit Badge classes in its new Education Classroom "HANGER TWO" at PCAM. This class is taught by Mr. Art Hayssen, an approved BSA Merit Badge Counselor with the Redwood Empire Council.

The Aviation Merit Badge class is a rare opportunity to earn the merit badge in an environment that is perfectly suited to it: at an institution devoted to education, taught by experienced aviators, at an airport where they can sit in an airplane and then go flying as the grand finale!

Class registration is limited to 30 students on a first come-first served basis. Register at the Pacific Coast Air Museum website, then choose the Education drop-down menu and select Merit Badge classes. For more information, contact Dave Watson with any questions!

Join us for Marin’s second annual wildfire prevention festival, Ember Stomp at the Marin Civic Center Fairgrounds from 11AM-5PM. We are all in this together! Ember Stomp invites residents to learn their role in being part of a fire-adapted community and how we can all prepare for wildfire. This year offers a bigger space with new music, entertainment, exhibits, vendors and a live burn demonstration. This FREE event is fun for the whole family. Join the fun and be part of the solution – lowering Marin’s risk of wildfire together! Click here for more details or watch this video!

A friendly reminder to complete your BSA Annual Health & Medical Record (AHMR) before Summer. To participate in Scouting activities and campouts, all Scout youth and adult Scouters must complete the AHMR; parts A&B for day or wknd events (for youth it must be signed by a parent), OR parts A/B/C (must be reviewed, completed and signed by a physician) for any events longer than 72 hrs including all Summer Camp weeks and high-adventure treks. Download a fillable .pdf version from the BSA website by clicking the image on the left, and don't delay as physician appointments can take several weeks to schedule!

National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an intensive week-long BSA leadership training

course conducted in an outdoor setting. As members of an NYLT patrol, Scouts BSA and

Venturing youth learn the tools of leadership, communication, problem solving, ethical

decision-making and much more --- experiencing the Patrol Method of Scouting first-hand while they camp, cook, eat, work and learn together.

It is recommended that all youth have participated in Scout camping over one year. NYLT is not an outdoor skills course and it is important that each participant have basic camping and outdoor cooking experience.

Click for more info or to register your Scout, or contact NYLT Course Director Jennifer Masterson by email!

Our annual Cub Scout Camping adventures are a great way for your family, den and pack to have fun outdoors at our beautiful camp properties which are among the best of their type in all of California! Tent camping, good food, fun activities and lots of program opportunities await you this Summer and Fall.

Cub Scout Day Camp Weeks --- July 10-14 and July 24-28 @ San Geronimo Commons.

We are fortunate to have gained access to this unique new parkland in central Marin

while repairs continue on the Iron Springs Road up to Tamarancho this Summer.

All Staff positions are still open! For a Day Camp Staff application, click here!

Webelos Woods Weekend --- September 1-3 @ Camp Marin-Sierra

A terrific adventure for our older Cubs to attend our scenic forest camp in the mountains!

Here are FIVE valuable Adult Leader Trainings to prepare you for Scouting the trail ahead!

Hazardous Weather Training is offered online and is required to be considered a fully-trained Leader. This must be updated every two years like YPT; please access the training modules on your my.scouting.org/ profile.

For all Cub Scout Pack leaders; every pack should have at least two BALOO-trained adults. Learn from experienced Cub Scout trainers to help your pack run successful outdoor events. Wknd of October 21-22 at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Lagunitas. For the registration link and more information, click here: BALOO (boyscouts-marin.org) 

For all Scouts BSA & Venturing BSA adult volunteers! Learn the outdoor skills your Scouts need to follow on the Trail to First Class! Wknd of October 21-22 at Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Lagunitas. For the registration link and more information, click here: IOLS (boyscouts-marin.org)

Leave No Trace Trainer (LNT) --- May 20-21 or October 14-15

Completion of this course is highly recommended for Scouts BSA youth members (14+) who wish to hold the Outdoor Ethics Guide position of leadership responsibility, and for unit leaders who want to implement Outdoor Ethics effectively within their unit. Participants must be registered members of the BSA. Classes are entirely outdoors and limited to 20 participants. Questions regarding the courses and their content may be directed to LNT Master Educator Lillian Remer. Register by clicking on the dated links above!

A comprehensive and FUN adult leader training for all BSA-registered volunteers. This five-day course will be held over two weekends in September at scenic Camp Tamarancho in Fairfax. For the registration link and more information, click here: Wood Badge Training 2023 - Piedmont Council BSA (Marin, Piedmont & Redwood Empire Councils partner together to offer this exceptional training course!)

After another successful Summer reviving the excellent programs and Scout Camp traditions at Marin-Sierra, we are excited by the opportunities awaiting us in July 2023! Our Council webpage has all the exciting details to plan your best week ever at Scouts BSA resident camp! This annual experience is critical to the delivering the promise of adventure and the mission of the BSA to our youth.

Click here to submit an application for the most Summer fun you can have by joining our amazing Camp Staff team at Marin-Sierra, the best Summer camp in the Sierra Nevada . . . May the Forest be with YOU!

The Council Venturing Committee helps guide our older Scouting youth and young adults with the benefits of this co-ed program and fantastic leadership opportunities. More information about our Venture Crews with their special interests and high adventure activities is available through our quarterly Venturing Rally meetings or recent Scouts BSA Roundtables. For further details, please email Venturing Rally Commissioner Peter Bauer.

Of special note, our own Jamey Schnasse of Crews 73 (High Adventure) and 533 (OA Talako Lodge) was recently elected to be the BSA National Venturing Officer's Association President! Read more details here!

Crew 333 (International) is attending Kandersteg World Scouting Centre in Switzerland this Summer, and we are forming a new Venture Crew for our growing contingent to the BSA National Scout Jamboree at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia this July.

Our recent lodge meeting was held on Tuesday, April 4 at the Elks Lodge in advance of Spring Break week. Many Troop elections followed, and our Spring Induction was held during the weekend of April 21-23 at Camp Tamarancho. Everyone hiked in on Iron Springs Road and we welcomed 12 new Ordeal members, 10 new Brotherhood members, and 3 new Vigil Honor members! A huge congratulations to everyone who participated in these ceremonies, and a big thank you to everyone who helped make this main event possible.

As we welcome our new inductees from our Spring Induction, and look forward into the month of May, Talako Lodge has many great events planned. Starting off the month strong, we have a Lodge Fellowship event May 5-6. This event will be starting at 4:30pm at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (1180 Lynwood Dr, Novato). On Sunday, May 6 from 10am-4pm, the Section G17N Council of Chiefs will meet to prepare for this year's Conclave at Soda Springs (10244 Soda Springs Rd, Soda Springs). Our Lodge Chief and CVCs will be attending this event, along with their advisors. That same weekend, our Arrowmen have a service opportunity to give back to the Elks Lodge on May 6-7, and our monthly lodge meeting is the following week on May 9 at the Elks Lodge!

This year, Talako Lodge is participating in a new fundraiser with Star Route Farms to market and distribute fresh organic produce subscriptions. Our Lodge membership will be working to sell subscriptions, so take a look at the link below and share it with friends and family to get your own produce box! https://www.scoutboxproduce.org/

If you have any questions about the National Order of the Arrow organization, NOAC or the local Talako Lodge in Marin, please contact Lodge Chief Finn Diringer.

Please check our Council website homepage regularly for the most current information and event calendar, and the frequent social media activity on our Facebook and Instagram pages linked below, as well as those for Camps Tamarancho & Marin-Sierra.