June is the official start of Summer when schools are letting out for the season of sun and fun! We are now in the midst of planning for many great Summertime activities including National Youth Leadership Training at Camp Tamarancho, Cub Scout Day Camp at San Geronimo Commons and Scouts BSA Summer Resident Camp at Marin-Sierra. Look through our monthly newsletter and find out how you can be involved in exciting programs and new opportunities for Scouts and leaders in the coming months!

Reminder: please forward this monthly newsletter to other people in your unit who may not be receiving it, or suggest they 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 final monthly Roundtable meeting of the season! For the first time in 3 years, our IN-PERSON gathering will start at 6:15pm OUTDOORS with the opening ceremony and brief announcements for all program volunteers. Enjoy a grilled dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixins' followed by a townhall-style meeting where you will have the opportunity to ask questions of Council President Chris Cardinal and Scout Executive Michael Dybeck about Scouting in Marin!

After 7pm we will start the annual Camp Marin-Sierra Winter lottery for Ibach and Murray Lodge reservations. Your unit "draft pick" is determined by your overall unit roundtable attendance during the past year, and whether your 2022/2023 reservation was cancelled last winter by the epic stormy weather. You must be present to make a reservation! Plan ahead with your Scout unit by using this seasonal calendar.

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.

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!

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 above, and don't delay as physician appointments can take several weeks to schedule!

In this season of travel, camping and adventure, we thought it would be wise to include an important reminder. Do you know where to find all the up-to-date safety information for Scouts and Scouters? The BSA National Council has a handy scouting.org website link. Take a few minutes to become familiar with all the great health & safety information to help each of us keep Scouts safe!

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 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) --- 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.

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 the entire Camp Staff at Marin-Sierra forms an important and visible Crew of Service to our Summer Camp program and operations.

We started out a very busy month by welcoming the new Ordeal members from our Spring Induction Wknd in April with fun games and pizza at an overnight Lodge Fellowship event May 5-6 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. That Sunday May 7, our Lodge Chief and CVCs and advisors attended the Section G17N Council of Chiefs to prepare for this year's Conclave event at Soda Springs Resort, September 15-17 (register NOW!). Arrowmen also participated in a service opportunity to give back to the Elks Lodge on May 6-7, and our monthly lodge meeting was the following Tuesday, May 9 with overwhelming attendance!

Finally, 7 senior Arrowmen participated in the MDWknd opening work party at Marin-Sierra with Camp Director MJ and Ranger Jake. They worked in the sun and rain installing all the waterfront docks and signage, cleaning out cabins and the showerhouse on Staff Hill, moving logs, bunks & mattresses, and assorted other service tasks around camp. Great food and fellowship around the fireplace was enjoyed by all! Join us at our next Camp Work Party on the wknd of June 9-11 at Marin-Sierra! For details, contact MJ here!

To kick off the Summer, Talako Lodge is holding our annual Pool Party & BBQ at the San Rafael Elk's, 6pm Tuesday, June 6. This exciting event is meant to be a gathering to celebrate the hard work we have all put in at Council activities and camps, and a chance for us to relax before we gear up for the Summer! We hope to see all lodge members at this fun event! Please RSVP HERE!

As we move through the month, Flag Day is celebrated at 6pm Thursday June 15 at the Elks Lodge. To round up the summer, Camp Marin-Sierra sessions are happening through the whole month of July with many Arrowmen participating on Camp Staff and celebrating at Thursday OA lunches. Talako Lodge has no meeting in July, and our next gathering of Arrowmen is 7pm August 22 at the Elk's Lodge.

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.