Scouts donate campgrounds, facilities to communities for COVID-19 response

Scouts Canada is making its network of campgrounds and community facilities, including Camp Barnard in Sooke, available to community partners and government agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As Scouts, we seek to make meaningful contributions to the communities in which we live,” said Andrew Price, executive commissioner and CEO of Scouts Canada.

“During this time of increased need, our membership continues to actively seek ways to give back. And with 180 properties across Canada and all in-person Scouting activities on hold, we are in a unique position to provide much needed facilities and properties to support a diverse range of COVID-19 response efforts.”

Camp Woods in 70 Mile House, for example, is being used to provide shelter and 14-day isolation for migrant workers arriving in Canada for seasonal work in the forestry industry.

In Ontario, a Scout hall in Cochrane will serve as a COVID-19 assessment centre for the town’s emergency response team, while Camp Samac in Oshawa will serve as a shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Even though online meetings and camps have been cancelled, scouts are keeping busy with virtual meetings and online activities.

Last Friday, for example, the 1st Cedar Hill Scouts took part in an international Zoom meeting with scouts from New Zealand, comparing life in the two countries and talking about what scout activities they’re doing.

Scouts in Victoria and across the province are currently taking part in a challenge to make a Rube Goldberg Machine — a contraption that uses a chain reaction to complete a very simple task, in an extra complicated, extraordinary way.

The contest, which closes May 15, challenges youth to get creative and tests their STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) knowledge.