Leave No Trace Ireland is pleased to announce that
Scouting Ireland has now become a supporting partner of the programme.
Scouting Ireland were one of the founding partners of Leave No Trace Ireland and the outdoor ethics education programme was launched in their National Office in Larch Hill. They have been working ever since with Leave No Trace Ireland and have incorporated it as an integral part of their Programme. For years they have been advocates of the County Code but have now changed to being advocates of Leave No Trace.
According to Karol Quinn, Support Officer for Scouting Ireland “Leave No Trace will have a major effect on what we do and how we do it. We have always approached nature and the outdoors with a caring attitude and we are conscious of the impact that we have on it but Leave No Trace raises the bar for us, as nature and the outdoors is a fundamental component of good scouting we have brought the Leave No Trace approach to the fore for the activities we do. Our main outdoor skills that are affected are camping, hiking and backwoods (bush craft) but the other skills are also affected”. They have already included it into their key association policy statements – Outdoor Ethics, Camping and Hiking procedures and it is also the ‘basic’ behaviour expected on their nationwide collection of campsites and activity centres.
Leave No Trace will be promoted through Scouting Ireland in the following ways:
• Through their primary publications.
• Through their website and ezines.
• Putting some Scout Leaders through a Leave No Trace Trainer Course.
• By running a series of articles in their magazine highlighting the principles.
• By including the Leave No Trace general information booklet into a programme resource for leaders.
• Organising a Leave No Trace event.
For more information on Scouting Ireland, please visit www.scouts.ie.
