Nature and the Good Visitor
Sequoia Council

Committee Chairman: Our pack meeting tonight brought us all together to think about nature. We can enjoy the great outdoors but we must think of others who will follow us. Wherever you go in the great wide world of nature,

Walk Through The Woods
Detroit Area Council

When you walk through the woods, I want you to see,
The floating gold of a bumblebee
Rivers of sunlight, pools of shade
Toadstools sleeping in a mossy jade.
A cobweb net with a catch of dew.
Treetop cones against an azure blue.
Dancing flowers, bright green flies
Birds to put rainbows in your eyes.

When you walk through the woods, I want you to hear,
A million sounds in your little ear.
The scratch and battle of wind tressed trees
A rush as a timid chipmunk flees
The cry of a hawk from the distant sky
The burr of the leaves when a breeze rolls by
Brooks that mumble, stones that ring
And birds to teach your heart to sing.

When you walk through the woods, I want you to feel
That not we nor man could make this real
Could paint the throb of a butterfly's wing
Could teach the woodthrush how to sing
Could give the wonders of earth and sky
There's something greater than you or I
When you walk through the woods and the birches nod
Son, meet a friend of mine, named God.

God Gives Us the World
York Adams Council

Leader: The founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell, once said, "God has given us a world to live in that is full of beauties and wonders and He has given us not only eyes to see them but minds to understand them, if we only have the sense to look at then in that light."

With Spring well under way and Summer fast approaching, we will be spending more time in and enjoying the great outdoors once again. As we do this, let us in a true Scouting spirit, live up to our Outdoor Code:

Cubs 1-4: As an American, I will do my best to:

Cub 1: Be clean in my outdoor manners. I will treat the outdoors as a heritage to be improved for our greater enjoyment. I will keep my trash and garbage out of America's waterways, fields, woods, and roadways.

Cub 2: Be careful with fire. I will build my fire in a safe place and be sure it is dead out before I leave.

Cub 3: Be considerate in the outdoors. I will treat public and private property with respect. I will remember that use of the outdoors is a privilege I can lose by abuse.

Cub 4: Be conservation-minded. I will learn to practice good conservation of soil, water, forests, minerals, grasslands, and wildlife. And I will urge others to do the same. I will use sportsman-like methods in all my outdoor activities.

My Backyard
York Adams Council

Cub 1: My backyard is a wondrous place
I can stake a claim for a thinking space.

Cub 2: I can pitch a tent and sleep in the rain,
Or listen to the whistle of a far away train.

Cub 3: I can throw a ball to Mother of Dad,
Or just be alone when I get mad.

Cub 4: I can plant a garden or climb a tree,
Or get my dog, Ralph, to chase after me.

Cub 5: Sometimes we even have den meetings there,
I've finished my Wolf and started my Bear!

Cub 6: Yeah, the backyard's the place where I run,
When I really want to have some fun.

A Poem for Closing
Mt Diablo Silverado Council

Let's be quiet as we go
In earnest thought of what we owe
To those who all about us make
The Scouting movement, let us take.

With gratitude what they bestow,
And for the men who long ago
Started this movement we help grow,
Lest we their vision should forsake,
Let us be quiet as we go.

For all the Scouting good we know,
Things, thoughts, but most the spirit's glow,
Strong, straight, and mentally awake,
For country, God, and other's sake
Let us be quiet as we go.

A Tree is a Good Scout
Heart of America Council

Personnel: 6 Cubs and a narrator
Equipment: Each Cub hold a picture or drawing of a tree with his section of text on the back.

Cub 1: Did you ever pause to think about how helpful a tree is?
Cub 2: It provides a nesting place for birds, shade from the sun, and protection from the rain.
Cub 3: It discards its dead branches, thus providing wood for building fires and for cooking food.
Cub 4: A tree adds beauty to the countryside and to camping areas.
Cub 5: We must admit that a tree gives a lot more than it receives.
Cub 6: We can learn a lesson from the tree, by doing our best to always be helpful to others and by putting our fellow Scouts first and ourselves second.
Narrator: Remember the lesson we learn from the tree - To give to others more than we receive.

The Giant Sequoia trees that grow in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains are the largest living things on earth. They are also the oldest, some of them as much as 2,000 years old. What is the secret to their great age? One of their secrets is their strong, yet soft, outer bark that protects them from disease and from forest fires. No other tree in the forest has this type of bark. We can take a valuable lesson from the Giant Sequoias, because like them, we will have to face many kinds of challenges during our lifetimes. There are disease forces in the world that seek to undo our moral and spiritual values, and there are fires that threaten to burn away our confidence and wellbeing. Will we survive? We will if we have developed character that is both strong and soft: strong enough to stand against violence and injustice, yet soft enough to assist others who need a helping hand. When you think of the Giant Sequoia standing proudly over all the other trees of the forest, remember its secret and know that it can be your secret too.