Scarsdale's Troop 2 Life Scout and Adult Leader Complete Environmental Awareness Training

By Colette Connolly (Open Post)

Life Scout Aidan Connolly along with adult leader Mark Schivley, both from the Immaculate Heart of Mary-sponsored Troop 2 Scarsdale, were among 25 scouts and scout leaders who attended a Leave No Trace/Tread Lightly trainer course last month at the Agatha A. Durland Scout Reservation in Putnam Valley.

The 16-hour experiential learning course, held December 5 to 7, presented the seven principles of Leave No Trace, a program of the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, a non-profit organization that provides a framework for outdoor recreation decision making.

A particular focus of the training was on the ethical decisions required to promote conservation while involved in non-motorized recreation in the outdoors. The principals of Leave No Trace are dedicated to protecting the great outdoors, and teach participants about the innovative and practical methods of maintaining the outdoors for further generations.

“The Leave No Trace/Tread Lightly training initiative incorporates much of what the Boys Scouts of America believes in, which is to instill values in young people and to prepare them to make moral and ethical choices throughout their lives,” says Troop 2 Scoutmaster Ed Gruber.

Aidan, 14, a Yonkers resident, and Schivley, from Eastchester, spent two days immersed in the Leave No Trace and Tread Lightly workshops so that they could, in turn, train others in their troop. Both participants made presentations based on their personal views of how to camp and hike ethically in the outdoors, and were awarded the Black Oval Leave No Trace trainer patch as well as the Tread Lightly pin.