Since the 1980s, self-styled Green Scouts have appeared in several countries, related to the protection of the environment and in some cases linked to Greens Parties. However, specifically environmentally-minded Scouts have existed since the very earliest days of the movement.

Background

In response to a rash of devastating

fires Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are pr ...

in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

established a group of

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

s called the ''Michigan Forest Scouts'' in 1912. A similar group, with nearly identical badges, was later established in the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

. The purpose of these organizations was not

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

building, as it was with the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, and there were no ranks or merit badges. Instead, the Forest Scouts were charged with protecting the state's

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, and as a result were considered

auxiliary Auxiliary may refer to: * A backup site or system In language * Auxiliary language (disambiguation) * Auxiliary verb In military and law enforcement * Auxiliary police * Auxiliaries, civilians or quasi-military personnel who provide support of ...

fire wardens. Although the BSA typically disapproved of such groups, it was not so with the Forest Scouts. In one of the BSA's annual reports, the Forest Scouts are mentioned with approval and a note is made that "the groups are headed up by Boy Scout men and that the Forest Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America are closely affiliated."

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

has had direct involvement with Green Scouting on at least two occasions, when on September 3, 1999 he was made a Patron of the Global Movement of Green Scouts in

New Delhi, India New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Scouting organizations in

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAssociation Nigerienne des Scouts de l'Environnement (ANSEN), founded in 2003, which seems to have UN accreditation.

Controversy

The

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOS ...

has clearly stated its firm opposition to use of the words "Scout" and "Boy Scout" by Green Scout organizations, and made their position clear to all international

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

al and

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

involved with the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, such as the United Nations' Environment Program and the World-Wide Fund for Nature.Listserv
/ref> :"There is room for all in the fight to protect nature and the environment,... but there is no room for creating confusion between that fight and the broader purposes of an established educational organization such as World Scouting and its duly authorized member associations around the globe." explained

Jacques Moreillon Jacques Moreillon (born 1939) served as Director General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) until 1988 and as Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) from November 1, 1988 to March 31, 2004. Mo ...

, Secretary General of WOSM in the 1990s. Several national WOSM member organizations issue a

World Conservation Award The World Conservation Award is issued by many of the national Scout associations affiliated to the World Organization of the Scout Movement, and was created in conjunction with the World Wide Fund for Nature, partially in response to the rise in ...

References

{{Scouting in the United States International environmental organizations Non-aligned Scouting organizations

Background

Controversy

See also

References