Scouting and Guiding in Alberta has a long history, from the 1900s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Scouting

Alberta Scouting is administered by two Councils within

Scouts Canada Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, aged 5 to 26, with the stated aim "to help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the Frenc ...

: Northern Lights Council in the north (also responsible for the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

), and Chinook Council in the south. In general, each council's territory is divided into Areas, and each Area contains sponsored Scouting Groups. Francophone Scouting groups exist in Calgary and in Edmonton. They are part of the

Association des Scouts du Canada L'Association des Scouts du Canada (ASC) is a Canadian Scouting organization. ASC is a World Organization of the Scout Movement "affiliated organization" through affiliation with Scouts Canada. Scouts du Canada primarily serves French speaking S ...

. In 1983, the 15th World Scout Jamboree was held at

Kananaskis Country Kananaskis Country is a multi-use area west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The area is named for the Kananaskis River, which was named by John Palliser in 1858 after a Cree acquaintance. Cove ...

, an area of Provincial Park 4,000 feet in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 80 miles west of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. ''The Spirit Lives On'' was the theme of the World Jamboree, with a total attendance of over 15,000 Scouts from nearly 100 countries. In 2010 Northern Lights Council introduced a centennial badge commemorating 100 years of scouting in the area.

Local Groups and sections

Among Alberta's varied Scouting groups and sections are ''Adventure Scouting Groups'',

Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

Scouts, and Rover Crews with romantic names like ''Knights of Dionysus'' and ''Knights of the Crimson Cross''. In 2009 a Special Needs group, th
88th Polaris
was formed in the Northern Lights Council serving youth with neurological impairments.

Major Scouting events held in Alberta

In 1981, the 5th

Canadian Scout Jamboree The Canadian Scout Jamboree or CJ is a jamboree run by Scouts Canada for members of the Scout and Venturer sections. The Jamboree also includes groups from other countries attending, most notable from the United States. History CJ'07 (CJ'07) ...

was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, with 19,000 in attendance. In 1993, the 8th Canadian Scout Jamboree was held at Kananaskis, Alberta, with 12,000 in attendance. In 2005, Northern Lights Council hosted a jamboree at Camp Woods. Chinook Council hosted a joint Alberta-

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Brotherhood Jamboree at Camp Impeesa, celebrating the common

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of the two provinces. On June 19, 2010 it was announced at the Northern Lights Council Annual Honours and Awards ceremonies, that Camp Woods, near Sylvan Lake, Alberta, would be the location for the 12th Canadian Scout Jamboree to be held in the summer of 2013. Plans currently call for an attendance of 6,000. From May 1–3, 2015 the 20th Fort Edmonton Scout Camp will be held at Fort Edmonton Park in Edmonton. This is the 20th year this camp is being held at the Fort and features activities themed around the historic time periods portrayed at Fort Edmonton Park. (see als
www.fortedcamp.com

Camp Impeesa

Camp Impeesa is

’s

high adventure ''High Adventure'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released in September 1982. It is best known for its top 40 pop singles " Heart to Heart", " Heartlight" and " Don't Fight It"; the latter was co-written ...

mountain and wilderness experience centre and residential

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

. Camp Impeesa is located in the Castle Wilderness area in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, near

Pincher Creek Pincher Creek is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies, west of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History For centuries before European settlers reached this area and inhabited it, Indigen ...

. Camp Impeesa was first founded during the late 1960s with the idea of having a

base camp Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

from

Scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

to take backpacking trips in the southern Canadian rockies. During the 1970s, the camp became a residential program for Cubs and Scouts. In 2001, Mike Bingley and other interested Scouters began the process of developing a high adventure camping program at Camp Impeesa. With the help of a dedicated team from around the world, this program became Impeesa Extreme. The program was launched in 2003 with six patrols from as far away as New York City and Chicago. The first summer included the additional challenges of

forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

, including the Okanagan Mountain Fire and Lost Creek Fire which forced the program to move five times. 2004 saw the program triple in size, partially due to word of mouth advertising and the cancellation of the 2004 Saskatchewan Jamboree. 2004 was the last year that Mike Bingley was involved with the program. Major upgrades were made to the camp in 2014 and 2015, with the installation of a new

zip line A zip-line, zip line, zip-wire, flying fox, or death slide is a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable cargo or a person propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bott ...

, a new

climbing tower A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, high ropes and low

ropes courses A ropes course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or above the ground. High elements are usually constructed in tr ...

, and other upgrades. Activities focus on scouting adventure and skill development based on Scout Canada's

Canadian Path Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

. Summer camps are open to non-Scouts as well. Camp facilities and activities include a zip Line; climbing tower & bouldering wall; high and low ropes course;

team building Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. It is distinct from team training, which is designed by a combine of business ...

& portable elements programs; Table Mountain summit hike, other day hikes and

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

trips;

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

orienteering Orienteering is a group of sports that require navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain whilst moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a s ...

, and

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

;

survival skills Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shelte ...

programs;

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, and aquatics;

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

and tomahawks; pioneering skills; ThunderBall pit &

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

; wide games & campfire program; nature programs; pond exploration; and

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

and

top rope climbing Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a style in climbing in which the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up, through an anchor system at the top of the climb, and down to a belayer at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes ...

Girl Guiding

Alberta Provincial Council - Guides of Canada is the provincial council of Girl Guides of Canada-Guides du Canada, which is geographically made up of the Canadian provinces and territories of

and

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. The provincial council's headquarters is located in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Areas

Alberta Council is divided into the following twelve areas: * Calgary Area (

and vicinity)) * Chinook Area (the south eastern part of Alberta covering area from the Rocky Mountain to Grassy Lake on the east and from the US to Claresholm on the north) * Cypress Hills Area (

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

and vicinity) * Edmonton Area (central

and the former Guiding areas of Arrowhead Area and Northern Lights Area) * Michener Area * Parkland Area (

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

and vicinity) * Peace River Area * Prairie Rose Area * Tamarac Area (north of

) * Woodsmoke Area * Yukon Area (

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

and Watson Lake) * NT Area (

Fort Simpson Fort Simpson (Slavey language: ''Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́'' "place where rivers come together") is a village, the only one in the entire territory, in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The community is located on an ...

Hay River Hay River may refer to: Places * Hay River, Northwest Territories * Hay River, Wisconsin Rivers * Hay River (Wisconsin) * Hay River (Canada), a river in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada * Hay River, Northern Territory, Australia * Hay R ...

Inuvik Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service cen ...

Norman Wells Norman Wells ( Slavey language: ''Tłegǫ́hłı̨'' "where there is oil") is a town located in the Sahtu Region, Northwest Territories, Canada, settled about 140 km (87 mi) south of the Arctic Circle. The town, which hosts the Sahtu Regional o ...

, and

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

)

Camps

* Camp Jubilee in the Calgary Area * Westover in the Calgary Area * IASG in the Calgary Area * Camp Mockingbird in the Calgary Area * Guide/Scout Hall in Banff * Camp Okeekun in Chinook Area * Elkwater Camp in Cypress Hills Area * Sandy Lake Beach in Edmonton Area is located on Sandy Lake 60 km northwest of Edmonton * Tangletrees in Edmonton Area is located on Pigeon Lake some 85 km southwest of Edmonton. It was acquired in 1943. * Williams Wilderness in Edmonton Area is a zero impact campsite donated in 1969.

References

External links

Chinook Council, serving south-central Alberta including Medicine Hat, Lethbridge and Calgary

Camp Impeesa

Northern Lights Council

Alberta Provincial Council - Guides of Canada

Les Scouts Francophones de Calgary

Scouting Alberta
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scouting And Guiding In Alberta Scouting and Guiding in Canada Alberta society