Baden Powell said ‘try and leave this world a little better than you found it”. Are you doing your best to create a better world? Want to join us in taking it up a notch in honour of BP?
On the 22nd of February Scouts around the world will be celebrating our founder Robert Baden-Powell’s birthday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we most likely won’t be able to participate in any face to face BP Sunday events. But we are Scouts and that won’t stop us from making our world a little better! We invite all of our members and their families to join us in celebrating BP through our “Better World for BP” challenge for the month of February.
All it will take is a bit of planning, black bags, a pair of protective gloves (not plastic) per person, your mask, some hand sanitizer, and a phone to document your actions! Younger participants might need adult supervision during this activity to avoid picking up hazardous items.
The challenge:
Get outdoors, take a walk around your neighbourhood and collect and dispose of at least one black bag of rubbish per Scout member in your family before BP Sunday to qualify for the “Better World for BP” badge.
Taking into account the COVID-19 safety precautions, if together the members of a Meerkat Den, Cub Pack, Scout Troop or Rover Crew collect 10 black bags of rubbish, the activity will count as a contribution towards the Tide Turner’s Plastic Challenge – Community Service project. (To fulfil the Tide Turners requirement, litter will need to be collected each day for a week.)
If a Scout Group collectively collects 20 bags or more they will receive a digital commemorative certificate from SCOUTS South Africa recording their achievement.
To get the badge:
Design: Kathleen Godfrey
Send a photo to your Scouter with a description of where you collected the trash, who took part (by yourself or with your parents/siblings), how many bags you collected, how long it took, and what it was like to be out and about to clean up your community. If you like, you can add some of the weirdest things you collected or just how it made you feel to create a better world for the people in your community.
We are looking for some great images to show the world how you – our members – are making a positive difference in these times, and as such the photos may be used by SCOUTS SA online, and may also appear in reports and marketing materials.
Working on their honour, Scouters can purchase the badges for the members and their families who complete the challenge at all Regional and National Scout shops, online or by emailing shop@scouts.org.za. We will advise you when the badges are available in due course. Proceeds from the badge sales will go towards sustaining Scouting throughout South Africa.
Please include some photos and quotes from Scouting members when ordering your badges so we can share your efforts with the rest of our Scouting community.
By participating in this activity, not only will you make you community a nicer place to be, but you will also be able to use the outcomes to count towards:
- “Better World for BP” badge;
- Tide Turner’s Plastic Challenge ‘planning and implementing a community service project’;
- The Messengers of Peace badge ‘community service hours’;
- The SDG 14 Challenge badge.
Be seen by wearing your scarf and purple Scouting gear – if you have. Encourage others to “create a better world for BP” this February by posting your images online with #BetterWorldforBP!
Yours in Scouting,
Gary Pienaar
Chief Commissioner
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