Boy Scouts of America
GEF is calling on Scouts across the country to celebrate 100 Years of Scouting with the Green Thumb Challenge - the largest youth gardening initiative in history!
Cub Scouts Pack 44 of Walpole, MA was the pilot for the Green Thumb Challenge in the spring of 2009. Pack Leader Richard DeNoyer jumped at the idea of the boys planting a garden: “It was an effective way to foster team work and responsibility with the added benefit of getting the boys to interact with nature on an ongoing basis.” The Cubs cleared a community garden plot at Adams Farm, and planted vegetables, herbs and sunflowers. 49 boys and their families shared maintenance over the summer months, and celebrated their hard work at season’s end with a garden feast that featured pasta with homemade tomato sauce, garden salad, and fresh-baked zucchini bread.
“The Cub Pack 44 pilot garden demonstrated the synergies between Green Thumb Challenge and B.S.A. objectives,” noted Victoria Waters, GEF President. “It was the perfect opportunity for Scouts to work together towards a common goal, interact with nature, and improve habits of health and well-being.”
GEF has partnered with Lowe’s and six of the world’s leading garden suppliers, as well as the USDA MyPyramid alliance, Farm to School, and others. All the resources necessary for starting and maintain a youth garden are provided on this website, www.greenthumbchallenge.org, including garden instructions, activities, and fundraising tips.
Old Colony Council, which serves the scouting program to over 12,000 youth in South Eeastern Massachusetts, is working with GEF to continue to pilot Green Thumb Challenge programs related to heath and nutrition, outdoor education, and service. GEF has also met with the B.S.A. National Office to discuss common objectives and potential areas of partnership. In particular, the Green Thumb Challenge’s “Plant with a Purpose” campaign underscores a B.S.A. history of addressing issues of hunger in America, calling on participants to grow produce with the intention of donating fresh food to local food banks.
To learn about BSA advancments through the Green Thumb Challenge, BSA Ecology Awards related to the gardening merit badge, and to find more information about Scouting opportunities with the Green Thumb Challenge, view the GEF-BSA slideshow below! Coming Soon
Ready to get growing? Follow these five simple steps to starting a Scout garden!
1. Sign up you and your Scouts for the Green Thumb Challenge - it's free and only takes a minute!
2. Consult with your charter organization and determine location/size of garden.
3. Identify your leadership team and generate interest/identify volunteers at upcoming Pack Meeting.
4. Pick a garden plot clearing/planting date and create a group on the GEF online community to set up maintenance schedules, etc.
5. Start a group on the GEF Online Community! Use the community's easy interactive tools, such as e-bulletins and wall posts, to create a virtual bulletin board for maintenance schedules, etc.
Fostering the new generation of environmental stewards.
