The tree is an important symbol of the family—a family tree, the life of a tree that spans generations, the belief that a tree will continue to provide, long after we're gone.

Because of that symbolism—and a shared mission for service and environmental stewardship—we could think of no better Generations Connection partner than the Arbor Day Foundation! Arbor Day has designated official BSA 100th Anniversary trees for anyone to enjoy. Order yours at http://www.arborday.org/boyscouts.

For every BSA 100th Anniversary tree purchased from Arbor Day, another will be planted in Montana at the newly created Boy Scouts of America Centennial Forest. The Centennial Forest will aid replanting of the Flathead National Forest following recent fires.

Simsbury Boy Scout Troop 76 is holding there annual wreath sale, their only fundraiser and it meets are year round needs of our troop.  The wreaths are great quality, fresh cut and made locally.  They will be delivered the 1st week of December. 

This is a great way to support scouting in Simsbury.

The sales can go through any Troop 76 scout or contact Andrew Davis at 860-651-7391 or davisfive@comcast.net.

Download Christmas Wreaths Descriptions

Congratulations to the 25 senior Scouts that participated in this last weekends Immortals Mission profile.

Headquartered at the Ryan Duff shelters at Mattituck Scout Camp, the scouts were divided into five teams of four scouts and given a package of information and allowed to make plans Friday night. At 7:00 am on Saturday morning the teams were off to accomplish a list of tasks that would earn them points or "dollars" to win the event.

Some of the tasks included, building a hidden shelter, finding points on a compass course, building a raft and crossing a section of a very cold lake, making a fire without matches, making a camp chair, baking an apple pie, making a rope bridge to cross a ravine and finally playing a camp-wide night-time capture the flag game. It was a long day.

Each team received a dozen eggs that could be used for protection from other teams, barter for trade, dinner or dollars toward the final goal.

On top of this "Taliban Mullahs", senior scouts Mike V., Lee, Keegan, Carter and ASM Max, were roving experts that could be bought for an egg or two to help a team complete an assignment.

It was by far the hardest and most complex game we have played and the Scouts all played it well. Kudos to the winning team of Mike Ryan, Nicholas Carabillo, Zack Zikovich and Jon Epstein and to Lee Adamovich for running away with the Top Mullah award.

To truly get a better sense of the event, see the photos in the Troop Photo Library.

Recently a scout asked "Are the Tenderfoot requirements merit badges or parts of merit badges?" The answer might be of interest to other scouts and their parents as well.

Understanding Merit Badges

Merit badges are separate from rank advancement. Ranks like Tenderfoot, Second Class and First Class have requirements that help teach you basic scouting skills and those requirements are found in your handbook and signed off by other scouts above the rank of First Class.

The requirements for the upper level ranks (Star, Life and Eagle) consist mainly of earning merit badges, performing community service and holding leadership positions.

Merit Badges are the second main area of the Boy Scout advancement program. Unlike ranks, there is a degree of choice in the merit badge program. Each merit badge focuses on a specific area and allow you to learn about different subjects. The requirements generally include some study on the topic and practical use of the skills or concepts studied.

Go to  MeritBadge.org for a complete list of merit badges and if you click on the name of the badge you will see the requirements for that badge.

Good badges for a younger scout to work on is Pets (if you have a pet), Reading, Gardening, Stamp collecting or Coin Collecting.   Some of the merit badges that most scouts earn at summer camp are Swimming, Camping, Archery, Fishing, Rifle Shooting, and Nature. The troop will also hold classes from time to time. These badges might be Citizenship, First Aid, Communications and most recently Emergency Preparedness. What ever your interest, you will find a merit badge that can help guide you through the topic and help you advance through Boy Scouts.

Boy Scouts also offer a bunch of special awards that can be earned at
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Boy_Scout_awards

Last Year, Scout Isaac Peacock and Assistant Scoutmaster Bill Rice were recognized for their photography.

Photography Contest Guidelines

• Open to all members of the Simsbury Land Trust.
• Enter up to 3 pieces in the following categories:
  1. Close-up
  2. Landscape
  3. Computer enhanced photography
  4. People in Nature – SLT Activities and Events
  5. Student photographers – can be in any of above formats, digital or traditional photography (students are exempt from the membership requirement)
• Work must be in the form of prints 8 x 10 or 5 x 7, b/w or color. Entries will not be returned. All work must be clearly marked with your name, address and phone number, along with the category and location of photo. If you have your photos on disc, a copy on disk as well as printed form would be appreciated.
• All photographs must be taken on Simsbury Land Trust Properties – see our website's Properties & Maps section for a map of properties.
• All winning photographs may be used for promotional purposes by the Simsbury Land Trust. Photographers retain rights to the photograph.
• Winners will be announced at the Simsbury Land Trust Annual Membership Dinner in early spring.

Please submit your entries to:

Simsbury Land Trust
P.O. Box 634
Simsbury, CT 06070