CMSART Members Teach Fitchburg Scouts

CMSART members Ron Deschamps and Karl Gustafson recently spoke with Fitchburg Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops about CMSART, and also taught map and compass skills.

Fitchburg's Troop 41 invited Deschamps and Gustafson, both former Troop 41 scoutmasters (and currently assistant scoutmasters), to speak at the Emergency Preparedness merit badge training, attended by 12 Boy Scouts. They talked about how many skills learned in Boy Scouts--map and compass, fire starting, survival, knots, and teamwork--are used in search and rescue work. The Emergency Preparedness badge is required for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

Brownie Girl Scout Troop 714 invited the team to teach basic map and compass skills to 16 Scouts (mostly 1st graders). The girls paced off 100 feet, learned how to orient a compass and map and determine general direction of travel. In addition to the land navigation course, the girls also learned why it's important to stay put if you're lost.

A map and compass class to support a Junior Girl Scout troop's efforts at earning the Finding Your Way badge is scheduled for early November.

Scout Troops in other communities interested in utilizing CMSART instructors should contact the CMSART Training Department at training@cmsart.org.