Scouting in the United States Virgin Islands has a long history, from the 1920s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
As of March 1, 2013. The US Virgin Islands Council was merged into the National Capital Area Council. [1] [2]
The local Scouts are active in the community. [3] [4] [5]
The US Virgin Islands Open/Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament helps to fund the Marine Vocational Program (MVP) for the Boy Scouts of America. [6]
Virgin Islands Council #410 | |||
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Founded | 1965 | ||
Defunct | 2013 | ||
Boy Scouts of America interests in the United States Virgin Islands was served in the early 20th century through National Council Direct Service. Later troops were added via the Virgin Island District in the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands Council . The Virgin Island District was separated from the Puerto Rico Council in 1964-65. In 1965, the new Virgin Islands Council chartered its own Order of the Arrow Lodge, Arawak Lodge 562. Rudolph Valentino (Rudy) Sille, Sr. was Scout Master of Troop 17, and later Troop 100, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands from the 1970s to the 1990s.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Troop 152, sponsored by Saint Patrick's Church, Frederiksted, Saint Croix, formed a steel band of grammar-school-age Scouts that was managed by Vivian Bennerson. The band toured internationally.[ citation needed ]
As of 2004, the Great House in Estate Diamond, Saint Croix that served as council headquarters was deserted; possibly the destruction of Hurricane Hugo caused its abandonment.[ citation needed ] As of March 1, 2013, the Virgin Island Council was merged into the National Capital Area Council, headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, and the postal initials "VI" were added to the NCAC council shoulder patch. [7]
Arawak Lodge 562, named after a pre-Columbian Caribbean tribe, was the lodge for Arrowmen in the United States Virgin Islands during the time Virgin Islands Council was independent [8]
Camp Howard M. Wall | |||
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Location | Boy Scout Camp, Christiansted Saint Croix, 00820 USVI | ||
Coordinates | 17°43′00″N64°40′01″W / 17.7167907°N 64.6669458°W | ||
Camp size | 19-acre (0.077 km2) [6] | ||
Website scoutparadise |
Named for Howard M. Wall, [9] who added the estates Fareham, Petronella, and Longford to the Castle Nugent Farms cattle ranch in 1951, the Camp Howard M. Wall at Milord Point Beach on Route 62 at Great Pond Bay, in Estate Fareham, USVI is on the southeast end of Saint Croix. [10] The camp is "located at the west side of Great Pond Bay." [11] The camp offers bunkhouses intended to accommodate eight people per room, a shower house with gender segregated facilities, and a dining hall. [12] Other facilities include a climbing tower, ropes course, central pavilion, and rifle range. [6]
In addition to "summer" camps, Camp Wall is actually open for summer camp type programs year round, other Scouting events take place there.
The camp has also hosted events not connected to Scouting. Since 2016 Catch The Vision International has sponsored an annual mission trip where participants stay at the camp. [12] On June 21, 2012 at the camp the Virgin Islands National Guard hosted Shadow Warriors Fun Day, which included meeting Kofi Kingston. [13] On June 25–30, 2012 at the camp the US Virgin Islands National Guard Youth Program held the St. Croix Youth Leadership Camp. [14]
Girl Scouting in the United States Virgin Islands is administered by the USA Girl Scouts Overseas—U.S. Virgin Islands of the Girl Scouts of the USA
The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is the only place under United States jurisdiction where the rule of the road is to drive on the left. However, virtually all passenger vehicles are left hand drive due to imports of U.S. vehicles.
Scouting in Texas has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society.
Scouting in Michigan has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Virginia has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. Many of the local groups and districts took names of historic Virginia Indian tribes in the state.
Scouting in Maryland has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving millions of youth with activities that have adapted to the changing cultural environment but have always been rooted in an active outdoor program.
Scouting in Pennsylvania has a long and rich tradition, from 1908 to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
The Narragansett Council of Scouting America serves all of the state of Rhode Island and some of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Its several camps include Camp Yawgoog, Champlin Scout Reservation, and Camp Norse.
Scouting in Rhode Island has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Scouting in Washington, D.C. has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
The United States Virgin Islands, often abbreviated USVI, are a group of islands and cays located in the Lesser Antilles of the Eastern Caribbean, consisting of three main islands and fifty smaller islets and cays. Like many of their Caribbean neighbors, the history of the islands is characterized by native Amerindian settlement, European colonization, and the Atlantic slave trade.
Scouting in Maine dates back to the creation of the Katahdin Area Council in 1920 and has continued prominently to the present day.
There have been American Scouts overseas since almost the inception of the movement, often for similar reasons as the present day. Within the Scouting America formerly the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), these expatriate Scouts are now served by two overseas local Councils. Within the Girl Scouts of the USA, the USAGSO serves such a purpose.
Yawgoog Scout Reservation is a 1,800-acre (7 km2) reservation for scouting located in Rockville, Rhode Island and operated by the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Founded in 1916, Yawgoog is the fifth oldest Boy Scout camp in the United States. At the camp is run an eight-week camping program every summer where Boy Scouts stay for a week with their troops. The reservation is divided into three camps: Three Point, Medicine Bow, and Sandy Beach.
Scouting in Puerto Rico was introduced in the 1920s, and has been serving both boys and girls in the island since then. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), serves both boys and girls in different programs, while the Girl Scouts of the USA serves only girls in various levels.
The National Capital Area Council (NCAC) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America within the Northeast Region that serves the Washington metropolitan area, including Washington, D.C., portions of Maryland and Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The council offers extensive training, and administrative support to units. It is rated as a "Class 100" council by the National Council, which denotes that the NCAC is among the very largest in the country. Chartered in 1911, it is also one of the oldest. The council is divided into 21 districts serving ten counties in Northern Virginia, six counties in Maryland, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, and BSA units throughout the Americas. The council has a 5 to 2 ratio of youth members to adult leaders, which is among the highest of all the councils. The youth retention rate is currently 70% which was affected by COVID-19.
Northeastern Pennsylvania Council, with headquarters in Moosic, Pennsylvania, formed in 1990 from the merger of Forest Lakes Council and Penn Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It covers the metropolitan area of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The council serves Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Wyoming counties, and portions of Susquehanna county.
Yokahu Lodge 506 is the Order of the Arrow Lodge of the Puerto Rico Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Since 2021, Yokahu Lodge is part of the Eastern Region, Section E-17 of the Order of the Arrow. The Lodge's totem is the Three-Point Taíno Cemí.
The fauna of the United States Virgin Islands consists of 144 species of birds, 22 species of mammals, 302 species of fish and 7 species of amphibians. The wildlife of the U.S.V.I. includes numerous endemic species of tropical birds, fish, and land reptiles as well as sea mammals. The only endemic land mammals are six species of native bats: the greater bulldog bat, Antillean fruit-eating bat, red fruit bat, Brazilian free-tailed bat, velvety free-tailed bat and the Jamaican fruit bat. Some of the nonnative land mammals roaming the islands are the white-tailed deer, small Asian mongoose, goats, feral donkeys, rats, mice, sheep, hogs, dogs and cats.
Camp Rock Enon or CRE is a Boy Scouts of America resident summer camp for both younger and older youth with high adventure opportunities. The mineral springs of the area afforded the development of a resort in 1856. 89 years later in 1944 the resort and most of the land began the conversion to youth development resources. The summer camp includes familiar outdoor programs like aquatics, camping, cooking, fishing, handicraft, and shooting sports, yet also includes less common programs like canyoneering, rappelling, rock climbing, scuba, space exploration, volleyball, white water rafting, and wilderness survival. The property includes 14 campsites that accommodate from 16 to 56 campers in tents or Adirondack shelters as well as a dining hall that can serve 450 at a time. The camp is 1.6 miles (2.6 km) from the border of Virginia and West Virginia, 35 miles (56 km) from the Maryland border, and also 35 miles (56 km) from the Pennsylvania border. Units from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia most often frequent the property.