| | | | | | | | | | The next Maple Syrup Days event will be held on April 5, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Registration is open until April 2. This program is geared for Scout aged youth (11+), this program focuses on learning about maple syrup making from tapping trees to bottling syrup. Cost is $30 per person and includes all programming, a pancake breakfast, lunch, an event patch, and an 8 oz. bottle of syrup. If your Scout has previously attended check out our Advanced Program track where they can dive deeper into their favorite parts of maple syrup. | | | | | | | | Troops, Crews, and Ships, camp as units at the Bear Paw Spring Camporee! This is your chance to complete a merit badge or finish one that you started at summer camp or just come for the fun! During registration Scouts must register for specific programming from the activities being offered. | | | | | | | | Save the date to attend the 2025 Scout Night with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday, June 8, at 1:10 PM. Tickets are $18 dollars and include a box seat ticket, brown bag lunch voucher (which includes a hot dog, soda, and chips), a pre-game parade around the warning track, and a commemorative patch. Along with this, other activities that will be taking place on the day of the game will include pre-game catch on the field, post-game player autographs, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a Fang Bobblehead! If you have any questions about Scout Day with the Timber Rattlers, contact Lindsay Krznarich at (920) 733-4152 x. 234.
| | | | | | | | NYLT… Two amazing option open to all Scouts at least 13 years old and First Class rank, or members of Venturing Crews or Sea Scout Ships. National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) is an action-packed program designed to provide Scouts with leadership experience they can use in their home units and in other situations demanding leadership of self and others. This program is the centerpiece of Bay-Lakes Council’s youth training opportunities, providing local units with outstanding youth leaders and giving participants the tools and leadership ideals that will serve them well in whatever they do.
The National Youth Leadership Training Traditional Course will take place at Gardner Dam Adventure Bse on June 15-20, 2025, and NYLT Pack and Paddle will take place at Camp Hiawatha on August 2-10, 2025. Check out this flyer for more information.
| | | | | | Important Reminder! The 2025 Bay-Lakes Council’s Annual Scouting for Food Drive will not take place this spring. This year’s dates are October 11-18th. The decision was made after receiving feedback from our food pantries that donations are needed more in the fall. We are looking forward to this opportunity to better serve our community providing for those in need.
If your unit is looking for a service opportunity this spring, be part of Scouting America’s newest initiative, Scouting for Clean Waterways! In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Conservation Good Turn for America, Scouting America is joining the nationwide initiative aimed at addressing the critical issue of waterway and marine debris, “aquatic trash”, offering Scouts the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the health of our waterways and ecosystems.
Cleaning up America’s waterways is a mission that everyone can support, and your council has a unique opportunity to champion this impactful, worldwide program. By promoting Scouting for Clean Waterways to your units and districts, your council can generate incredible public relations opportunities while teaching Scouts the importance of environmental stewardship. Follow this link for more information. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Scouting’s flagship event is one-of-a-kind. It’s a gathering of tens of thousands of Scouts, leaders, and Jamboree Service Team members that showcases everything that is great about Scouting America. All youth, parents and adult leaders are invited to join us at a Jamboree Rally Zoom Meeting to learn more about the 2026 Jamboree. We’ll share information about the Bay-Lakes Council Jamboree contingent for youth participants and adult leader positions. There will be information about staff roles and visitor opportunities. Choose the Jamboree Rally Meeting that best fits your schedule. All meetings will begin at 7:00 PM. Choose from one of the following dates: March 27, March 30, April 1, April 7, or April 9. Youth members interested in joining the Bay-Lakes Council contingent as a participant, adult volunteers interested in serving as a leader for the contingent or those interested in serving as a staff member, can use the link below to fill out an interest form. Those who complete the Jamboree Interest Form will receive Jamboree news updates and be invited to help decide our travel and touring options. Contact Mike Mailand if you have any questions.
| | | | | | It has been an interesting winter around the Kraft diner of Fine Bird Feeding Stations (squirrel-roof, of course)--they have been few sightings, even when we experienced those post-Ground Hog-days wintry storms. Though I am not sitting at the windows all the time, how do I know this? I haven't had to refill the bird feeders for months. Around these parts, that is rare. The day before Thanksgiving, I filled them with sunflower seed and put out the ground level suet feeders. They are scatted about the front and backyard; some closer to trees, others out in the open. Fully expecting them to be empty when we returned 10-days later from a cruise with the grandsons and families. There was nary a kernel on the ground, or suet debris. No signs of lowering levels of seed. No peck marks on the suet. Several mused that, because of the lack of snow, the critters had lots of other resources in the ravines and woods that surround our neighborhoods. They were not even housed in the backyard 30-40 foot spruce, nicknamed bird hotel. As the weeks passed, I began to notice the seed levels were gradually dropping. Early morning visitors, I saw; but still not many. Even when the first of the several heavy snowfalls moved through the neighborhood, the scores of visitors who would have normally feasted throughout the day were not to be seen. No new predators were sighted. The feed was not going stale. All sorts of reasons, the bird seed person at the store offered, as their sales were slow too. Gradually, those levels dwindled bit by bit, until something happened. The birds began to return, still not in droves, but FINALLY last week, I refilled them all. Even last week's wintry mix storm only brought 5-6 at a time to any given feeding station. No moral of the story today. At about $25 per 50-pound bag, I guess I did save some money on sunflower seed. (A Scout is Thrifty?) And, perhaps those rascally bird did have reliable sources elsewhere. I did miss all the chirping, though, when I was out and about. Here's to a busier spring at the Kraft diner of Fine Bird Feeding Stations. See you on the trail!
Warren Kraft
Program Development
Bay-Lakes Council #635 | | | | | | | | Feedback: Have a thought or question? We'd love to hear from you. Please share your comments with us. It is easy; just reply to this email or send a message to guide@baylakesbsa.org. | | | | | | | | | |
