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Scouting at Home

LOVE YOUR WATER

Discover fun water-related activities you can try at home!

Build a water garden, a water-based orienteering course or even your own canoe! Lead a shoreline cleanup for the friends and family in your social bubble. Go on a pond dip adventure and get to know the small creatures that live in the wetlands near your home. Share a fishing adventure with your family—can you catch a big one?

These are just some of the ways you can Love Your Water at home—read on to discover more!

 

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Looking for more inspiring activities to try? Catch up on all Scouting at Home editions here!

Personal Achievement Badge of the Week

WATER

This week’s Personal Achievement badge is Water. Did you know that over 70% of our planet is covered in water? It’s time to dive in and get exploring! What kinds of plants and creatures live in water? How can you help to protect them and keep our water’s cleaner?

 

Do This Badge!

 

  1. Skip the soil and try making your own water garden. Learn about hydroponics by using water and minerals to grow certain plants.
  2. Make a water taste-testing experience for your family. Add fresh flavours like mint, lemon, or ginger and see if your family members can figure them out.
  3. Plan a fishing adventure with your family. What equipment will you need to bring? What fish might you expect to catch in your area?
  4. Record your own soothing water sounds or music. Many people find these sounds helpful when trying to sleep! What different sounds can you make (and record) with water?
  5. Do a shoreline cleanup with the family and friends in your bubble. Not sure where to start? The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup website can help with resources and planning.

Use the Personal Achievement Badge Planning Template to get started on your adventure!   

 

We Recommend

There are lots of other great organizations creating resources for doing activities at home, so why not share them? Here are a few of our favourites!  

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Join or lead a shoreline cleanup wherever water meets land in your community with the support of The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. They’ve got some great resources on keeping shorelines cleaner in Canada – one piece of trash at a time! 

GREAT CANADIAN SHORELINE CLEANUP

Ultimate Camp Resource – Water Games

Stay cool this summer and try out some fun new water games! This list from Ultimate Camp Resource has games for the backyard, the beach or in the water!  

ULTIMATE CAMP RESOURCE

Earth Rangers Eco Activities

Earth Rangers offers heaps of different activities to help you get outside and explore the natural world! Try out some of their Eco Activities while you enjoy your water!  

EARTH RANGERS


TED-ed – Deep Sea Creatures

Do you know what lives below the water in the ocean? What about the creatures that live in some of the deepest parts of the ocean? Meet the sea creatures that live in the depths of the oceans – some even live without light or air!  

DEEP SEA CREATURES

A Backyard Scouting Challenge!

Dive into this Water Orienteering Challenge!

Perhaps you’ve heard or tried orienteering on land before—but have you ever thought of underwater orienteering or canoe orienteering? Here’s a tip: many compasses actually work very well underwater. 

Practise your aquatic skills or paddling skills by planning your own water orienteering challenge! Think of it as an extreme scavenger hunt that tests many Outdoor Adventure Skills. You could plan around any body of water – even a pool in your own backyard. 

 

  • Build your map. ‘X’ marks the spots! 
  • What landmarks or coordinates will you use? 
  • What equipment would you need to stay safe and complete the challenge?  

 

Need more information? Learn about Orienteering  to help you get started. Share your orienteering challenge with #ScoutsDoStuff! 

Activities to Love Your Water!

Get Outside and Splash Around this Summer!

Be the Captain of Your Boat

Better understand the importance of being safe on the water. 


Be BOATsmart 

Scouts Canada has partnered with BOATsmart to allow our members to earn their Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) at a reduced rate! Youth can hold this certification, though there are specific restrictions for those under 12 and for those between 12 and 16.  

BOATSMART DISCOUNT

Learn About Invasive Species 

Sometimes, our waterways get filled with plants and animals that aren’t supposed to be there. They might hitch a ride on a boat, or be dumped in the water by accident. Learn about how you can help prevent the spread of invasive species. 

AT HOME ALIEN EXPLORATION

Try a Pond Dip  

pond dip gives you a peek at the different species that live in a waterway. Learn about the different creatures that live near you – what will you discover during your dip? 

Love Your Water: Scuba Diving

By Venturer Scout & Youth Spokesperson, Elkan Fok

With the wide range of activities that the Canadian Path allows youth to explore, scuba diving is another way that Scouts can interact with the world around us. Conserving the environment is a major part of Scouting and that is why when we learn how to dive, we should do so safely and responsibly. My Group and I joined the Discover Scuba Diving program which has given us the unforgettable experience of loving the water in a different way. 

Before we got wet, we had to take a pre-dive workshop. This workshop taught us the safety guidelines, different hand signs for underwater communication, and how to respect the environment. Same as our usual practice of Leave No Trace, when we are exploring the beautiful bodies of water, we should keep our hands to ourselves and not disturb the creatures living there. The informative workshop prepared us for a great start to our first diving session. 

The practical part of acquiring the key skills of scuba diving was done in an indoor swimming pool, a well-controlled environment, with professional supervision.  First, we learned how to wear the compressed air tank, mask, and flipper properly.  It is not as difficult as it looks like since a heavy tank is buoyant much easier to handle in the water than it is on land. On the diving suit, there will be a packet around your body that holds oxygen.  You will learn how to use it to be able to balance at whatever depth you choose underwater.  It is a good habit to remember to adjust the valves slowly and carefully, otherwise, oxygen will be wasted.   

Secondly, we learned how to breathe with the diving gear. It felt very natural and once I got over the fear of sucking water down my lungs, it felt almost as easy as breathing on the surface.  One important thing to note about breathing as you dive is that there is more pressure when you are going down, so when you are going back to the surface, the gases in your lungs expand, risking your lungs expanding and potentially causing major damage to your body. It is crucial to constantly exhale when you are rising.  Another good tip in learning scuba diving is to always have your eyes on your instructor and your group. The hand signals we learned in the workshop come make it easy to communicate with others, and paying full attention to hand signals is the most effective way to stay safe and connected. 

Lessons would not be complete without the emergency drill. The drill includes critical lessons such as learning how to breathe from someone else’s suit should something happen to your own air supply.  It may seem daunting at first, but rest assured, as your instructor has got your back. Those drills were inspiring and painted a clear picture of the possible hazards so that we were always prepared. 

Having the freedom to breathe underwater is such an eye-opening experience, I could hardly imagine how fascinating it would be to go under the sea swimming with the fishes “hiking” up and down the coral hills.  Taking a few lessons goes a long way to making sure that you can go on safe and exciting adventures.  It would not only be fun to take the lessons with your group but to benefit from the group discount rate while complying with Scouts Canada’s safety policies.  Enjoy the fun of scuba diving, embracing the water today!! 

Exploring STEM

Water and STEM go hand in hand – try one of these great experiments and learn more about water and how we use it in our lives! 

What makes a boat float? Try building your own canoe out of everyday materials and find out what materials and shapes float best. 

Speaking of floating, learn what floats on water and what sinks as you make your own ocean in a bottle!  

How does water in lakes and rivers become clean enough for us to drink? Learn how water filters work and try making your own!  

#ScoutsDoStuff

Tag @scoutscanada in your #ScoutsDoStuff pics—let Scouting youth across Canada and around the world know how they can continue Scouting at home!


Scottish members of Scouting celebrated Canada Day online with friends from our side of the pond! 


Fiona Nicholson is taking part in the #WRHikingChallenge! 

Beaver Scouts from the Hong Kong Canadian Scout Group gave their encouragement to frontline medical workers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 


Scouts Canada Executive Commissioner Andrew Price is taking part in the hiking challenge, too

Conservation Is Key

Growing up in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, Mac Whitehead spent much of his childhood outdoors, which he says is thanks to Scouts Canada programs. This is what ultimately led him to apply to the Canadian Conservation Corps (CCC), a nine-month experience for youth between the ages of 18 and 30 who are passionate about the environment, conservation and wildlife.  

READ MORE

Staying Safe

We recognize that a change to online and at-home activities creates a vulnerability for some children especially those in difficult or at-risk living conditions. In line with our safety culture and values, Scouts Canada continues to prioritize safety and offers support by providing access to various experts and resources. We encourage kids to reach out to Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868) for 24/7 counselling. You can also visit Cybertip.ca for best practices on internet safety or review Scouts Canada’s Safety Tips on cyber safety and social media.

As always, be sure to keep the Two-Scouter Rule in mind, whether engaging in online conversations through email, virtual conversations with other Scouts or on social media, and by phone.