More from the Summit Blog

How 40,000 Scouts Will Become Ambassadors Of Sustainability

The BSA is on the move to deep green.

For the past century, the Boy Scouts of America has been instilling a conservation mindset in young people. At the Summit, this practice of stewardship is going to reach a whole new level.

Not only will the 2013 jamboree at the Summit be the pinnacle of traditional Scouting activities like patch trading and pioneering skills, and thrill-a-minute high-adventure activities, but it’s also going to be 10 days of immersion in sustainable living.

Sustainability has been part of the design thinking at the Summit from the ground up. And it’s up to the Scouts and Venturers who attend the jamboree to take these lessons back to the rest of their units at home—and their communities.

What’s Sustainability?

Sustainability means “any development that meets the needs of the present generation while meeting the needs of the future.”

There are three parts to sustainability:

  • Environmental
  • Social, and
  • Economic

These aspects of sustainability are interdependent. Good, long-term solutions keep all these in balance; it’s what you call win-win-win.

Where Will You See Sustainability at the Summit?

[pullquote]Sustainability — Any development that meets the needs of the present generation while meeting the needs of the future.[/pullquote]

Sustainability is going to be infused almost everywhere you look. Instead of throwaway plastic water bottles, we’ll be using reusable bottles. There will be locally harvested food. All of the transportation on site will be on foot. And a full 10 percent of the Summit has been dedicated as a nature preserve! (That’s over 1,000 acres!)

Want to see something really cool? Check out this video on the Summit’s low-flow water fixtures and greywater recycling system or this video on sustainable forest management.

Do you reduce, reuse or recycle? What sustainability practices are already in place in your home or community? Let us know in the comments.

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