For many hearing the name “Scouts” equates to values, to community service, to adventure and to conservation. Today on National Wildlife Day we reiterate the commitment that SCOUTS South Africa makes towards educating children and youth people in the importance of biodiversity, conservation, being accountable for one’s own actions and how to step up and make a difference in the natural world around them.

These principles and learnings are embedded in all our branches where age-specific programmes include advancement and interest badge requirements to further drive home the importance of respecting our natural world, the wildlife, indigenous species, and the footprint we leave behind every time we explore and engage with the outdoors. Children and young people learn while doing their activities, their games, their hikes and camps.

Over and above our programmes we also encourage our members to undertake “national challenges” aligned to the Scouts for SDGs (Better World Framework) programmes of World Scouting, bringing together 57 million young people from around the world to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Peace and Climate actions such as “Messengers of Peace”, or “Litter Less” in partnership with the Foundation for Environmental Education, or the United Nation’s ‘Plastic Tide Turner’s Challenge’, or World Scouting’s “Champions for Nature” initiative, and more.  In October Scouts around the country will be joining the biggest online / on air jamboree (JOTA JOTI) in the world under the theme “Greening the world” to share their ideas and actions as a global force for conservation.

Through Scouting children and young people learn to be advocates for environmental conservation and are enabled to take small steps to better ‘their world’, that contribute to a much bigger ‘global impact’.