BLM Learning Landscapes--News

by Bibi Booth, Washington Office

For the seventh consecutive time, BLM joined other Interior agencies to offer hands-on conservation education opportunities at the National Boy Scout Jamboree, which took place from July 25-August 3, 2005.

Erin Albiston of the National Interagency Fire Center guides Scouts through their "FireWise" assessment of specially-built model houses.

The quadrennial Jamboree has been hosted by Fort A.P. Hill, a U.S. Army base in Bowling Green, Virginia, since 1981; the Jamboree occupies 3,000 of the base's 76,000 acres. BLM was one of 22 Federal, State, and other agencies to exhibit along the Jamboree's ¾-mile-long "Conservation Trail," which presented Scouts the chance to learn conservation skills, enhance their understanding of 21^st-century conservation issues, and earn the "Conservation/Environment Area" official Boy Scouts of America patch.

Organized by the Washington Office Environmental Education & Volunteers Group, BLM's one-acre exhibit—a six-station tour highlighting some of the public lands' diverse resources and programs—offered interactive educational activities guided by BLM specialists from around the nation. A sampling of what greeted Scouts as they wended their way along the BLM exhibit's boardwalks:

a full-size Plains Indian tipi for Scouts to decorate with authentic tipi motifs
a resin replica of the skull of a new ceratopsian (horned) dinosaur from Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; Scouts were challenged to determine how the "victim" had met its doom
boisterous races to make kid-size houses "FireWise" (i.e., more protected against wildland fire)
full- and kid-size all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), courtesy of a local dealership, to illustrate the importance of proper equipment, safe riding, and "Tread Lightly!" ethics
a wild horse and burro exercise to explain the "alpha angle code" that BLM uses to uniquely identify animals for adoption
an electricity/usage-rate activity that asked the question: "‘Watts' Your Energy Budget?"

Merle Graffam of Utah 's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument awaits the next wave of fossil enthusiasts beside a huge skull cast from a new ceratopsian dinosaur species discovered within the Monument.

The theme of public lands stewardship was subtly woven throughout each of these activities, and an exit tent highlighted BLM careers and volunteer opportunities. BLM staff also participated at an interagency "Leave No Trace" exhibit, located up-trail from the BLM site.

On July 28, Assistant Secretary Rebecca Watson attended the Jamboree Conservation Committee's "VIP Luncheon" with other agency leaders, and enthusiastically walked the length of the Trail accompanied by several BLM "trail guides." Watson remarked, "Land stewardship is best learned through action. BLM's fun, interactive contribution to the Conservation Trail demonstrates BLM's multiple-use mission. From dinosaur investigations, to making a home "fire-safe," to learning to ride an ATV safely, to the wise use of energy and making Native American art—Scouts learned that BLM land stewardship is full of variety and offers many opportunities for them to make a difference in their own communities." BLM-ers from several Washington Office Groups and the Eastern States Office visited the Trail on other occasions during the Jamboree.

It is estimated that more than 20,000 Scouts trekked through the BLM and Leave No Trace exhibits over the 11-day course of the Jamboree, many of the boys returning—family and friends in tow—for second and even third visits. As one such repeat visitor volunteered, "I wish I could come here as often as I want. I came back today just to take pictures. Thanks so much!"

Adults, too, spoke up: Scout leaders and other visitors complimented "the good, hands-on science" that Scouts were learning at the BLM exhibit and offered high praise for the BLM staff who worked to make the exhibit educational, dazzling, and a great time for all.

BLM cultural resource specialists Ranel Capron of Wyoming, Richard Brook of Washington, D.C., and Bob King of Alaska and Visual Information Specialist Wayne Rice of Colorado (second from left) complete the framework of an actual Plains Indian tipi.

Despite some daunting challenges, including tragic accidents and extreme heat, the 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree nevertheless proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime, positive experience for most of its 40,000+ participants, who came from every state in the U.S. as well as many foreign countries. The 2005 Jamboree boasted the largest attendance figures in over 40 years. The success of the complex BLM exhibit was due in large measure to months of preparation by talented, imaginative BLM resource specialists and volunteers, whose diverse skills (not to mention manual labor) transformed an overgrown, nondescript half-acre of land into an inviting, wheelchair-accessible learning adventure for thousands.

Exhibit construction and dismantling were carried out with a keen sense of environmental conscience, with the BLM site fully returned to its former state at the close of the Jamboree. Except for some packaging and construction materials, almost all components of the BLM exhibit are slated for reuse by BLM educational facilities around the U.S.

The official Jamboree website, which includes video clips of President Bush's visit with the Scouts as well as an online version of the Jamboree newspaper, Jamboree Today, is at http://www.bsajamboree.org.