HOHENFELS, Germany -- Suspended walkways in the trees, elevated platforms and dwellings between tall evergreens may sound like the home of the furry and fierce Ewoks from the movie "Return of the Jedi." And, that's exactly what the Scouts of Troop 303 from Hohenfels thought during their campout in the Bavarian Forest, recently.
Boy Scout campouts serve two purposes. The first is to get out and have fun, camping and cooking as a team in the field and sleeping in the fresh air of the great outdoors. The second is to learn something you didn't know about your environment and see something you've never done or seen before.
Part of the learning on this campout focused on two specific merit badges: forestry and mammal study. There are more than 20 nature and conservation-type merit badges that Scouts can earn. They must complete five conservation or nature merit badges and complete a conservation service project to earn the coveted Hornaday Award. Named after William T. Hornaday, a late 19th and early 20th century conservationist and director of the Bronx Zoo, fewer than 1,200 Scouts have earned this award in the past 100 years.
One Troop 303 scout is very close to completing not only all the requirements for this prestigious award, but also for his Eagle Scout, the premiere award a scout can earn.
Jacob Nantz, a National Honor Society and three-sport varsity high school student at Hohenfels Middle/High School, helped plan and execute a great weekend outing in the Bavarian Forest National Park, one of only 15 national parks in Germany.
This focus on nature and conservation, and the elevated walking platforms among the trees, gave the campout its name, "E-walk." E-Walk stands for Ecology-walk, and also plays on "Ewoks," the famed Star Wars creatures.
The early-November temperatures were cold, but what could have easily been a wet and dreary weekend saw clear blue skies and lots of sunshine in the meadows and the suspended walkways of the "Baumwipfelweg" (tree top path). Scouts could easily see to what used to be a guarded border to the Czech Republic just 6 kilometers away and down to the Danube River more than 30 kilometers to the south.
Tristan Jacobs, a Star Scout who recently came to the Troop from Kentucky, said, "I liked the campsite a lot, it was way back in the forest, the forests are thicker than in Kentucky, and they are really clean."
Prior coordination with German National Park authorities got the troop a lead on the best campsite right on the boundary of the park. Having sent the requirements for the two merit badges to the park staff ahead of time, the park provided a very knowledgeable English speaking guide for free.
Leading the scouts several miles through the park, the guide shared many interesting facts about the local trees and animals, including wolves, bear and lynx, which used to be wild throughout the Bavarian Forest and the neighboring national park on the Czech side of the border.
The guide also discussed differences in the way forests in the U.S. are commercially harvested versus the way it's done in Germany, as well as differences in firefighting and pest control methods. He covered much of the material for both merit badges and quizzed the scouts at every opportunity.
In the evening the scouts gathered around the campfire, finishing up the requirements of their merit badges and sharing stories.
"The campfire was the best part of the campout," said Adam Fisher, a Star Scout new to the troop. "We told stories, played some games and ate dessert -- that was great."
The following day the troop took to the elevated platforms of the Baumwipfelweg, ending at a platform cresting the tallest trees some 200 feet above ground.
"It was very educational and the forest was very beautiful, we learned a lot about trees and it was fun being like the Ewoks," said Jay Larsen, troop assistant patrol leader.
"I learned the difference between a spruce tree and a fir tree, and that the spruce cones hang down and fall to the ground as one piece and fir cones grow upright and peel, like an onion, and fall to the ground in pieces," said Kyle Horning, a Second Class Scout who recently transferred from another location in Germany.
While the two merit badges put all the scouts that much closer to a Hornaday Award, the real prize was that they all learned that they can improve their environment and help others improve the planet.
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