Some of my fondest memories are of my years spent as a volunteer Scout leader. For over a dozen years, I had the privilege of serving in various positions in a Cub Scout Pack and a Boy Scout Troop. Perhaps unbeknownst to many never involved in Scouting, since the inception of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, caring for the outdoors—our natural environment—has been part of the program.
Beginning as “Tiger Cubs” during their first-grade years, and throughout a Scout’s journey up to the rank of Eagle Scout and beyond into adulthood, the Scouting program teaches young men, through hands-on experience, how to care for the environment, largely through a principle known as “Leave No Trace.”
Whenever Scouts participate in outdoor activities, they are taught the importance of protecting and preserving nature. One of the final activities of any outing, for example, is a simple, practical yet ceremonial activity called a “sweep,” where Scouts carefully inspect every square foot of a campsite to be sure it is left in pristine condition—leaving no trash, no “trace.”
As the BSA website describes the concept:
Leave No Trace is an awareness and an attitude rather than a set of rules. It applies in your backyard or local park as much as in the backcountry. We should all practice Leave No Trace in our thinking and actions–wherever we go… Help protect the backcountry by remembering that while you are there, you are a visitor… Leave everything just as you found it. Hiking and camping without a trace are signs of an expert outdoorsman, and of a Scout or Scouter who cares for the environment. Travel lightly on the land.
To my way of thinking, this is was and is a practical, pragmatic way to deal with environmental concerns. No politics—just a love for nature, and simple, sensible ways to live in harmony with it.
And so, it is in this spirit that I am excited to share with you some changes in ALIVE Magazine. While we have always been careful about using responsible, “eco-friendly” materials and methods, such as using Soy inks and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) paper, we recently discovered another great program known as “Print Releaf.”
Simply put, this program calculates the amount of paper used to produce each issue of ALIVE, then trees are planted somewhere in the world where they are most needed. As explained on their website:
PrintReleaf warrants that the paper measured is reforested back into the natural environment. PrintReleaf guarantees an eventual 1:1 replacement of paper:biomass. Net impact is, at minimum, neutral – and often positive.
In addition to ALIVE’s other environmentally-responsible certifications, we are now proud to be “Print Releaf Certified,” and with this issue of ALIVE alone, thirty trees will be planted in either Brazil, the Dominican Republic, India, Ireland, Madagascar, or the United States!
As publisher of this magazine, my “Scout DNA” is alive and well, and all of our readers, writers, and advertisers can know that “Leave No Trace” will continue as a guiding principles of ALIVE.
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