Schools and Scouting, Partners in Education is an innovative outdoor education program offered by Scouts Canada, now in its 13th year.  The program is designed to supplement and complement Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 curriculum topics, including social studies, science, physical education, and fine arts, as well as the associated learning as mandated by the BC Ministry of Education’s Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs). Over the years, we have partnered with many schools in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Langley, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford and Central Okanagan, seeing well over 1,400 students participating in our program last year alone!

The program is a combination of eight in-classroom sessions designed to promote an appreciation of the outdoors, and a residential 2 ½ day camp at Scouts Canada’s Camp McLean; a unique property located in the Campbell Valley in South Langley.  All classroom and camp sessions contain elements of “Leave No Trace,” principles of outdoor ethics. Specifically, the topics addressed in this program are Team Building, Outdoor Cooking, Fire-building, Pioneering, Shelter Building, Map Reading and Orienteering, Hike Planning, Outdoor Safety, Singing, Skits, Campfire, and Archery.

The Schools and Scouting content is derived from skills taught in the first-year Scout program. The in-class sessions are an introduction to a variety of these skills and the camp sessions that follow provide the opportunity to participate hands-on in the activities discussed in the classroom.  As outdoor education in many schools has been limited, the Schools and Scouting program fills a niche for teachers who are interested in the program but may not have the personal skills or the resources to provide this experience to their students on their own.

We can accommodate classes of between 40 - 120 students at a time. The ratio of students to adults at camp is six to one (teachers, other staff or parent volunteers; at your discretion).

If you or your teachers would like to learn more about the Schools and Scouting, Partners in Education program or if you would like to arrange a site visit to Camp McLean, please contact Cory Douris, Community Development Worker (CDW) at 604-999-6040 or by email cdouris@scouts.ca.  We look forward to working with you and your students!