Scouting and sustainable forestry go hand in hand in northern Minnesota, thanks to the efforts of both SFI and Boy Scouts of America.
This year, Cub Scouts in packs across northern Minnesota will receive free SFI Race Kits for use in their Pinewood Derby™. Packs will receive one “SFI Race Kit” for every registered Scout; the donation of these kits is made possible through a partnership with the Minnesota (MN) SFI Implementation Committee and our “Trees to Track” project with the Boy Scouts of America. The effort utilizes locally grown, harvested and milled wood products certified to the SFI Standard to develop pinewood blanks for donation to local Northern Minnesota cub scouts. The wood blocks are made from a tree which was harvested this past spring at Camp Wilderness as part of the camp’s forest management plan. The MN SFI Implementation Committee worked with a qualified logging professional to harvest wood from the BSA Camp Wilderness in Northern Minnesota, which is American Tree Farm System certified.
Logs labeled SFI® are being transported from the Camp Wilderness Tree Farm to a local sawmill. These logs will be sawn and milled in to 2,500 SFI® certified race kits for use with the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby® race.
SFI is encouraging scouts to design their race car with a sustainability theme. Scouts should submit a photo of the finished car via email or by posting it on the MN SFI Implementation Committee Facebook page. Photos must be submitted by February 28, 2014. The Cub Scout who submits the winning design will win a $50 Amazon gift card.
This is a great example of how SFI and its partners are working with the Scouting program to further the education and utilization of sustainable forestry in Scouting. For more information about the project, contact me: Dave Chura with the Minnesota Logger Education Program and the MN SFI Implementation Committee.
We can’t wait to see the sustainability-themed cars for this great, Scouting tradition!
Dave Chura Executive Director at Minnesota Logger Education Program
