Scouts Canada and BC Parks unveiled a new badge designed by eight-year-old cub scout Owen Andrews during the start of a big camp-out on the Sunshine Coast.

Owen Andrews, who is with the 2nd Fort Victoria Cub Scout Pack in Victoria, was the winner of a provincewide crest design competition. His winning badge featured BC Parks mascot Jerry the Moose set against a backdrop of mountains, sky and a green field.

To receive the commemorative crest, scouts must participate in kayaking, sailing or canoeing adventures planned for nearby Porpoise Bay Provincial Park. They also have to learn about Porpoise Bay park and visit the BC Parks tent on the Jamboree grounds to learn more about the provincial park system. When scouts have completed these requirements, a BC Park Ranger will award them with the 100th anniversary crest.

More than 3,100 scouts set up camp in the woods of the Sunshine Coast last Saturday for a week-long Pacific Jamboree, where they will learn teamwork and outdoor skills and participate in special events to mark the centennial of BC Parks.

About 2,500 youth aged 11-14, plus about 800 teen volunteer leaders and adult supervisors, will spend July 9-16 at Camp Byng, near Gibsons, in a Lord Of The Rings-themed week of adventure and outdoor learning. Scouts from every region of B.C. will be attending the jamboree, along with scouts from eight provinces, the United Kingdom, Unites States and Australia.

Special events will be held in parks throughout the province all year long as BC Parks honours 100 years of conservation and recreation, from the snowy peak of Mount Robson to the tidal pools of Haida Gwaii.

Quick Facts:

• Camp Byng is an 81-hectare (200-acre) campground situated on the Sechelt Peninsula, also known as the Sunshine Coast. Since its official opening in 1922, the camp has hosted tens of thousands of scouts youth and other youth organizations.
• Held at Camp Byng since 1999 (every four years), the Pacific Jamborees is a massive logistical undertaking that nearly double the population of the Gibsons area.
• Along with hundreds of tents pitched under the stars, Camp Byng includes four lodges, a massive food distribution system to allow each group of scouts to prepare their own meals, a post office, spiritual centre, first-aid clinic, and a kilometre of oceanfront.
• The scouting movement began 104 years ago.
• Parking fees were eliminated from B.C. Parks on May 3 to help make them more accessible and inviting to families.
• The Province has launched a BC Parks Passport Program offering kids rewards for visiting parks this summer.
• With 13.6 per cent of the province is set aside as parks and protected areas, B.C. has the second-largest park system in Canada - second only to the national park system.

Learn More:

Find out more about BC Parks 100 celebrations at: www.bcparks.ca

Connect with BC Parks on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/YourBCParks

More information about scouts programs in B.C. is available at: www.scouts.ca

Contact:

Suntanu Dalal
Communications
Ministry of Environment
250 387-9745