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Scouter Deryck's Scouting Plus Homepage File:

"Badge Collecting: A True Scouting Hobby"

By Deryck N. Robertson & Mark Adams

There is, perhaps, nothing more truly Scouting than badge collecting and trading. At most Scouting events, there can be found people engaged in lively swapping. For those of us actively involved in this hobby, it is important that we encourage younger members of Scouting to take up collecting themselves. It is an excellent way for them to meet others and to learn about Scouting in other cities, provinces, and around the world.

How can we as Scouters get the youth involved in badge collecting? Well, here are a few simple ideas:

• Encourage the youth to start their own campfire blanket. Have them put event badges on it and when they move from one section to the next, they can sew their whole sash on it. Let them know that this blanket can be their own personal Scouting history.
  
• Start a group blanket. Put badges from event such as Apple Day, Scoutrees, Kub Kar Rallies, Beaverees, district camporees, and other camps on it. If your group goes out-of-province or to international events, put the provincial badge or country flag on the blanket. Have the youth sew on the badges themselves as this will give them a sense of ownership of the blanket. This then will become your group history to go along with pictures and any printed material you have collected over the years. When new members join your group, have the older members tell them stories about past events using the blanket as a starting point. To give your youth an idea of what a group blanket could look like, take them to see your district campfire blanket if they have one, or have the district badge secretary bring it to your meeting.
  
• Take your group to a local swap meet or host one of your own. Badgers are always looking for places to meet new people and to find old and new badges. Pick a date, find a location, and put out some tables. If you advertise it, they will come. Putting out some coffee and doughnuts doesn't hurt either. This can also be a fund raiser for your group.
  
• Join the Canadian Badgers' Club (12194 - 86th Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia, V3W 3H7) as an individual or as a group. After joining, you receive a quarterly magazine - the Canadian Badger, a directory of members, and a handbook of Canadian badges. There is also the International Badgers' Club and clubs in other countries you can join.
  
• Leaders can encourage badge collecting by helping to start off their collections. When the youths reginster in the fall, give them an extra district badge, regional badge, or other such item for them to trade at a later date. You local Scout Shop will usually have surplus and older event crests available for under a dollar.

For those youth that have access to the Internet, there are many sites dedicated to badge trading and collecting. On some sites you can post a message stating what you have to offer or what you would like to receive in a trade. People can then respond to your ad. For those with access to a scanner, you can trade badges virtually. You can download scanned images of badges and send in your own scanned images. (Note: It is recommended to have parents involved with their children when any on-line activity is occuring. While most people involved in this and other activities on the Internet are honest and trustworthy, there are those who might use this opportunity for deceitful and dangerous purposes. Children should never give out their names and addresses without their parents' knowledge and consent.)

For organising collections, only a couple of items are all that are needed: a binder, and some plastic pages used for baseball cards or photos are perfect to keep the badges easily visible. Just make sure the pages are archival quality. After starting out small, collections can grow fast. Soon, their collections can far beyond badges into other Scouting memorabilia such as older uniforms and books.

The most important thing to keep in mind with this hobby is that it is not only about the badges, it also about the many long-lasting friendships that can develop with fellow Scouts and collectors.

Programme Links: Collector Badge, Citizenship Badge, Troop Specialty Badge, Cultural Awareness Badge, etc.

Biography

Scouter Deryck N. Robertson is the Troop Scouter with the 15th Peterborough Salvation Army Scout Group and an Assistant Rover Advisor with the 1st Wooler Rover Crew. He is always looking for a good trade and can be contacted at scouter@bigfoot.com .

Scouter Mark Adams is a Rover in the 1st Wooler Rover Crew and a Scout Counsellor with the 15th Peterborough Salvation Army Scout Group. Also a badger, he can be contacted at madams@ptbo.igs.net .