De-Polluting Little Rocky Run

By Sebastian Strauss, Pack 1859 Webelos

On Sunday, April 25th 2021, dozens of LRR residents, including many Pack 1859 Cub Scouts and their families, spent the morning searching near waterways for hidden trash. We did this to clean our environment.

In total, we picked up 90 bags of garbage plus carpets, blankets, metal, and more. According to a post by Ned Foster in the Little Rocky Run Neighbor-to-Neighbor Facebook Group, “…This was the largest amount of trash picked up in any LRR clean up that I have ever participated in. The previous record was 78 bags by Boy Scout Troop 577 about ten years ago.”

The organizers of the LRR Neighborhood Clean Up included Sean Craft (my soccer coach!), Jeff Miller, Linda Isaza (Pack 1859 Cubmaster and Webelos Den Leader), and Ned Foster.

I learned that it is helpful for the environment and the animals to remove bottles, diapers, plastic bags, tarps, old tennis balls, candy wrappers, and discarded masks from the sewers. I didn’t like how polluted our neighborhood was, but I was glad we were able to help remove some of the garbage.

Picking up garbage with my friends Andrew and Carter and their Dads was a lot of fun. My favorite part was admiring the work we did in the neighborhood.

PACK 1859 Bear Scouts Earn STEM Award

Article by Bear Scout William Sayen

In my cubs can code class, I learned about how computers work. I learned that all computers have storage, a processor, input and output. I learned that computers only understand 1s and 0s, which are used in circuits.

I really enjoyed writing the code for a small game. You can change the way the game works by changing the code. We write code to make the computer do things like playing games. I would like to thank Mr. Harvey for teaching me to code, it was a great life experience.

PACK 1859 EARNS HORNADAY AWARD

The Cub Scouts of Pack 1859 have earned the Hornaday Unit Award working with our advisor Sara Holtz at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park by pulling up invasive species. We would use our hands to pick up Japanese Silkgrass. We would use big, cool Puller Bear tools to pull up Japanese Honeysuckle. You might be confused between normal honeysuckles and Japanese Honeysuckle. There is a difference. The difference between the two is the leaves and fruit.

Why did we get rid of the Japanese Silkgrass and Japanese Honeysuckle? Well, it was like junk food for the birds. If they ate it, they might not have the energy to migrate. My favorite part was knowing that I have helped. I thought it was nice to have a cleaner forest. I also thought it was fun pulling up the Japanese Silkgrass.

What is the Hornaday Unit Award, anyway? The William T. Hornaday Award is one of several awards that honor Willian T. Hornaday, the head taxidermist at the Smithsonian who helped establish the National Zoo.

September 2020 News

Pack 1859 has remained active despite COVID-19 and has plans for a very successful year! Activities will be conducted virtually and in-person when possible. All in-person activities will follow social distancing guidelines. Cub scouts offer outdoor experiences, social interaction and life-lessons for kids in grades K-5. These are especially important in this time of virtual school and the postponement of sports and other extracurricular activities.

Pack 1859 is planning on a mostly virtual program of activities this year (or until conditions improve). That will include monthly Pack meetings (all the Cub Scouts, K--5th) via Zoom video calls that will include guest speakers (police officers, etc..) and activities (we are planning on our first virtual campfire for our "camp with your family" fall (backyard) campout. 

Please contact us with any questions at cubmaster@pack1859.com.

October 2019 News

Scouts from Pack 1859 have been enjoying the mild Fall weather getting into the outdoors. Recently scouts went to the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge learning about local wildlife, and how to take care of the environment. Others went fishing at Riverbend Regional Park. Many scouts have participated in our annual popcorn fundraiser, helping to earn money to support their unit, as well as learning how to set goals and present information to other people. In November the pack will host its annual bake-off event, with parent-scout teams making pies, cakes, and breads with awards for the most delicious and creative creations.

Pack 1859 is chartered by the LRR HOA, and welcomes all children in kindergarten through the 5th grade. For more information on our unit, please check us out online at https://www.pack1859.com, or email Cubmaster A.J. Zadrozny at cubmaster@pack1859.com.

June 2019 News

Scouts from Pack 1859 participated in our annual advancement ceremony.  These scouts have been working hard all year on a wide variety of activities, such as learning how to keep their bodies healthy through proper nutrition and exercise, as well as performing skits for fellow scouts at a pack campfire.  Several scouts visited local police and fire stations, learning about the important roles these people play in our community.  Our oldest scouts are learning valuable leadership skills by teaching younger scouts new games and activities.  All have learned a lot, and are looking forward to exciting summer activities like day camp, hikes, baseball games, and more.  

Spring is an excellent times to join Cub Scouts.  All rising kindergarten through 5th grade aged children are invited to join us for our annual raingutter regatta on June 12, 2019, staring at 6:30 at RC #3.  Children will have the opportunity to meet new friends. Scouts are encouraged to bring a friend to the meeting. We will have extra boats available for those that do not bring their own to race. Leaders will be on hand to answer any questions you might have about the Cub Scout program.  If interested, please contact Cubmaster A.J. Zadrozny.  You can see other things our scouts have been doing on Facebook.  We hope to see you there!