Welcome to the 59th Johnson Creek OSG Scout Group!

We are a traditional and inclusive scouting group that is part of the Outdoor Service Guides (formally the Baden Powell Service Association or BPSA).   To find out more about our programs please checkout  https://outdoorserviceguides.org/   

The 59th Johnson Creek was founded in 2021 and grew out of a desire to have local scouting in the Sellwood area in association with the Sellwood Community House (https://www.sellwoodcommunityhouse.org/). 

Our ordinal comes from the year that Oregon became a state in 1859 and we are named after the local watershed that gives life to the wildlife in the area.  Our colors are green, brown and blue representing the river winding through the colors of nature.   

This page is intended to provide basic information about our group.  We also have a facebook presence https://www.facebook.com/59thjohnsoncreek/ . 

Community-based and Volunteer Run

We are a volunteer run program which means that we need families to help out.   Helping out can mean anything from helping with the books, fund raising, cooking at campouts, being a background checked helper or leading one of our programs.  Leading means you become a scout yourself and ideally attend a training camp. As training camps happen once or twice a year, you can join and start leading prior to training.  No special skills are required to lead except for the ability to work as part of a team.  It is fun and a great way to enjoy scouting with your child.   All leaders are background checked.   

A big part of what we are about is building a small community of families who scout together in and around Sellwood.   As a community organization there is a lot of leeway for those who join to shape the program around scouting.   

Group Structure

Our scout group has 4 sections:  Otters with Chipmunks, Timberwolves, Pathfinders and Rovers. 

Chippies!!!

The OSG allows younger siblings to tag along to Otter events with their parents as a Chipmunk.   It is an unofficial part of the program but also a good way to introduce kids into scouting.   Chipmunks join in on Otter events as much as they are able.  They are absolutely adorable in their yellow shirts!

Otters (5-7 year olds)

Otters go on adventures, learn useful outdoor and family skills, and participate in age-appropriate service to the community. They are crafting with their hands, working as a group, and camping together with their families.   The program revolves around earning a series of badges focused on Helping, Activities, Handicrafts, Nature, Service, and Camping.   Lots of fun and a great introduction to future scouting.  

Timberwolves (8 - 10 year olds)

Timberwolves continues the emphasis on games and make believe, but starts including more adventures with a greater emphasis on teamwork, and at the same time giving the kids more independence.  They camp without their parents, and often sleep in tents with other Timberwolves.  Our plan for the first year will be to collaborate with the 55 th Cascadia Timberwolf Pack.   The vision is of a program that includes:  Fall and Spring Campouts, a Trip to Mazama Lodge to scout in the snow, Canoe Trips, Fire Making, Cooking, Knife Skills along with hiking and other outdoor skills.   The Timberwolf program is often tailored to the skills of the leaders but revolves around attaining badges.

Pathfinders (11 - 17 year olds)

The normal arc of the scouting program is to graduate from Timberwolves into Pathfinders.  The Pathfinder program is all about leadership and working as a team with the goal that the youth helps run the program.   They plan bigger adventures while at the same time working on more complex and challenging skills and badges.  To get an idea of the difference, Timberwolves would do some canoe races, whereas the pathfinders might do a multi-day journey down the Willamette River.  The Pathfinder program in the OSG is currently be revamped and we are anxiously awaiting a new handbook.   

Rovers (18+ )

Adults do not have to be left out ….   We need leaders and we ask leaders to become scouts in their own right.   Many Rovers focus much of their time helping run the kids programs but many groups have done Rover only events and Rover and Child events.    In particular, the 55th Cascadia scout group came up the idea of a R24 which is a 24 hour rover event with a challenge.   Past events have included, camping and learning wood craft skills on an old tree farm to primitive shelter camping.   Our leaders are not survivalists but you would be amazed by how much outdoor knowledge they have and are willing to share.  

Meeting Times and Dates

Our regular meeting time is 10 am to noon, two Sundays a month.  We are outside and tend to go to local parks in the Sellwood area, but at times we will go further afield for hikes, campouts and service projects.   

Costs

The goal of the Outdoor Service Guides is to make scouting as accessible as possible so in general so we try to keep fees low and offer scholarships.   The basic fee is $100 to help pay for neckers, badges, insurance, background checks, supplies, etc.   In addition certain events will require an additional fee to cover any extra costs.  A great example would be buying food for a camping event or paying for site costs.   

Covid

In general we seek to follow here.   We realize that this is a controversial topic, but our goal is to focus on scouting and not public health policy.  Therefore, as much as possible we will be following the lead of the local schools.   Currently this involves:

• Scouting outdoors as much as possible.  This is a normal thing for our organization 
• We ask anyone experiencing flu like symptoms to stay home.

Can I Join

The arc of the scouting program for regular meetings is September through June with the summer being reserved for special events that are typically for the older scouts.  We also will use this time for planning for the next year.   We are currently recruiting for the 24/25 year which will start in September with the idea that registration will start in  August and applicants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis with the exception that we will always make a spot for families that volunteer.   The group will likely stay small next year to foster building a tight community and to minimize the logistics with a large group.    Definitely pay attention to our facebook page if you want to see more pictures of events:   https://www.facebook.com/59thjohnsoncreek/.  

In addition we ask all families who join to respect the fact that this is a volunteer run.   This means families that join must commit to their scouts attending meetings, to responding to emails and to help out as part of the community even if they cannot be a leader.    Please see use this form to indicate you are interested in joining https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdec-uWflAkHzBJPue8AhOenFCi1URBKWZWbM9A-eCMs5Xxew/viewform?usp=sharing.   

Use this website to officially register your interest and then forms will be mailed to you.  

Mail 59thJohnsonCreek@gmail.com if you want more information.