Boat U.S. - March 2009 - (Page 16)

rePorts Million-Hour Mega Gift For Waterways One million hours of volunteer work is a lofty goal by any standard, but for the striving young men and women of the Sea Scouts, who’ve planned a nationwide waterway cleanup in 2009, it’s a challenge they’re determined to meet, and other youth organizations are rolling up their sleeves to pitch in. When their landlubber brothers, The Boy Scouts of America, turn 100 next year, the Sea Scouts hope to offer the gift of a million hours of voluntary service to our waterways. But their project, conducted in cooperation with the National Youth Marine Alliance (NYMA), is not limited to scouting. Any youth organization can participate in the “Preserve America’s Waterways” campaign and the Alliance can show them how to get involved. “Kids and youth organizations are great at carrying out service work but they’re not always so good at finding the projects,” says Jimmie Homburg, former National Sea Scout Commodore and a director of NYMA. “That’s where the campaign comes in.” The scouts have formed national partnerships with various agencies that can use some help on the waterfront, including NOAA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service, and the EPA Office of Wetlands Oceans and Watersheds. But it’s not limited to federal agencies; a whole range of ventures is being planned, such as cleanups to coincide with BoatU.S. Magazine March 2009 BoatU.S. National Marina Day. “We have asked our partners to provide projects related to the water,” says Homburg. “The type of project will depend on the nature of the site and location.” Just a few of the suggested projects include beach, bank, and marina cleanups, water quality monitoring, erosion control, and hazardous substance disposal. Organizations eager to get involved can go to www. pawaterways.com to register a project or volunteer to help. Completed hours toward the “mega million,” as Homburg calls it, can be logged on the web site. The winner of last year’s BoatU.S. Sea Scout National Flagship Award, Sea Scout Ship 41 from Bay Village, Ohio, is just one of the many groups getting involved. Richard Gash, adult leader of Ship 41, says his crew is eager to get started. Last year they developed a “flotsam scoop,” a rake-like invention to lift litter and scum out of the water that they plan to put to good use in their area as part of the Preserve America’s Waterways initiative. “We gave these tools to six marinas last year,” says Gash. “This year we’d like to provide the scoops, maybe at cost, to other marinas and yacht clubs. Our youth expect to donate hundreds of hours themselves by conducting cleanups several times a month.” No word yet on whether the “gift” will be reciprocated when Sea Scouts hit the ripe old age of 100 in 2012. — A.D. http://www.pawaterways.org http://www.pawaterways.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - March 2009

Boat U.S. - March 2009 Contents Reader Forum Boat U.S. Reports What’s New In The Brew? The Perfect Paint Job Launch Into Spring Boats Gear Wheels One Mom, Two Teens, No Exit So, Nigel Had This Idea Ice Devices It Was A Club Of Their Own Expanding The Boating Universe Tech Connection A Case Study In Getting Results Let’s All Do This Together Classifieds Member Benefits/At Your Service

Boat U.S. - March 2009

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