Green Scouting

Since the 1980s, self-styled Green Scouts have appeared in several countries, related to the protection of the environment and in some cases linked to Greens Parties. However, specifically environmentally-minded Scouts have existed since the very earliest days of the movement.

Background

In response to a rash of devastating fires in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the State of Michigan established a group of Boy Scouts called the Michigan Forest Scouts in 1912. A similar group, with nearly identical badges, was later established in the State of New York. The purpose of these organizations was not character building, as it was with the Boy Scouts of America, and there were no ranks or merit badges. Instead, the Forest Scouts were charged with protecting the state's forests, and as a result were considered auxiliary fire wardens. Although the BSA typically disapproved of such groups, it was not so with the Forest Scouts. In one of the BSA's annual reports, the Forest Scouts are mentioned with approval and a note is made that "the groups are headed up by Boy Scout men and that the Forest Scouts and the Boy Scouts of America are closely affiliated."

Forest

A forest is a large area of land covered with trees or other woody vegetation. Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing and ecological function. According to the widely used United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization definition, forests covered an area of four billion hectares (15 million square miles) or approximately 30 percent of the world's land area in 2006.

Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across the globe. Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant biomass.

Forests at different latitudes form distinctly different ecozones: boreal forests near the poles tend to consist of evergreens, while tropical forests near the equator tend to be distinct from the temperate forests at mid-latitude. The amount of precipitation and the elevation of the forest also affects forest composition.

Forest (name)

Forest is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:

Surname:

Given name:

Forest (Mbeya ward)

Kata ya Foresti (English: Forest Ward) is an administrative ward in the Mbeya Urban district of the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 7,209.

References