Carbonfund.org | Reduce what you can, offset what you can't

Media

An Interview With Boy Scout Troop #8, Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic

Not all our partners are small businesses and nonprofits. Nor do they all hail from the United States.

Last year, Boy Scout Troop #8, of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, reached out to Carbonfund.org to offset their 2007 trip to Alaska. MyClimateMinute caught up with Tomas Marsik, a former member and the troop’s guide on their Alaska trip to find out how the trip went and what the future holds for them.

Boy Scout Troop 8, based in the town of Mlada Boleslav, Czech Republic, was founded in 1937. Last year, 2007, marks the 70th anniversary of the troop’s existence of our troop and also the 100th anniversary of world scouting, which started on the Brownsea Island in UK in 1907. For the occasion, Troop 8 organized its long-dreamed-of expedition to Alaska to explore the incredible wilderness. Their goal was to strengthen their scout capabilities and further develop their values – friendship, respect for each other, and respect for the environment.
Carbonfund.org:What’s the history of Troop 8?

Tomas Marsik: The troop is composed of Czech Republic citizens. It’s the troop that I was part of when I was little—I am originally from the Czech Republic. I live in Alaska now, since 2003, and that’s how the troop came up with the idea that they would do the expedition to Alaska at the hundredth anniversary of world scouting. So, they contacted me, introduced the idea, asked for help and I said yes.

CF: How was the trip to Alaska?

TM: The trip to Alaska was really fantastic. It is difficult to pick the best part of it, but one of the best parts was a four-day rafting trip down the Copper River. We saw mountains, glaciers, bears, all that. Our rafting trip ended at the famous Childs Glacier where the glacier is calving right into the Copper River.

CF: Did you see or hear about any evidence of climate change effects--melting glaciers or permafrost, different animal or plant distributions, etc.?

TM: Yes, we definitely saw evidence of climate change. For example, there is a view spot of Portage Glacier on one of the roads in Alaska. We stopped there. The view spot is still there, but you cannot see the glacier anymore because it receded and now it’s hidden behind a curve of the valley.

CF: How does Carbonfund.org fit into the picture?

TM: We donated to offset the flight of all 26 expedition members from the Czech Republic to Alaska. The troop realizes that reducing our impact is a priority, and we will consider carefully all our future flights. We believe Carbonfund.org is doing a great job spreading the ‘reduce’ message in addition to providing the carbon offsets. The ‘reduce’ message is critical for the future of our planet.”

CF: What do Boy Scouts in general learn about climate change, greenhouse gasses, and carbon footprints? Are there any merit badges related to these topics?

TM: Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any badges related to climate change. But one of the important characters of a boy scout is that he is beneficial to others, which implies that he is protecting the environment, because that’s how he can be beneficial to the future generations. It seems to me that the connection between scouting and environmentalism is stronger in the Czech Republic than it is in the USA, though. What struck us when we visited an American Boy Scout camp last summer here in Alaska was that they were using disposable dishes for meals. We made a comment about it, but unfortunately it didn’t receive a strong attention.