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3/8/12

Scout Hercules 283!


"Hercules 283" is the name that someone came up with for a group of scouts from A Coruña in 1975. Without a doubt, none of its founding members would have been able to predict that thirty-six years later the scout group would still be around and include almost fifty children and young adults. 


The current members, aged 7 to 21, are divided into a number of different sections according to age and official guidelines established by the Spanish Federation of Scout Associations (ASDE). The members from each section discuss during a general assembly their common interests and how they are going to collaborate to work on them, always with the help and guidance of their leaders.

All of their new projects over the upcoming months are dedicated toward improving the environment, and we celebrate their recent integration into the Jane Goodall Institute's Global Roots & Shoots program. WELCOME!



Let's begin with youngest section ,"La Manada" (The Pack), which is comprised of eighteen children ages 7 to 11.

The members, "Los Lobatos" (The Wolf Cubs), have decided to tackle the problem of all the plastic and aluminum foil that is used to wrap up their snacks and lunches. They've decided to take matters into their own hands with the project "Responsible Snacks" where each child picks a reusable container for snack, personally decorates it, and finally puts an end to the need for unnecessary packaging and waste.

Isn't that a great and simple idea?



Now, every Saturday afternoon while the group sits around the table at a snack-time meeting, they figure out other actions to take in the up-coming week. It's their "Eco-Advice" time! Things like taking a shower instead of a bath, which were once difficult to get used to doing, are now simple habits. Great job kids!



What's more (yes! there is more!), this group also collaborates with Rebeca Atencia, a veterinarian from their own region who is in charge of Tchimpounga, a chimpanzee recuperation center run by the Jane Goodall Institute in Congo, Africa. They have decided to help the more than 150 orphaned chimpanzees that have been rescued from hunters, traffickers, or individuals that held them as pets. The hope is that they will soon be reincorporated into the wild. More info here! 

Now it's time to learn about "La Tropa" (The Troup), the section of fourteen children aged 11 to 14.



"The Manada" of Scout Group Hercules 283 has decided to join the program "Movilízate por la Selva" www.movilizateporlaselva.org, a project of the Jane Goodall Institute in Spain. Proceeds from mobile phone collection and recycling go to helping operate Tchimpounga and other programs.

In only one month, the group has collected 48 cell phones among the fourteen members. Moreover, every week you can see all the phones they have collected on a counter kept on the group's website. They have become "Mobile Agents" with great ideas to collect old phones. For example, Hugo has put up an announcement in the entrance of his apartment building telling neighbors they can bring used phones to his home and they will be recycled responsibly. Many thanks Hugo! Great idea! We hope other groups will do the same!

Working together with the younger group, they have expanded the mobile phone recycling program and now have a new project to collect ink and toner cartridges. Every week you can visit the counter on their website to see just how many items they are collecting and recycling.


But what this group of fourteen young people really like is being in nature. Therefore they have joined in on the program "Proyecto Ríos" (Project Rivers). This program, which is carried out in six regions of Spain, involves more than 1,400 groups of volunteers who commit to collecting research material on a section of their local river. The data are then sent to the central offices of Proyeco Ríos where they are analyzed and written up into reports that will help determine if any action to protect the river needs to be taken.


"The Troup" has chosen the River Castro for a very special reason. This river runs through the small area of Narahío where the first environmental scout center of Spain is located. This center was created in May of 2010 by Hercules 283, now a member of R&S Spain!

Moving on to he next group! "La Esculta" (The Pioneers) is the next oldest scout group of young adults aged 14 to 17. They are so completely dedicated to the projects they decide to take on, it has been a little difficult for them to decide exactly what project to choose. At first they considered participating in "Proyecto Ríos," but they want to go above and beyond and are studying possibly "adopting" a section of the river to keep it clean throughout the year. This is a great idea that we hope many other R&S Spain groups decide to join in on!!

And finally there is the oldest group, "The Clan" with members aged 17 to 21. Although they are the smallest group, they are beginning a very ambitious project: convert the space that Hercules 283 uses into, not only a place for meetings and getting together, but also a recycling center! This is a great project that brings together all the efforts of all the groups and members through the recycling of mobile phones and empty cartridges.

Bravo for a great example of synergies at work!

We believe wholeheartedly in the development of all of these projects that have begun and that are about to begin. We thank you so much for sharing all of this with the other groups of R&S Spain and the rest of the world!

Welcome R&S Group Hercules 283!

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