We’ve found that adults ask a lot of the same questions when signing up their scout with our group.
Here’s the answer to the five that come up most frequently:
What are the Outdoor Service Guides (OSG)?
Outdoor Service Guides (OSG), was formed in the U.S. in 2006 as an independent scouting association, Baden Powell Service Association, BPSA. The name was officially changed in 2021 to Outdoor Service Guides. The new name was chosen to better reflect the growing organization and our goal of being welcoming to all who want to scout with us.
OSG believes that all people and all families should have an equal place in the scouting movement. We welcome scouts and their families as they come to us, and we will do our best to make scouting and its activities accessible to every child or adult who wishes to join. We welcome everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion (or no religion), or other differentiating factors. We believe that scouting is for everybody. We welcome those who have scouted a long time and those who have never tried scouting before joining us.
There’s lots more to learn at outdoorserviceguides.org. The 7th Trailblazers is a charter of OSG, serving northwest Austin/Pflugerville/Round Rock.
The OSG and the 7th Trailblazers are 100 percent volunteer. We rely on the involvement and support of families in our group, and families who volunteer to coordinate the national program. Because of this, OSG groups don’t receive the same level of service as scouts involved in the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts. We have to do a lot of work (providing uniforms, finding experienced adults to teach special proficiency badges, etc.) on our own. That’s why we ask every family behind the 7th Trailblazers to support the group in some way, like volunteering as a leader, serving on our parents committee, providing extra financial support, or being willing to volunteer for special activities (sewing neckerchiefs, shopping for food, taking pictures, managing social media, etc.).
The 7th Trailblazers is made up of five groups, or “Sections”. Our youngest group are the Chipmunks (ages 3-5). They are followed by the Otters (grades kindergarten, first and second) and then Timberwolves (grades three, four and five). The Pathfinder group starts in the sixth grade and runs up through the end of high school. Our group also has a Rover crew, ages 18 and up for adults who love what we do and stand for and want to remain a part of scouting.
We also have a committee of parents and community members interested in supporting the group. We call this the “Group Auxiliary.” Contact the Group Scoutmaster (Mark Novick) or Auxiliary Committee Chair (Katie Lipson), if you’d like to get involved.
When are meetings & how are they supervised?
For the Fall 2024 meetings (starting in September), the Timberwolf and Pathfinder sections will be meeting primarily at Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park. We generally meet every other Sunday afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30. Meetings are always supervised by a minimum of two trained adults who have had background checks performed by the OSG. We follow the “OSG Youth Ethics and Protection Policy.”
At this time, we are not offering an Otter section. We are working on opening up this section again in the near future. If you have an interest and want to be on the list, please contact us.
Typically we try to plan three group camp outs each year, with one taking place in the fall and two in the spring. In addition, we hope to see a return of the OSG Texas Hullabaloo multi-group campout in the next few years, bringing the total to two in the fall and two in the spring.
For specific meeting times and dates, please check the 7th Trailblazers calendar.
How do I sign up & how much does it cost?
Once you decide that this program is right for your family and you speak with our Group Scoutmaster, we encourage you to see our “Getting Started” guide for next steps!
What gear does my scout need to participate?
All scouts will be expected to have a uniform shirt and hat that they wear to all meetings. That said, scouts do not need a uniform to start attending meetings. You can download the New Member Guidebook which has information on the various uniform requirements as well as images for badge placement on the uniform shirts/hats. To start, all we ask is that all scouts show up to all meetings wearing close toed shoes – we’re an outdoor group and proper footwear is a must!
What kinds of things will my scout be doing?
Basically, we’re teaching traditional outdoor skills appropriate for each age section and doing community service while building self-esteem, citizenship, leadership and group social skills.
Environmental stewardship is critical to our curriculum, teaching the value of always leaving a place better than we found it. We think of this as ‘fun with a purpose.’ We spend a lot of time outdoors in all kinds of weather and have a high level of physical activity.
The curriculum we use is the same that our grandparents would have had as scouts, but we update it for modern health, first aid, safety and environmental standards. The handbooks (available for free download at outdoorserviceguides.org) describe the foundation of our curriculum, however our group at times does activities of interest that are not referenced in the handbooks. Our emphasis on outdoor activity means that scouts are exposed to the elements, and certain risks are higher than other youth programs.
Scouts and families should take precautions against tick bites and tick-borne diseases, chiggers, mosquitoes and sun exposure and be prepared for wind, rain, heat, cold, etc. You can see images of the diverse activities of our group on our Facebook page. Events and activities will be communicated about at meetings, through email, and through our group newsletter. We strongly encourage you to enroll in our group newsletter, which can be done here.