Badges for the 4 Pillars of the Earth Charter

Moving forward with unbending intent Planet Earth Scouts community has published under creative commons license the first official badges for the 4 Pillars of the Earth Charter.  

Earning badges is the number one fun activity for Planet Earth Scouts.  Planet Earth Scouts is about learning 'sustainable stewardship' and the 4 Pillars of the Earth Charter provide a framework to develop learning activities that will enable children and adults to learn about values and principles of sustainability.  But sustainable living is also about various technologies and practices that are specifically related to food, water, shelter, and energy. 

The 4 Pillars of the Earth Charter are:

1. Respect & Care for the Community of Life
2. Ecological Integrity
3. Social & Economic Justice
4. Democracy & Peace

The first Pillar, 'Respect & Care for the Community of Life is 4 basic commitments:

1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.

2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.

3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.

4. Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

The Charter then reads:  "In order to fulfill these four broad commitments, it is necessary to:"...and then follows the next 3 Pillars. 

So how can these 4 Pillars be translated into activities that Badges are earned?  It is possible to use these 4 Pillars as exactly what they are called - pillars that uphold a structure that represents sustainable stewardship.

Join the Planet Earth Scouts Community Network and download the images and share your badge ideas and become a part of the ongoing effort to build and create a vibrant Planet Earth Scouts program!  Badges as buttons and other Planet Earth Scouts merchandise are also available for sale in the Planet Earth Scouts store.  Proceeds go toward managing, developing, and administrating the community network. 

Earth Day Video for Kids!

Spring 2012 - New Beginnings

Greetings Planet Earth Scouts Community!

Happy Spring!  Late Monday night and Tuesday (depending on where you live) the Vernal Equinox happened and spring is officially upon us! 

What a journey it has been for our team since we dissolved association with the ECUS board of directors and committed to support and facilitate the evolution of this community's vision and purpose.

During the fall/winter our team moved our headquarters to a new location - we manage our projects within our home so that meant moving horses, goats, outbuildings, trees (yes we uprooted trees), plants, rocks, and even dirt (20 yards of pristine compost).  So that is why we have not had any time to work with this community until now.  

We feel this lapse in time and activity on this network served to allow everyone within the Planet Earth Scouts community to re-orientate and we received communications from many members who were going through a great deal of changes in their lives as well.  These times we live in require us to be highly adaptable and fluid as our culture transitions to new sustainable models, systems, and structures.   We are committed to seeing Planet Earth Scouts emerge as it was originally intended - a program that provides a way for children/youth and even adults to participate in the fundamental shifts towards a just, peaceful, and sustainable world - and having fun while it happens!  

We will be resuming regular monthly broadcasts in the community, blog posts, and updates and we look forward to hearing about any activities you have been doing!

Cheers

Daniel & Darlene Cavallaro

"Dandarius'

Planet Earth Scouts Sponsors/Admins

Happy Fall Equinox

A few weeks late but the first storm of the season here in Northern California brought the fall season in full swing!  It has been a long transformative experience since last Springs post and it is good that the community has become self-determined and has found a new name that is member inspired and owned - Planet Earth Scouts.

New Planet Earth Scouts Logo

The holiday season is descending upon us with each passing day yet this year more families than ever are focusing not on the stress this time of year can bring (no one needs more of that) but are looking for alternative ways to celebrate the deeper meaning behind these holidays - like family, friends, and a basic sense of well being that the world events can too often leave us feeling a lack of.  

The Planet Earth Scout community will be working to create new and evolved resources for members over the winter months and you are invited to come and contribute your inspirations, ideas, and visions as a member of the Planet Earth Scout family.  

Happy Spring Equinox!

Happy Spring!
With the beginning of April just around the corner we are proud to commemorate our new partnership with the Children & Nature Network by participating in the Let's GO Campaign!


What is Let’s G.O.!?

Let’s G.O.! is a youth-inspired, youth-led C&NN month-long intergenerational campaign in April 2011 to rally people of all ages to Play, Serve and Celebrate outdoors in nature.

Who are the youth leading this campaign?

The C&NN Natural Leaders Network is a growing group of teens, college students and other young people whose personal connection to nature comes from their experiences in their own neighborhoods, woods, fields, arroyos, mountains and oceans. At the core of this network is the youth voice. The ideas and spirit of this network are being developed by youth in constant growth and they are moving fast!

April 2011 presents the first opportunity to pull together all of C&NN's partners and initiatives with a huge and inspiring push to get all people outside, and to encourage service projects to benefit the natural world. Some of these events will take place in conjunction with C&NN’s youth-inspired Natural Service Network, to cultivate and nourish a lifelong commitment to service projects that benefit the natural world.

Click here to learn more

2011 - Big Ideas & Agendas

THIS POST IS NULL & VOID DUE TO END OF ECUS EARTH SCOUTS PROGRAM - EARTH SCOUTS IS NOT A FLAGSHIP PROGRAM BUT AN ORNAMENTAL FRONT FOR THE ECUS BOARD TO MAKE CLAIMS OF BEING WORTHY OF YOUR DONATION. WE ARE LEAVING THIS POST UP FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE OF WHAT OUR TEAM WAS WILLING TO ACCOMPLISH AND WORK TOWARDS FOR THE EARTH SCOUTS BUT THE ECUS BOARD WAS UNWILLING AND UNABLE TO MAKE THE TRANSITION INTO THE 21ST CENTURY ONLINE REALITY THAT EVERY ORGANIZATION IS FACING.  ITS A SHAME...

2011 will be the year that the Earth Scouts becomes the flagship program and focus of the Earth Charter U.S.!

Over the years the "Earth Scouts" has gone from Jan Robert's dream (Earth Charter U.S. founder) to first groups forming, then listserves all across the country getting started, to now having a solid base of families and facilitators who have been anchoring and developing their Earth Scout groups with a solid online network. The new network was created and sponsored by Earth Charter loyalists, the 'team' from SeThInk Media in 2010 as a part of the EC+10 Celebrations. You can read more about the Earth Scouts history here.

In 2011 the Earth Scouts will be featured, supported, and promoted as the flagship program of the Earth Charter U.S. and the board of directors is working to be able to provide vital resources to the growing network of Earth Scout families and groups. The Earth Charter U.S. annual board meeting is happening this month and a full update will be posted soon.

Some areas that are being discussed include:

• Non-profit tax exemption for groups doing fundraising activities
• Insurance for groups
• Earth Scout badges and other merchandise availability
• Publications and resource manuals
• Earth Scout festival resources
• Expanding Facilitator resource base
• Building solid alliances with supportive/complementary organizations

In 2012 it will be one decade since Jan's dream so let us all help make that dream fully manifested in 2011 so that when the Rio+20 happens in 2012.
2012 is the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit in Rio where an Earth Charter was originally to be adopted. Rio will host a UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012. Our goal is to have the Earth Scouts story told at this conference! You are invited to join the Earth Scouts in this effort!

Happy Holidays Earth Kids!

Happy Holidays to all Earth Scout Groups & Families

It has been an exciting year for the Earth Scouts with the launch of the new Earth Scouts Network. We have been working hard to help everyone orientate to the new network and all of the great features that help facilitate and support Earth Scouts everywhere.

This holiday season the Earth Scouts are invited to attend the online holiday debut of storyteller Jayátu - A Tale Feather of the Golden Eagle.

Jayátu has performed children's stories all over the country and SeThInk Media, one of the fiscal sponsors of this network, has launched an online web portal where families can now have access to the magic of Jayátu's stories.

This holiday story will be in video format on a private viewer and will go live on December 21st and be available for viewing and sharing through January 6th. Attendees will also be gifted an unpublished story 'A Tree in the Forest' audio download. You must sign up for this event to receive the link and gift.

The story is called 'The Big Jump' - you can click here to read a summary.

I remember when I was a child my grandpa used to tell stories at every Christmas gathering and as I grew up those stories took on new and deeper meanings. We hope this holiday season you can all spend time sharing your own stories with the young one's around you!