(adapted from Woods Wisdom - Scoutmaster's Minutes)
I don't know about you, but whenever I hear the word "thrifty" I think of a guy putting his money in a bank. But I know that the word means a lot more than that. When we say "A Scout is thrifty" we're talking about a lot more than saving money.
Thrift means not wasting things, too. We should not waste food, for example. And we should not waste our natural resources, either. When we go camping, we don't burn more wood than we need, we don't trample plants and wildflowers unnecessarily, and of course we are careful with fire.
All of that thrifty idea is contained in our Outdoor Code. In the code, we pledge ourselves to be clean in our outdoor manners, careful with fire, considerate of others, and conservation minded.
So the point of the Outdoor Code is to preserve the wonders of the outdoors for others to use in turn. And that's being thrifty just as much as saving our money is.
Let's all think thriftiness every time we hike and camp.
As an America, I will do my best to
Be clean in my outdoor manners
Be careful with fire
Be considerate in the outdoors, and
Be conservation minded.
Last Revised 11/6/2001