The Boy Scouts of America was founded on Feb. 8, 1910, and local Scouts will celebrate the 100th anniversary by planting an oak tree and dedicating a plaque at the Carroll County Agriculture-Education Center to honor the environmental roots of the organization.

The Scouts in the Three Rivers District of Carroll and Haralson counties have had a long relationship with the Ag Center. They have worked on keeping the trails clear for visitors and in December helped repair damage on the Buffalo Creek Trail damaged by a 2008 Mother’s Day tornado. The Scouts cut damaged and fallen trees into firewood that they then sold for donations.

“They really have been a tremendous asset,” said Ian Davis, county Extension Service secretary. “While they’re doing this tree cutting, what it’s really accomplishing is making the trail safer.”

Damaged trees can fall or drop branches in the wind or rain and it’s hard to spot the damage immediately. It’s also a service to the community which is suffering through a difficult recession. Davis thought it was a great idea.

“A lot of people are struggling and will be using that for their survival,” Davis said. “Half the money went to Boy Scouts and the other half was donated by the Boy Scouts to 4-H.”

The Scouts have also promised to plant trees to replace the ones lost in the storm, as many as the Ag Center can get. “If I can get 1,000, they’ve agreed to plant 1,000 new trees out there to fill in what Mother Nature took with her,” Davis said.

The tree planting at the Ag Center on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. is one of four in Carroll and Haralson counties to celebrate the anniversary. The other three have yet to be scheduled. Home Depot donated the trees for the planting, said Jeff Anderson, a member of the camping committee for the Three Rivers District.

Not too many organizations survive long enough to celebrate 100 years and planting trees is a fitting way to commemorate the anniversary, Anderson said.

“It’s another way of stating that the Boy Scouts care about ecology,” he said. “They last longer than humans. It’s something to give back to the ecological system.”

The Scouts have always been concerned with protecting the environment. The Scouts learn outdoor skills through the program and have several sites for camping and other outdoor activities for which the organization acts as custodian.

“Whenever we go camping we have a policy of leave no trace, which means pick up the garbage, no fire pits,” Anderson said.

Three Rivers District is home to 495 Scouts as well as a number of Eagle Scouts whose projects have improved Carrollton, Whitesburg, the Ag Center and other sites in the two-county area.

Anderson, who has been involved in Scouting for about 25 years, is also an Eagle Scout. It leaves an indelible mark because the boys learn leadership skills, self-sufficiency and civic-mindedness.

“You begin to understand what scouting means to you and to the community as an Eagle,” Anderson said. “That’s why I stayed in as long as I did, because of the boys and trying to teach them and learn from them as well.”

Through their merit badge efforts they can learn a diverse body of skills from technology to ecology to agriculture to engineering. Scouting has 125 badges available to the Scouts. It’s up to the individuals what skills they want to explore and the skills can be adapted to life.

“It better prepares him for the outside world,” Anderson said. “We try to assist the kids to succeed in whatever endeavor, because we realize that they are the future of the country.”