Welcome, Den Leaders and Raft Leaders!

Otters are excited, curious, loud, loving, impassioned, busy, inquisitive, and awesome. We deeply appreciate those of you who’ve volunteered to lead your groups of Otters through their first scouting experiences. We hope this page serves as a good starting point, as well as an extensive reference you can come back to. If you have any questions, please send us an email.

Getting Started

Otter Leader Mini Guide (PDF)
This is a terrific guide to print and reference, made by current Otter Leaders (who are also teachers, educators, and parents). It contains Opening and Closing Ceremony materials, sample meeting plan, positive discipline tips, etc.

Two-Year Projected Calendar Outline (PDF)
This PDF is a tremendous resource for planning out a Den’s two years — feel free to modify the schedule for your own use, as scouts all start at different times of the year. It’s always a good idea as Den Leaders to keep track of which requirements each Otter has finished, as best you can. Den Leader Christina Hollen-Morey created this schedule within a Google Sheet, where she included boxes for each of the scouts in her Den; she took note of attendance and who completed the tasks. Organization can be your friend, though the schedule is totally up to you.

Otter Meeting Planner (PDF)
Even the most seasoned educators plan their instructional time. Of course, we as parent volunteers are splitting our time between many tasks, and it’s not always easy to sit down and magically create an exciting, thoughtful meeting from scratch. Using a Meeting Planner is so helpful, especially when you’re sharing this information with your co-leader.

As a reminder, only Rovers registered with the BPSA may lead meetings. If one Den Leader cannot attend the meeting, another Rover must be present. This is for everyone’s safety. Rovers are never to be one-on-one with any child other than their own, and we expect that to be followed every time you’re with children, including camp outs. For further reference, please read the BPSA Code of Ethics and Youth Protection Guidelines.

Games

The Dump is a tremendous resource of scanned books and guides, including many games books for scouts.

The Ultimate Camp Resource is another trove of games, sorted by method.

Outdoor Meeting Places

The Intertwine is a great resource for trails around Portland.
Stag Beetle Power is a blogger in Portland who diligently documents field trips, natural areas, volunteer opportunities and local events.

Reed Canyon
Oaks Bottom
Mt. Talbert
Scouters Mountain
Audubon Sanctuary
Sauvie Island
Tryon Creek
Mt. Tabor
Powell Butte
Lower Macleay
Forest Park

Service Field Trips

Hands On Greater Portland
Oregon Food Bank
Friends of Trees
Free Geek
Retirement Communities
Children’s Book Bank
Friends of Mt. Tabor

Civics Field Trips

AMR
Portland Fire
Portland Police
Metro Recycling
Portland Water Bureau and Bull Run Watershed