It’s the end of the world as we know it. No government. No help is coming. We’re all on our own, fending and providing for ourselves.
And — oh, yeah — zombies are roaming the land. What do you do?
Ask a Boy Scout.
“Kids find it cool,” said Sean Neal, director of the Boy Scouts Sinclair District.
“We take all those survival skills that we normally teach to scouts,” he said. “Instead of saying, ‘If you find yourself in the woods after a plane crash,’ we say, ‘If you find yourself in the woods after a zombie apocalypse.’ ”
The Boy Scouts will impart their essential post-civilization knowledge at the Port Orchard Farmers Market on May 31.
“We are teaching some basic first aid stuff and essential things they should have when they are out,” Neal said. “We are gonna attempt to bring enough hands-on demonstrations, and set up in and around our booth, and have a shelter.”
He added, “ ‘Here’s how to apply pressure to a wound if you are scratched or bit, or you find yourself running away and you trip and hurt your ankle.’ And reenforcing the importance of having toilet paper with you. And the uses of duct tape in the zombie apocalypse.”
The scouts won’t be able to demonstrate everything, however.
“I promised no fire, even though we know zombies are afraid of fire,” Neal said.
Neal noted it is a fun way to demonstrate the skills and activities that Boy Scouts learn about the outdoors, safety and more.
“What we are trying to do is to get (kids) interested enough to come back and experience scouting on a more normal basis,” he said. “The camping, the adventuring, and the rock climbing.”
Boy Scouts have been a part of Kitsap for nearly 100 years, Neal said.
“We are one of the oldest youth-serving groups, from Point No Point to Olalla and Belfair,” he said. “We serve about 3,000 youth. Even though we are the ‘grandpa’ of the youth-serving organizations, we are trying to keep it fresh and exciting. Scouting is still very relevant.”
The scouts have a variety of summer camps coming up, and Neal hopes to get the word out at the farmers market.
For more information about the Port Orchard Farmers Market, go to www.pofarmersmarket.org. For the Boy Scouts, go to www.beascout.org and www.seattlebsa.org.