All trees need roots, why DFs should get involved locally.

Oct 18, 2010 by Fidler    4 Comments    Posted under: Uncategorized

The DF movement is growing at an amazing rate, but sadly the Woodcraft Folk as a whole doesn’t follow this trend. It is instead decreasing in size. I personally believe we as DFs can help the Folk grow again.

Over the years DFs have traditionally been the backbone of many districts and other locally based things, but currently the DF movement is mainly concentrated on building and organizing itself. This as itself is a good thing but as individuals we need to also remember our routes and get involved locally.

Many DFs were once Venturers, Pioneers or Elfins. When we were younger, DFs and Adults volunteered their time to make our group nights happen. So surely it seems it would only be right to give back and help our districts.

There are many DFs who already help out, some even going as far as running districts. I think that if everyone in DFs did something small or large to help their local district or maybe even starting up a new district we could help the Folk grow strong again.

If your still living where you did when you were an Elfin, Pioneer or Venturer you could help out there. Or if you’ve moved away from your district to uni or other reasons or joined Woodies as a DF contact your regional rep and they will do their best to put you in contact with local districts. So you have no excuses now.

What can I do for my district? I hear you ask. Well first you need to contact your district, then you can do a variety of things from assisting in an Elfin group, to running district wide events.

Why do DFs help a district grow? Might also be lingering in your mind. Well a strong district is like a tree, the elfins and pioneers are the roots, they grow older then become venturers, who in turn become DFs who are like the fruit, as they can help another generation of Elfins and Pioneers grow.

Helping out with a group can keep it alive and fun, causing the Elfins to stay on and become Pioneers, the Pioneers become Venturers and finally the Venturers become DFs.

Venturer groups can be where the most people are lost and some stimulating DFs can help keep the venturers involved. Not only this but it strengthens the link between Venturers and DFs.

Helping with group nights can also be rewarding, you get to see future generations of DFs grow and have fun. It can also give you a heightened sense of responsibility and grown upness and puts out a good message about DFs. All of these Strengthen the links between DFs and Kinsfolk.

If group nights aren’t the thing for you or you just want to do more for your district you could run an event. District events help build a sense of community and can be really fun. They can be anything from a picnic to a Camp.

I personally help out with a group of Pioneers, I find it fun and rewarding to make so many young woodcrafters happy.

Thanks I hope you think about getting active locally, remember your roots.