A longtime Huntsville resident and renowned survivalist is the new face of Scouts Canada.
Survivorman Les Stroud, known for his work pioneering the outdoor survival genre of television, is taking on an active role in leading scouts, as well as representing the organization.
Stroud says after 35 years of teaching in the outdoors, he jumped at the opportunity.
“It’s a no-brainer. For years I’ve had scouts that were big fans of Survivorman, and I’d see the Facebook postings and things like that, and I’ve had troops do Survivorman weekends,” says Stroud. “It was just always there, always lurking, so when they approached me and said ‘listen, we would love for you to be the ambassador, the face [of Scouts],’ I was more than honoured.”
Stroud says he’s already done a number of virtual meetings with scout troops and hopes in-person can resume soon. He says it’s refreshing to see how openly curious the kids are.
“It’s funny that they always seem actually less nervous than adults. They want to ask the questions they’ve been dying to ask me about what’s the grossest thing I ever ate, or what’s it like being out in the Amazon jungle or something like that,” says Stroud. “Seems to be zero inhibitions. Young kids just came up, and they knew episodes of Survivorman, and they had questions they wanted to ask, and they’re not shy at all. So it’s always a good reaction.”
According to Stroud, one silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that many people have a newfound appreciation for nature. With much of his career dedicated to getting people outside, Stroud says he’s happy to continue to do that.
“I would like to be essentially a bit of an ambassador for the outdoor world, and I think that the Scouts can also be that,” says Stroud. “Get people to understand this connection to the outdoor world is such a connection of healing and strengthening and peace of mind. Especially with the pandemic and everything, people just took to the outdoors. But many went out there not knowing anything or how to be there or what to do. And I think Scouts can be ambassadors in that right.”
Having lived in Huntsville for the better part of two decades, Stroud says Muskoka has a special place in his heart.
“I’ve been around the world, and as far as I’m concerned, Muskoka at the end of September, there is no place more [beautiful],” says Stroud. “It’s beautiful at any time of year, but when it’s on fire with those coloured leaves, it’s world-class. Just the best.”