The Espoo-based group Olarin Eräkotkat – Wild Eagles is changing its activities to English. At the same time, the Finnish language will be dropped out from the name. In the future the group will be known as Wild Eagles.
Olarin Eräkotkat – Wild Eagles ry was founded in 1961. Over the years, the troop has changed from a traditional boys’ group to a joint group and in 2014 to a bilingual troop. The winds of change are blowing in the air, as from November 2023 the name of the group will be changed to Wild Eagles ry, and the group will become English-speaking at the end of the 2024 spring season.
The aim is to offer guiding and scouting in English to everyone who is interested and to ensure the viability of the troop. Over the last few years, the troop has grown and developed into an international local group. It has over a hundred members from more than twenty different countries.
“Wild Eagles offers Finnish guide and scout education with global spices. For us, the change is a clear continuation of what we have been doing for almost 10 years,” says Timo “Mudi” Muttonen, the leader of Wild Eagles.
Over the last few years, the troop has grown and developed into an international local group.
In the future, guiding and scouting will only be available in English. New members must be able to cope with weekly activities, events, outings and camps in English. The Wild Eagles aim to provide opportunities for guiding and scouting for all ages, from family scouts to adults.
Adults are particularly needed
The Wild Eagles have been piloting activities in English since last spring, as the activities in Finnish ended in spring 2023. The troop will take on new members in early 2024, after which the activities will be only in English.
The Wild Eagles is the only fully English-speaking troop in Finland. Neighbouring local groups have offered to take in Wild Eagles members who do not want to or cannot speak English.
The troop warmly welcomes new adults who are willing to commit to helping or leading in the weekly activities.
“The involvement of adult educators, who support the children and youth activities, is especially meaningful. We therefore warmly welcome adult educators who are enthusiastic and interested in guiding and scouting to join us. It doesn’t matter if you have no previous guiding and scouting experience, we will train all enthusiastic people for different tasks in our international group,” says Programme Leader Susanna “Niku” Kaurinkoski.
Wild Eagles has been piloting English-language activities since spring 2023.
For more information on the changes, visit the Wild Eagles website
