Beavers is a programme associated with some Scouting organizations generally for children aged 6 to 8 who are too young for the Cub programme. Beavers programmes had their origins in the Northern Ireland organization The Little Brothers, founded in 1963 and renamed "Beavers" in 1966 to provide a programme for boys who were too young to be Wolf Cubs. A Beavers programme for Scouts Canada was designed and tested in 1971 and adopted in 1974. Since then, other scouting organizations in some countries have developed their own Beavers or similar programmes. Some organizations do not call their programmes "Beavers" and often use an animal local to their region instead. Many share common ideas between them, such as: A Beaver pledge and/or motto, Earning merit badges A Beaver uniform, distinct from that of older Cubs Organized in groups, each called a Beaver "Colony", with optional smaller groups called "Lodges" Special ceremonies to commemorate new members, and the graduation of the oldest Beaver members into Cubs Symbols unique to Beavers and distinct from Cubs, such as sitting and standing formations, salutes, and handshakes Use of lore and nicknames sourced from Harry McCartney's 1971 short story Friends of the Forest Many Beaver groups that began as boys only now allow girls into their programmes as well, and many Beaver programmes which were not initially considered official parts of their parent scouting organizations are now fully embraced by them. The Boy Scouts of America never created a distinct identity for children of this age. Instead, over time, their Cub programme has expanded to fill this age group. Others, such as some Traditional Scouting organizations have never adopted programmes for younger children at all, typically on the grounds this was not one of Robert Baden-Powell's original programmes. History A pre-Cub scheme was set up in Northern Ireland by the 1st Dromore Group in 1963 and was called The Little Brothers spreading to Belfast with seven groups two years later. The creation of an under eight provision was sparked by the launch of other younger sections in other youth organizations at the time including the Anchors section of the Boys' Brigade which some feared was partly causing a drop in numbers of Cubs experienced at the time. As the scheme expanded throughout the rest of the province, it was given the official name of Beavers in 1966, having been a name considered by Robert Baden-Powell when