#SkillsForLife
Hampshire Scouts News Autumn Edition | October 2019
Scout ambassador is on a mission to inspire millions of young people as he concludes circumnavigation By Sam Poole I'M ON a mission to inspire millions of young people - that's the message of Hampshire Scouts ambassador James Ketchell. The world-record holder, who covered 24,000 nautical miles over the last 175 days, says the Scouts has instilled the confidence and belief he needed to complete his mission. James said: "I've met a lot of amazing people around the world. My flight has really confirmed that 99 per cent of people are kind and generous. I will be paying forward favours for the rest of my life, I really will." Thank you to the 8th Bramshill, Four Marks, and James' local Scout Group, Hatch Warren, for being there to welcome our role model home. James added: "The whole mission wasn't really about me, it's all about trying to get young people to believe that they too can do cool things or anything they want to set their mind on. "Scouting has really instilled the confidence in me and given me the belief that I can go out there and do things I desire. I spent a lot of time in the scouts when I was young and I would say it has really shaped who I am today." Page 1 of 19
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Your Hampshire Scouts News Team Sam Poole, Volunteer Editor sam.poole@hampshirescouts.org.uk John Stevens, County Office / Content john.stevens@hampshirescouts.org.uk Ray Noice, ACC Communications ray.noice@hampshirescouts.org.uk Please share your stories and pictures with county office at the below email address. Thank you. Hampshire Scouts News is the official newsletter for Hampshire Scouts, registered charity number 1015788. Whilst every effort is given to ensure our content is accurate, we apologise for any inaccuracies and will endeavour to resolve in future editions as and when alerted. Our editorial team reserve the right to publish any letters / press releases and cannot guarantee the publication of everything that is sent. Stories which are not published within Hampshire Scouts News may appear on the county website. This is a free publication.
We prepare young people with Skills for Life
AS SCOUTS, we believe in preparing young people with skills for life. We encourage young people to do more, learn more and be more. Each week, we help more than 460,000 young people aged 6-25 enjoy fun and adventure while developing the skills they need to succeed, now and in the future. We’re talking about teamwork, leadership and resilience – skills that have helped Scouts become everything from teachers and social workers to astronauts and Olympians. We help young people develop and improve key life skills. We believe in bringing people together. We celebrate diversity and stand against intolerance, always. We’re part of a worldwide movement, creating stronger communities and inspiring positive futures.
Get involved...
WHETHER you are an adult or young person, the Scout adventure never stops! Interested in getting involved with a Scout Group local to you? Contact us... hampshirescouts.org.uk/join county.office@hampshirescouts.org.uk 02380 847847
Do you have a story or success that you’d like to share? Help us to highlight and celebrate your achievements in growth, exclusivity, youth shaped and community – email us your team’s successes along with any photos of at least 1mb to: county.office@hampshirescouts.org.uk. Do not send any stories or images in PDF format. Our next deadline is Sunday 17th November 2019 for the 1st December Winter edition. Page 2 of 19
News
The rain didn't stop the fun at Portsmouth Scouts medieval themed camp... By Sam Poole,
THERE was never a dull moment at the Portsmouth Scouts District Camp as hundreds of young people enjoyed an actionpacked programme of activities. Archery, tomahawks, air-rifle shooting, go-carting, rafting and crafts were several of the many bases available to those camping on site. There were 116 Beaver Scouts on site – which included day visitors too. An impressive 149 Cubs, 133 Scouts, 43 Explorers and 111 Page 3 of 19
adult volunteers attended the event at Lyons Copse, Shedfield. Clare Webb, lead volunteer for the event, praised adults across the district for everything they had done to make the weekend a success. She said: “The team managing this event have been brilliant and without them, as well as the other volunteers across the camp, we’d not see the smiles on the young peoples’ faces." Saturday welcomed sunny spells with the odd shower from time-to-time. Sunday was wet but didn't prevent the fun taking place.
The camp leader added: "Spirits were most certainly not dampened when the weather was wet. To be honest, we were really fortunate with the conditions so just cracked on with all the fun." Portsmouth Scouts holds their District Camp every other year. Next September will see both the local Girl-guiding and Scouts together for the city's Mix and Meet event. This year's event was medieval themed where some people wore fancy dress. Thanks to the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Portsmouth for visiting.
County Chat Hampshire's lead volunteer, Martin Mackey, reflects on what an exciting few months the Scouts has had across the county... "My thanks, as ever, to all the leaders and supporters who have made and continue to make these events possible." LOOKING back over the last few months, there’s been an incredible amount going on in Hampshire Scouts, most notably that we sent four units to the 24th World Scout Jamboree in the United States as well as our own Project 19. Each of those who went on those adventures will have some wonderful stories to tell which I very much look forward to hearing, but I know that they all had an amazing time and one that will have left an indelible impression on them forever. Whilst those events have been underway, there’s also been plenty of other great stuff going on elsewhere in the County, plus further afield in the UK and abroad, so we can be pleased that plenty of young people are being given, and are taking up, the many opportunities that are on offer.
My thanks, as ever, to all the leaders and supporters who have made and continue to make these events possible. Another key event in Hampshire Scout’s calendar was the opening of our Heritage Centre at Ferny Crofts on 11 May. We hosted Lieutenant Commander Pete Reed OBE Royal Navy, a triple Olympic Gold medal winner, who opened up both the new Centre as well as, on the same day, the new High Ropes course. The fact that we have our Heritage Centre at the heart of Scouting in Hampshire is fantastic and all credit to everyone who made it happen particularly Brian Calver and Peter Moody. At the event, Joe Doherty, our intrepid Antarctic Explorer and now County Ambassador and national Scout Adventurer, presented the County necker he
wore on his expedition to the Heritage Centre. At the County Conference in March, we launched the "Plus One Initiative" which aims to add one new member to every section in every group in every district by the time of the next census. District Commissioners (our lead volunteers for the towns and cities in Hampshire) made pledges at the conference to the numbers that they would like to see their districts grow by through this initiative, with some even pledging to increase each section by two more young people. We await to see the results of this initiative at the next census, but if successful, we could see even more young people in our County enjoying the benefits of Scouting. Continue reading...
Got a story worth sharing? We'd love to hear from you! Send your stories and pictures to county office at county.office@hampshirescouts.org.uk Page 4 of 19
County Chat On the people front, there have been a number of changes since my last article in February including a few new DCs: Peter Day (Bramshill), Mike McHugh (Fareham East), Steve Forster (Rotherfield) and Georgina Jones (Silchester). In the New Forest we established our first ever group of people to take on a DC role as a team, with Lynn Tatavossian, Ian Sims and Robin Mair joining forces to make Team DC New Forest North. After a successful period as DC New Forest North, Kerie Wallace will be moving across to New Forest East to take over from Bryan Young who will retire after having been a DC three times over the last 30 years. My thanks to all our recently retired DCs for all their hard work and effort. Good luck to our new DCs.
On the County Exec side, we said a fond farewell to Peter Moody who retired as our County Chair after his 10 years of service in that role. He handed over to Paul Bell (from Basingstoke East) at our AGM in June. Not long after the AGM, Paul O’Beirne stepped down as the County’s AAC chair and the role is now filled by Jon Whitaker who is new to adult scouting. The AGM also marked the beginning of our new County Youth Commissioner Team. Emma Hale stood down at the end of her three-year term of office and handed over to Peter Marcus, Tom Bell and Megan Bailey. Peter is the lead CYC, with Tom working more on the governance side of life in his new role as Deputy County Chair (he took over from Tom Fisher) with Megan being the deputy CYC primarily supporting the County Programme
Team and looking after Youth Forums and the Youth Council. They are supported by three excellent, proactive and energetic young people who were elected as our Youth Representatives at the Youth Council in March. They are Joe Dawson (Gosport), Daniel Cooper (Waterlooville) and Haydn Allen (Blackwater Valley). Together they will be working with Districts to encourage more young people to become District Youth Commissioners and help them to lead their own youth forums. All in all, we have a fantastic team of young people volunteering as part of the County Team and we wish them well with their efforts to make scouting ever more youth shaped.
Is your group following the Scouts new brand? Learn more about the Scouts brand and get all you need to produce effective communications at https://scoutsbrand.org.uk/home Page 5 of 19
News
Stories, songs and revolting children: When Testwood Beavers went to Matilda. IT'S JULY and one man in a necker is standing alone outside the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. He won’t be alone for long though as a group of Beavers, parent helpers and fellow leaders are about to descend for an evening of singing, stories and mischief courtesy of Matilda the Musical. The leader in question, Steven Osborn from 5th New Forest North (Testwood) in Totton, has been planning for this night for over a year and frankly he’s relieved it’s finally here. The idea first came from a conversation with one Beaver at news time. Their brother had just been to a Cub sleepover which included a trip to the Christmas Panto and didn’t seem to know what that meant. They’d never been to the theatre themselves. So that was the spark. It’d be nice to take the Beavers to the theatre one day he thought. Fast forward six months later and Matilda the Musical has been announced as touring to Southampton. Page 6 of 19
“I’d seen Matilda in London before and knew it was a good show and quite good for Beaver age. "And once I heard some of them had been listening to it at school I knew I had to give it a go. "But it was important for the Beavers to agree as well” says Steven. That term’s log chew put it to the Beavers themselves and luckily they loved the idea of it. Next part was the preparation. The theatre needed the money soon after booking so it was a balancing act between leaving it late enough so even newer Beavers can join but not so late that all the seats have gone. Plus giving enough time so parents can pay in instalments. The colony also fundraised from other sources so that our Beavers could enjoy a reduced ticket price and our volunteers wouldn’t have to pay. One even chipped in some prize money from a raffle, all to make the event run smoothly. So the night came and the Beavers were pumped. They enjoyed the story and got
really into the songs, even though it was late for many of them. The ice-cream certainly helped lighten the mood. From one news time conversation to a full evening out to the theatre, via a youth shaped log chew and what did we end up with? Beavers who had tried something new, parents who volunteered to buy us the ice cream and lovely comments from members of the public. They did us proud and, as one conversation proved, showed the public just how broad and exciting the scout programme can be. I’d call that Skills for Life.
National Focus What's happening with Scouts for 4 and 5 year olds in Hampshire and elsewhere?
THE Scouts has been talking about whether it could be extended to 4 and 5 years old for a while now. It’s all part of the UK-wide plan to support even more young people to develop skills for life. Through an exciting pilot scheme, headquarters is gauging the impact Scouts has on the development of even younger young people. External funds have made the pilot possible, and now the first set of pilots have opened, including some in Hampshire! So, what is being tested?
Alongside looking at the benefits Scouts could have on this age group, it's also testing different models, all based within local Scouts. This means the pilots are being approached in three different ways based upon local community needs. These models are: Scout-led; A section before Beaver Scouts that’s run by both existing and new volunteers. This is the model most of us are familiar with. It involves meeting in the same venue and same time slot each week.
Partner-led; A section run by individuals in an organisation who deliver a Scouts programme in their own setting. This could be a day nursery, an Action for Children centre, or a local community organisation, for example. Family Scouts; The key rule to this model is that an adult accompanies the young person and engages with the programme alongside the 4 and 5 year olds. Meeting venue and time slots may vary week to week. This type of Scouts has been seen in Denmark, Finland and the USA, amongst other places.
There's more online! For further information about the national pilot for 4 and 5 year-olds getting involved in the Scouts, go to https://bit.ly/2kD231r Page 7 of 19
News
Scout of the World award is presented for the first time in Hampshire! IN THE last few months four outstanding young people have been presented their Queen’s Scout Award by the County Commissioner. So hats off to Rosie Powell of Petersfield, Louis Soccard of Silchester, Alice Mintoff of Southampton City and Barney Pycroft of Havant districts. Hampshire also has its first Scout of the World award, presented to Victoria Edwards at the Hampshire AGM. The Autumn term means a fresh start for many of us with new teams working on providing
great Scouting across the county. There is an exciting programme of activities and events for young people and adults coming up in the next few months, so keep an eye out for them and make the most of what is on offer. Team Hampshire and the County Commissioner do like to see what is happening on the ground and recently Martin returned to his first ever scout group (1st Bordon Garrison) to welcome some new Beavers and volunteers to the movement.
A date for your diary is half term week 2022 when we’re planning a large County camp called HamJam22. It’s still a work in progress but the 27th May to 2nd June 2022 should offer adventures and activities for all. Page 8 of 19
News National Focus Scouts in Hospitals encourages young people as it continues to grow from strength-to-strength
HAMPSHIRE Scouts in Hospitals has had a wonderfully busy 2019. In Southampton the Knightingales were tremendously proud to host the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson. He met leaders, had a tour of the wards and saw the volunteers in action, making mini ballistas with young patients, and said how much he enjoyed seeing the work in person. Gabriel, one of the patients, says the activities were enjoyable and it was great to participate in Scouts within a hospital.
He said: "It was really fun and you’d enjoy it if you did hospital scouts too”. BBC Radio Solent also recently joined the team to record the fun and broadcast a report on the volunteers efforts. The team usually run the activities fortnightly but throughout August the Southampton-based leaders gave up their team every Wednesday. Their efforts were rewarded being able to see 46 youngsters during the month, with a record fifteen patients being seen one evening (resulting in an avalanche
of paper planes). Aside from paper planes the young people painted rocks and undertook code making and breaking. At Portsmouth the Puffins will soon celebrate two years of scouting at QA. The small team delivers fun every other Monday night much to the delight of staff and patients. Cup stacking is as popular as ever since it is a good way of making a fun but challenging activity accessible to children in bed often with limited use of their hands.
Volunteer with Hampshire Scouts in Hospitals Anyone over the age of 18 may join the group bringing scouting fun and skills to the bedside of young patients. The team advocate flexibility as leaders can choose which sessions they take part in, with no weekly commitment. For more information contact hospitalscouts@hampshirescouts.org.uk Page 9 7 of 19 21
News National Focus Camp hailed a huge success as Hundreds of Beavers gather at the New Forest
By Michael Collins, Assistant County Commissioner Beavers
A SUNNY July weekend saw nearly 400 Beavers from 14 districts come together for the second Hampshire Beaver's County Camp. With it being 50 years since Scouts first stepped on the moon we took that as our theme and had our Space Camp at Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre in the New Forest. Months of planning came together with huge support from Hampshire Scout Archery Club,
Pro-Badge, Tanzania 2020, Top Awards Team, Young Leaders and my extended team to offer a programme including cooking, climbing, archery, exploring, games and more. This camp was a chance for Beavers across the county to come together and see some of the adventures open to them in Scouting, it was great to see over half of our districts represented and get the support of other teams in Hampshire Scouts to create this great opportunity for our youngest members.
The camp was one of the biggest most of us will get to join in with involving nearly 600 people and so big we had to split the camp fire into 2 sessions. We were honoured to have visits from Chip the Beaver and Peter Marcus, the new County Youth Commissioner who even got a go on the Go-Karts! Pro-Badge joined in the fun with crafts including opportunities to make your own badge and rope and the hugely popular water rockets, I hope none landed on your tent!
What is a Beaver Colony? A Beaver Colony may be organised into smaller groups called Lodges. Lodges can be used in a number of ways to facilitate the organisation of the Beaver Scout Colony. They may provide a ‘home’ area for Beaver Scouts to gather at points at the start, during or at the end of the Colony meeting. Page Page 10 710 ofof 2119 Page
News National - Space FocusCamp "It wouldn't have been possible without the support of our volunteers who helped"
Hampshire Scout Archery Club managed to offer a chance at archery to all the Beavers they loved it and want more! Chloe Foster's Tanzania 2020 unit took the opportunity to combine our camp with their training weekend and gave an insight to life camping in Africa and an animal trail around camp while also learning skills they will need in Tanzania. Some of the Top Award team helped run the 2 very popular camp fires (I had a parent ask me about a button factory the next week!) My northern contingent from Tadley with support ran the ever popular food zone with activities including the oddly-named but successful armpit fudge"! Young Leaders supported many of the activities including the Page Page Page 10 611 7 of of 2119
Go-Karts and fun zone where you could find an array of games to play and the amazing Aeroball setup that Ferny Crofts have. Those of my extended team who weren't busy running a zone were managing to cater for around 400 people for 4 meals! Finally we couldn't have done it without Ferny Crofts help, they were a huge help in the run up to the event and also ran the climbing and crate stacking. It was the first time I have seen Beavers do crate stacking and it was amazing how all of the Beavers could be involved in the activity whether it was their turn for bravery or not. It was great to build upon the success of 2017's first County Beaver Camp and we are already thinking about 2021 and making it even better!
It really would't have been possible without the support of our volunteers who helped plan and run the event and all the leaders and Young Leaders who supported their colonies to attend. I know for some it was their first camp and I hope it was a memorable one!
News
Chief Scouts Award Presentation Evening MORE THAN 40 Scouts attended the Chief Scouts Award Presentation Evening, hosted by the University of Portsmouth, to celebrate completing the Award with their family and Leaders. Each Award Holders were presented with a Certificate by the Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Hampshire and Isle of Wight. Expedition Challenge Badge Weekend 130 Scouts from 15 Troops completed the Expedition Challenge Badge in the New Forest in the May. Scouts planned their route for the two day hike or cycle and were supported by their leaders and a core volunteer team. County Scout Summer Camp SCOUTS from 9 Troops enjoyed a fun week at Lyons Copse. The week was packed with classic scouting activities including hammocking, bivi building, survival cooking, rafting, wide games, cook their own meals in Patrols and less classic activities including archery, air rifle shooting and swimming at Romsey Rapids.
Tweet, tweet... On Twitter? Tell us what you're up to by tweeting Hampshire Scouts using the '@hampshirescouts' handle. Whether you have pictures you'd like to share, suggestions you feel should be made or just want to keep up-todate we'd love to hear from you!
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Youth National Commissioners Focus Update
By Peter Marcus, County Youth Commissioner
BACK in June the new County Youth Team was announced. I was appointed County Youth Commissioner, Megan Bailey as Deputy County Youth Commissioner, and Tom Bell as Deputy County Chair. Since then, the team has been working their way round County events and planning the next Hampshire Youth Council and other events. The team are currently making their way round Hampshire speaking to District Commissioners and District Chairs – if they haven’t been to your District yet send them an email to arrange a date. They’re also on the lookout for how they can support District Youth Commissioners around Hampshire. With the launch of a new Facebook Group for them, the team are hoping to offer better support to DYCs. Page Page 13 7 of of21 19
If you’ve recently appointed a new DYC in your District make sure you let us know by going to www.bit.ly/newdyc. The team have also been busy visiting events such as the County Scout Summer Camp and Emlyn Camping Competition. With seven people in the County Youth Team, they’re keen to visit your events and see what you and your groups are up to. If you’ve got an event coming up, you can invite them at www.bit.ly/cycinvite. If you want to contact the team, you can email our County Youth Commissioner Peter at peter.marcus@hampshirescouts.or g.uk. News for District Youth Commissioners The South East Region District Managers’ Conference is coming up on Saturday 12 October. Take a look back from an email from us about it earlier this month.
What's a Youth Commissioner? Local Youth Commissioners are a volunteer role held within Districts and Counties across the UK. So that all of our decisions and activities in Scouting are shaped by young people in partnership with adults, they LYCs work in partnership with their District or County Commissioner to lead Scouting in their local area. In addition to this, the Local Youth Commissioner is responsible for the delivery of the Youth Shaped Scouting Strategy in their local area. They are not there to deliver all youth shaped scouting themselves, as this is a collective responsibility for all of our members, however the LYC should be there to drive Youth Shaped, and guide any volunteer or young person who needs extra support implementing Youth Shaped Scouting.
News
Southampton Scouts work on developing leadership skills at prestigious location FOR World Youth Skills Day some of the 29th Immaculata older Scouts attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to take part in the joint youth uniform organisations event. At least 400 young people attended from Scouts to Guides, St Johns Ambulance to Fire Cadets. During the day different activities took place to inspire and develop leadership through challenge and to experience team work. The event took place on the polo field and we worked with the
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Army AirCorps making paper airplanes to hit a target zone while not being shotdown by antiaircraft guns which were nerf guns. We gained 283 points and were the best team over all at this activity. Next up was the RoyalArmy Physical Training Corps, but luckily not PT. Instead navigation around the camp taking in places like the stables to where the officers pass out on completion of their training. This was followed by the RoyalEngineers with bridge
building and lunch. Next up was the Kent Police Force with a marble run challenge which we were also the best team at overall with 13 marbles completing the course. We also took part in a magic cane challenge and ball and bucket challenge. This was followed by the Army Intelligence Corps with trying to select the correct vehicle to take to battle along with a code cracking combination challenge. To finish off we meet some Chelsea pensioners and saw Old College which every new recruiting office will pass through on their journey to becoming a serving officer. All in all a great day out with a free Army goodie bag thrown in too.
News National Focus An update on Hampshire Young Peoples' Emergency Response Network. Could you get involved?
By Martin Rudd
TO BRING everyone right up to date with what has been happening - the story so far is that for the last 24 months Adam Jollans and I have been working with Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, Hampshire Police and the Hampshire Resilience Forum through the Emergency Planning Officer at Eastleigh Council to set this project up. Supported by the LordLieutenant, Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer, this aims to be something that people think will support the ‘services’ if an emergency happened anywhere in Hampshire – such as flooding or widespread snowfall. The areas of support that it is thought the ‘young people’ could support were given to us by the Hampshire Youth Council, clearly however, the age of those Page 15 7 ofof21 19
potentially involved would be 13+, but the decision and activation of any local response would be down to the local Leader in Charge, Network Leader, Administrator – for this role we now have a draft Role Description. So, we are here at last after two years in the making, we are ready to test ‘deployment, command and control’ of our young people, through a pilot exercise to be held on early October at the Ferny Crofts. During this exercise, teams of ten young people from each of Hampshire Explorer Scouts, Hampshire Police Cadets and Hampshire Fire & Rescue Cadets will undertake a series of exercises to establish if the ‘deployment, command and control’ aspect of our joint vision is workable and above all safe. If all goes well, we will launch
YPERN across Hampshire in Spring 2020, or maybe before. The YPERN Management Team (Hampshire Police, Fire Service & Scouts) and Chaired by Melvin Hartley, Safety and Resilience Manager, Eastleigh Borough Council say as far as we know this is the first type in the Country which involves young people from three major uniformed organisations in the County. If you want to register to become more involved in this project please contact either myself on martin.rudd@hampshirescouts.org.uk or Adam Jollans adam.jollans@hampshirescouts.org.uk
News National Focus Volunteers learn about the skill of sailing to encourage young people to get involved
A DOZEN Scout Leaders from Portsmouth and Hampshire enjoyed a weekend of sailing on The Donald Searle, a 60 foot tall ship run by The Rona Trust Sailing Project. For many of the leaders it was a first time for them on a tall ship. They took instruction from the trained crew (after guard) and Skipper Duncan Farrent. The weekend was run by Rona for Scout leaders so that they would encourage young people to take up the one week sailing opportunities through the year. The leaders where sail trained as would the youngster be. The leaders were put into watches and trained as novice youngsters.
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It included putting up the complete set of sails, practising a man over board, gybing, tacking, steering, deck launching a small boat, course and position plotting and to cook and clean. All enjoyed their exiting and informative weekend.
Big thank you to The Rona Sail Training Project. Pictures. The Faull Crew. Group Scout leader Kate Pickles receiving instructions from Watch leader Claire Moody.
News Boo! Hundreds of young people set to be spooked at Ferny Croft's annual Fright Night
Creepy crawlies, pumpkin carving and more to come! THE Ferny Crofts Fright Night will run on October 19 from 12:30pm - 8:30pm and will feature 4 different Activity Zones that groups will take part in throughout the afternoon. These will be as follows: Fairground Games - after the success of our Fairground area in 2018 we are expanding the amount of games available. These will includes games such as Hook a Duck, Hoopla, Tin Can Alley and Coconut Shy. Ferny Crofts Games - These will include Tomahawk Throwing, Archery and Bouldering.
There will also be a selection of inflatable games within this area. Magician/Performance - watch a Magic Show and Performance within this area. Why not encourage your leaders to get up and volunteer? Creepy Crawlies/Crafts - we are pleased to welcome back the Creature Teachers to this years event. Get up close and learn about a selection of insects, reptiles and birds. Get creative and do some paper crafts and do some pumpkin
carving. Groups will be able to enter the fancy dress competition throughout the day, by taking a photo in our photo booth area. At the end of the last activity session there will be a 1 hour break for an evening meal. Groups can either bring their own food or hot dogs (£2.00 each) will be available for pre-order when you place your booking. We shall then announce the winners of our fancy dress competition (see categories below) and have a short briefing for leaders on the evening activities.
Ferny Crofts is encouraging groups to make Halloween themed lanterns to bring along for the next section of the evening, a Woodland Trail which will lead groups through a frightfully haunted area of the Forest. The evening will conclude with all participants meeting around the Camp Fire. More information can be found at https://www.fernycrofts.org.uk/frightnight2019 Page Page17 7 of of21 19
News
"We all wrapped up in blankets for the voyage out to where the whales were..." Explorer Scout reflects on the amazing moment of whale watching By Aspen Salisbury Explorer Scout, Rotherfield
THIS summer I attended the 24th World Scout Jamboree to the USA, Mexico and Canada. The last section of the Jamboree experience was the HoHo (Home Hospitality) which for me was a trip to visit the Wolfville Scout Community in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Scouts in Wolfville had organised our programme which turned out to be great fun including mud sliding, a sunset, beach cook out, and a visit to an apple farm. However, my favourite experience was on our very last day when we were taken Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy. The Scouts had taken over one of the local Whalewatch companies in Briar Island, and we had the whole boat to ourselves, about 50 of us in all! Page 18 of 19
The weather was quite cold which we weren't used to as it had been over 35 degrees Centigrade in West Virginia! We all wrapped up in blankets for the voyage out to where the whales were. It was really foggy and it took about an hour to get into the Bay where the fog cleared. The seas were calm and it wasn't long before we saw our first humpback whale. It was a special moment and we were all amazed by the whale. After that our luck got even better and we saw groups of whales, some were flipper slapping 'waving' at us and some were even breaching, jumping out of the water! We were so lucky to have such an amazing show! The scientist, who was telling us all about the whales, said it was one of the best trips she had been on.
Whale Fact: The blue whale is the largest animal that ever lived and can grow to 90 or more feet and weigh as much as 24 elephants!
What's Nationalhappening... Focus hampshirescouting.org.uk/calendar
To view your Hampshire Scouts calendar visit hampshirescouting.org.uk/calendar Alternatively, visit the new public page of the website, hampshirescouts.org.uk click the 'Members' button (top right), takes you to the current website, view the Agenda (mini) calendar (scroll down, left column) click the 'Calendar' button to view the full calendar. Click on an event to see further details.
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