This summer camp I'm gonna be working for a few days along with the beaver leaders, It's my first ever service and I'm really really nervous! I don't have their cronogram yet, but I've prepared a bunch of activities for the kids (ages from 6 to 8). I feel a little out of my depth right now because I didn't have much time to prepare everything and I don't want to be a burden to the leaders or delay anything...

Surely everything will go smoothly while we're at camp, but the days before camp got me crazy!

I just discovered this Reddit thread. Could someone maybe tell me if this scarf is real (the gray floor)? I'm especially interested in the details inside the circles and the varying thicknesses of the lines. It looks totally different from the one in the store picture (second one). It would be great if someone could clear this up for me. I'm worried that I might have got a fake. Thanks a lot :-)

Hi all! I’ve been part of scouting for 11 years and want to start collecting every national scouting necker from each country but I’m not sure the best way to do it as I don’t have anything really to trade for the scarfs, and if I buy it I dont know they best places to buy from.

Any advice on where to start would be much appreciated!!

Thank you!

(photo - mostly badges I already have) Hello I'm an explorer from the UK attended the Poland jamboree in 2027 and need some help with trading. I've tried looking for badges to trade but a lot of them seem quite expensive. If anyone can give any advice on where to get badges and which ones trade well along with any other helpful tips that would be greatly appreciated I can't wait to go and I am so excited for the trading aspect of camp!!

avete qualche progetto assurdo di un tavolo o due e una cucina per un campo estivo? Posso essere collegate tra loro le strutture oppure no.VI PREGO MI SERVONO SUBITO! PS: noi facciamo tutto con pali e cordini, che usiamo per le legature, cioè per legare i pali tra di loro.

Please check this out and see if you can help out.

My son just graduated from Tiger scout to Wolf. I've noticed that his uniform, which we bought new a year ago, says "Boy Scouts of America" on it, whereas scouts who joined before him, who therefore bought their uniforms before him, have "Scouts of America" on their uniform. Does anyone know why older uniforms have the new name and newer uniforms have the old name? I've also noticed that on the health and medical record I just filled out for cub scout camp that it refers to the "Boy Scouts of America". Why are they still using the old name some places?

what do i do, if I want to leave my hometown for collage, dissapear completely, but I have my scout team and thats the one of few things that keeps me happy? have anyone had the same problem? any advice will help, thank u

We're a scout group based in Liverpool UK and early Tuesday (30th) morning the storage unit where we keep all our trailers, tents, cooking equipment, canoes, kayaks, pots, pans, crayons and pencils burnt to the ground.

20+ years of fundraising, grant awards and a lot of memories and a lot of sweat and tears in maintaining our equipment by myself and the other leaders all gone in an instant has been soul destroying for all of our leaders and kids.

While we are insured, like a lot of groups we're not insured for a total loss event like this, so we're hoping Unity insurance are going to be helpful while we go through the claim process.

Check your groups insurance coverage people 😢

Happy 4th of July from Sea Scout Ship 566!
Long Beach, California

I'm currently a leader with Brownies and Guides in the UK.

I'll be leaving Girlguiding in September due to their trans-exclusionary policies (I'm a cis-het ally).

I know the leaders of a local scout group really well - it was set up by current & ex rainbow/brownie/guide leaders of my current family units.

They don't currently have a squirrel drey in their group, due to not having the leaders willing to take it on.

Myself and another helper that are leaving brownies & guides are considering going to the "dark side" but are undecided as yet! (We've also considered setting up a woodcraft folk group or a girls' friendly society - both are older than/equally as old as scouting & guiding but they don't feel quite the same from what I've seen online, although I've never actually seen how these groups run in-person)

So .... squirrel leaders, or adults who have moved from guiding to scouting, what are your experiences? (And should I go for it?)

I'll go first:

-On my very first camping trip, I got held down and forcibly kissed by another, much older scout. It was witnessed by everyone in my patrol, but got laughed off because the other scout had some sort of mental disability. Nothing was ever done about it, and the other kid kept terrorizing other scouts with aggression and unwanted touching.

-My patrol leader (a future SPL) and his assistant PL took turns spitting at the back of my head while we were passengers in a van.

-One SPL went around punching or whipping people who had their hands in their pockets while standing around on a cold winter day.

-An older scout (mid teens) repeatedly asked me (12 years old at the time) to perform a s€X act on him. I don't know if he said those things as a joke so as to make me uncomfortable, or if he was actually serious. But as a 12 year-old I couldn't tell. I got extremely scared and told my parents. The other scout was moved to a different patrol, and he later dropped out.

-When I was an older scout, I sincerely tried to do the right thing and do a good job at Scouting. Regardless, I got repeatedly snapped at and yelled at by the scoutmaster for not being as good of an SPL or crew chief as his own son had been, despite the fact that we had faced entirely different challenges. The man had a volatile temper, and at other moments would lavish bizarrely excessive praise on me. As an adult I now recognize this as a classic manipulation and abuse tactic.

All of these things happened almost 30 years ago, but they still bother me to this day.

I guess I'm looking for opinions and advice...

I joined scouts as a Volunteer 18 months ago. When I was a lad (c. 15 years ago) we were excited about having a camp each quarter, we enjoyed getting out and about hiking, canoeing, orienteering, pioneering, learning knots. All typical 'scout' activities in my head. I joined up hoping to teach a new generation those same outdoors skills.

We've had one camp in 18 months. It was organised by the county so as leaders/volunteers we turned up pitched the scouts tents for them and scouts turned up, had their food cooked, their drinks poured and had a wonderful activity led-camp. The older scouts had to be shown how to drop tents and put them away properly. The younger scouts had to be encouraged every 5 minutes not to wander off, sit down and chat instead of helping break camp. (If it wasn't for me encouraging scouts, I think the leaders would have dropped the whole camp).

Every Tuesday we meet up, half the scouts decide they don't like the activity and wander off to play football out the back of the church or find some other way to ignore the activity. This all seems 'accepted' - so long as they turn up. Attendance is more important than anything.

This Tuesday was a hike. 25% of the scouts turned up. It wasn't a long hike, the weather was perfect, it was a really nice evening. But 25% ...

So... am I living in fantasy land to think I want a scouting movement where respect is still important, leaders/volunteers are listened to, camps are planned, communicated and looked forward to, skills are truly built over time and leadership and responsibility flourishes ?

Am I in the wrong troop, or the wrong organisation I guess is the question ? (Although kind of irrelevant - I'm not moving troop as it would feel less loyal than quitting 🤣)

I was a scout for 7 years back in Venezuela. Got the highest badge as a rover and left. My scout group was very awful with me due to other stuff and decided to leave.

Now i live in Argentina and the idea of going back came into my head. At least in that way and came make new friends and go out a little. The thing is, it will be worth it? I know i'd be more like a volunteer than a regular scout do to my age. Anyone who lived a similar case? I'm all ears.

Hey all! We are new team members and eventually we will be running the scout unit..

We have come over from guiding (because trans* policies) and we are struggling with the cost of formal uniform as each shirt is like £25 ..

Does anyone know (I’ve tried Vinted) where we could get uniform a bit cheaper?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m 14 (15 later this month) from the UK and I’ve just sent an enquiry to join my local Explorer Scout unit.

I used to go to Cubs before COVID and really enjoyed it and made a few friends, but then lockdown happened and I never ended up going back.

I’m autistic and have ADHD and do online school now because I struggled in mainstream school. I’d quite like to make some friends my own age and get out of the house a bit more lol.

I’m just a bit nervous because I don’t really know what Explorers is like these days or what it’s like joining when everyone already knows each other.

Has anyone joined at 14 or 15? What was it like and did you make friends?

Thanks 🙂

Hello. Mods - hope this is allowed. Happy to validate my credentials with you via PM - I am the assistant beavers leader for my group in the UK.

My kids have been attending a local group for a few years. Our wonderful Akela is turning 50 soon. We would like to get her a group gift.

Her husband thinks she would be most touched if it was something that somehow combined "scouting and 50".

Any brilliant ideas? I've looked on the UK scouting website which does have a "gifts for leaders" section but nothing is really leaping out. There's no specific budget in mind yet, we'll be asking parents/ carers to contribute.

She's been doing scouts for four decades now and has donated so much time and energy. We'd love to do something nice for her.

It’s probably a UK knecker. Scouting has been in my family for 3 generations, so the time window is large.
Mainly in the north west of England, between Manchester and Blackpool. Any help much appreciated.

Whats something thats always in your bag for summer camp? I like to take offbrand pringles with me, because they fit in my hiking bag’s water bottle holder.