BEAVERS

Beavers had a wonderful time at the winter camp! Despite the early start, the little ones were delighted to arrive at the campsite. After the opening ceremony, where we learned about the importance of bravery, they were then taken on a tour of the campsite to familiarise themselves with their surroundings.

After lunch, the Beavers were let loose on the campsite activities – first up was the Tarzan swings, where the kids were hooked on to a harness and pushed through the air by our friendly activity leader. They all had to practice their best Tarzan scream to see if any of the animals would approach, and Sarah managed to attract some goats on her turn! We then moved to another activity, which involved the kids climbing along a stone wall and taking responsibility for clipping their own carabiners (under supervision, of course!). This was a favourite amongst many of the kids. The last activity was sliding down a zip-wire, which also proved to be a popular one.

On Saturday, the Beavers and the Leaders also came up with a code of conduct. Each Beaver contributed their own rule as to how they should behave at camp, and it was then signed by all children, leaders, and even our GSL, Dominique, to make it really official! Beavers then had dinner and after a quick clean up, it was out in the darkness to do some tracking. We had found a mysterious note from someone who had been ‘lost in the woods’ and we had to follow their signs to find them. After a torchlight walk through the forest and some clever deciphering from the Beavers, we managed to find the final sign – the lost person had managed to head back to camp, so we did the same. We then took some time to prepare everyone’s beds in the cabins and then it was onto the much-awaited marshmallow toasting and smores! How those Beavers managed to sleep after all that sugar, I’ll never know.

All the little Beavers had a good night’s sleep in the cabins, and were delighted to wake up the next morning to light snowfall. Our morning activity was a treasure hunt, which involved the Beavers splitting into their lodges and trying to decipher the clues left by Felix. Things got slightly competitive, and both teams managed to solve the puzzle, which even included some Morse code and Braille.

After a few games, it was time for the Remembrance ceremony, led by Beaver leader Olivia and Scout leader Catherine. We learnt about why we celebrate Remembrance Day, and the significance of the poppy. Each child was given a handmade poppy to wear, and we observed a minute’s silence. It was then time to pack up camp – even in a cabin, it’s amazing how Beavers’ things always seem to wander off. We ended with a log chew to discuss everyone’s favourite things about the camp, and Maria was named Beaver of the Month. The Beavers were then piled onto the bus and returned home to mummies and daddies – tired, slightly grubby but having had a great time!

CUBS

After meeting at Saint Georges School on Saturday morning, we made our way to the campsite on the Bus; this was a great way to travel, and for those of us on the bus, the camp started there and then!

Once settled we went to the multiaventura, where we spent several happy hours climbing through the tree tops, flying along zip wires, shooting arrows and experiencing all sorts of challenging activities.

After the busy day, we had dinner at the cafeteria, roasted marshmallows at the barbecue and then joined up with the rest of the troop for the evening entertainment, around the camp fire.