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Happy Easter to all who celebrate and welcome to Edition 26 of Tails of the New Forest. This month, events, adverts, camps celebrating Scouting for All, dragons, adult awards and much more. See what we’re on about below:
What’s coming up?
District events coming up
By New Forest Programme team
Following the recent All Leaders Meeting at Copythorne, a number of events for the district have been added to the district diary.
The weekend of the 6th to 8th of September is a Leaders Skills weekend being hosted by the programme team. Open to any volunteer from any section age range, it allows you to hone, learn or improve any practical Scouting skill the team can teach.
- District Picnic with Beavers. Tuesday 2nd July, 5.30pm to 7.00pm at Boldrewood, games from 6pm. Families welcome.
- Soap Box Derby, Sunday 22nd September at Netley Marsh
- District Campfire with Beavers. Date currently aiming for 5th October.
- Reindeer Trophy, Sunday 1st December at Copythorne. Scout teamwork and base activity day.
- District Picnic with Squirrels. Tuesday 2nd July, 5.30pm to 7.00pm at Boldrewood, games from 6pm. Families welcome.
- Soap Box Derby, Sunday 22nd September at Netley Marsh
- District Campfire with Squirrels. Date currently aiming for 5th October.
- Christingle, date TBC, either Tuesday 3rd or 10th December.
- Muntjac Trophy, Sunday 7th July at Harry’s Island. Day incident walk with activity bases.
- Soap Box Derby, Sunday 22nd September at Netley Marsh
- District Sleepover, Date TBC in November or December
- District Camping Competition, 14th-16th June. Includes two events, one as a serious competition for experiences Scouts and one for more junior teams learning to work in their patrols in time for Summer camps.
- Rafting event, 22nd June at 4th Eling HQ on Testwood Lakes. Designing, building and racing rafts.
- Expedition Challenge weekend, 5th-7th July for those Scouts who need to complete their Expedition Challenge Award.
- Soap Box Derby, Sunday 22nd September at Netley Marsh
- Patrol Leader Training, 4th-6th October
- Stag’s Head Trophy, Saturday 19th October. A daytime incident hike around the New Forest to test navigation, teamwork and Scout skills.
County Beaver Scout events coming up
By Hampshire Beavers team
Hampshire’s Beavers team have announced the dates for various events coming up this year. These are:
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – 29th & 30th June
- Ferny Crofts Beavers Fun Day – 22nd September
- Paultons Park – 12th October (Basingstoke), 19th & 20th October
- Picnic in the Park – No set date, hold your own picnic
The team are currently working on releasing an online form to order badges for the Picnic in the Park and spare badges for any other events. This is due to be released shortly.
Eling and Testwood Donkey Derby
By the 4th Eling Sea Scouts and 5t Testwood organising team
A joint event between 4th Eling and 5th Testwood, the annual Donkey Derby for the communities around Totton returns once more for its biggest ever event. Taking place on Saturday 18th May, tickets are now on sale – details from the post below.
Events such as these take a lot of people so if you can help volunteer on the day or for the set-up day on Friday 17th then please email [email protected].
Young Leader training and opportunities
By Finn Le Page, Hampshire Scouts Young Leader Coordinator
Please find below the list of upcoming events/training for Young Leaders. If you have any further questions, please get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Module A Zoom (‘Prepare for take-off’)
Date: 14/04/2023, Time: 19:00 – 20:30
Booking and more info: https://bookwhen.com/youngleadertraining
Module B-J Training Weekend
This is a weekend hosted by the Young Leader Training Team, Young Leaders will complete training modules B-J during the day. Module K will not be completed during this weekend, however one of the skills for one of the sessions will be CPR and Young Leaders will be able to complete Module K afterwards via e-learning.
Date: 20/04/2024, Time: 10:00 – 20:00, Cost: £10
Booking and more info: https://bookwhen.com/youngleadertraining
Module A Zoom (‘Prepare for takeoff’)
Date: 19/05/2023, Time: 19:00 – 20:30
Booking and more info: https://bookwhen.com/youngleadertraining
Young Leader Call (More information to follow soon)
An exciting opportunity for Young Leaders across Hampshire to come together and share their thoughts about the Young Leaders Scheme, as well as being able to give some of their experiences and tips to other Young Leaders.
Date: 21/04/2024, Time: 19:30 – 20:30
Booking and more info: https://bookwhen.com/youngleadercalls
Reminders, opportunities and notices
Emailing Team DC
When sending email to any member of Team DC, please send all emails to the Team DC email address ([email protected]) including Nights Away Notifications, training updates and enquiries. The exception is if you are emailing about something confidential in which case you can email the relevant member of Team DC directly using their Hampshire Scouts email ([email protected])
Harry’s Island Grants and Funding
By Harry’s Island Support team
Are you looking for a new challenge?
The team at Harry’s Island are trying find a volunteer who enjoys looking for funding opportunities to help develop the site. There are plans approved for further development of the toilet facilities.
If you have some spare time and would you like to help, please contact Team DC using the [email protected] email address.
AGM dates and Trustee changes
By Donna Kerrigan, District Chair
It’s approaching AGM season so please remember to let the District know in good time when hosting an AGM so we can arrange for a member of the District Team to be present.
There are also changes coming into effect for Trustee Boards which will likely take effect from your next AGM. Find out more about the changes on the Scouts website including changes to the Secretary role and how the Chair is appointed.
What’s been happening?
Let’s start with Mud Run, a great way to kickstart spring at Ferny Crofts and laugh in the face of mud. We were aware of four groups in attendance and plenty of pictures could be found. We’ve got some below from 5th Testwood’s Cubs:
And before long, Fordingbridge sent theirs in too:
Barely a day later, Beavers from across the district gathered at Sandleheath for the Fawn Trophy, filled with team building and puzzles, challenges and Scout skills:
Let’s divert to Fordingbridge who have had a very busy month it seems! First off, their Squirrels Drey and their new leaders have been making a splash when their Squirrels visited the Fire Station to learn about local superheroes. That caused some local media attention too!:
Plus the Squirrels went on a bus for their next adventure:
Meanwhile, the Scouts took on an old favourite with Ready, Steady, Cook!
Off to Eling, who gained a £500 grnt to help them buy a new outboard motor for their safety launch:
And these are only the event we know about! Remember you can stay up to date with what’s going on on our Facebook page (/newforestscouts) or Instagram (@newforestscouts). Plus if you’re a volunteer you can be part of the Facebook group for members too.
Do remember to share your stories with us throughout the month so we can share them directly and keep having great Scouting adventures. As Fordingbridge have shown us, any normal activity is a compelling story that encourages others to get involved with the Scouts.
Lynn, Robin and Kevin.