As lockdown begins easing across the country, 1st Little Stoke Scouts have begun to resume face-to-face meetings. This is a particularly exciting time for the Beaver section, who will be meeting face-to-face at the Scout hut for the first time in July, as over half of the colony, some leaders included, have joined during lockdown. This means that they have never set foot inside the Scout hut.
Beavers
Zoom meetings have not prevented the love and fun of Scouting from flourishing. The new Beavers and leaders have been welcomed into the group, through a series of exciting and dynamic activities, focussing on a mixture of friendship and Scouting activities. During Zoom sessions five Beavers have been invested into the group.
One new member, Erin, was extremely excited to be invested and to be given her neckerchief, after watching her elder brother enjoy all the exciting activities Scouting has to offer.
Cubs
The Cub section were the first section to start face-to-face meetings, which all the Cubs and leaders were extremely excited about, especially as they also welcomed new Cubs and leaders during their Zoom meetings. They started their first session with some exciting team building games to give all the Cubs the opportunity to make new friends and learn each other’s names. The leaders also spent some time talking with each Cub about the personal challenges they wanted to achieve this year and presented the Sixer badges. As the Cubs enter the final term of the year, they are looking forward to completing the work on their Sports and Artist badges. The Artist badge will be delivered by the young leaders of the group, who are volunteering as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award.
Scouts
Scouts are slowly getting back to face-to-face meetings. They have sessions planned at the fantastic setting of Woodhouse Park, near Almondsbury, where they will be able to explore the wide open spaces and learn all about emergency rescue situations and compass skills. Moving into the final term of the year, the Scouts are going to be completing their badge linked to the local area, by conducting local walks and studies, as well as learning to cook on open and gas fires.
All the leaders are looking forward to seeing the scouts in 3D once again, although they are not sure how they will cope without the ‘mute’ button!
Thanks to winning a National Lottery grant, 1st Little Stoke are about to have the toilets in the Scout hut refurbished, which will mean the whole building will have been updated, allowing children to continue enjoying the wonderful opportunities Scouting has to offer.
The group has an exciting website, recently updated by Beaver leader Gemma: 1stlittlestokescouts.org.uk
If you would like any more information on getting involved with 1st Little Stoke Scout Group, please contact Group Scout Leader Tony Edmonds on 07957 880503 or email tonyedmonds108@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared in the June 2021 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 7). The magazine is delivered FREE, nine times a year, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
