The Young Leaders Survival Camp started slightly earlier than planned as an unnamed Scouter turned up with his young person a day early.
After this unexpected, but not unwelcome, arrival we started with 6 Young Leaders on the Saturday morning. Flag break saw the YL’s and most of the team being presented with their own handmade Survival Camp neckers. Then they started working towards their Emergency Aid stage 3 badge which they all achieved. After lunch the young people worked with Tony Bishop, the District Outdoor Activities Advisor, on various skills, including shelter building, where Tony built a demonstration shelter and the young people built their own shelters to sleep in later on in the day. Cooking on open fires was also a vital part of the exercise and the YL’s were cooking chicken and flatbreads for their main meal together with sweetcorn and baked bananas which had been cooked in a pit fire.

In the evening the YL’s began planning a Scouts Own for the next day and looked at some ideas for running a Scout camp fire before settling down in their shelters for a good nights sleep.
Sunday morning broke bright and breezy. The Scouts Own was run very well by the YL’s and then they worked on some more survival skills, including Tony showing water filtration techniques and Richard Heighton showing pacing and other navigational aids.
After lunch Rosemary Verner showed various ways of cooking ingredients found growing at the Campsite, including making a wild greens soup, rosehip syrup and jam from hedgerow fruits, all on a campfire.
The end of the camp saw the YL’s presented with their Survival Skills badges for the back of their new neckers and certificates.
All of the Young Leaders who took part were a credit to themselves and the Scout movement. I hope that they will be passing on their newly found skills to the young people in their Groups.
My thanks go to Dinah Baynton-Dibley, Rosemary Verner, Tony Bishop, Mick McGurk, Joan Bishop, Richard Heighton, Carl Pearce,  Lynda Lewcock, Bob Lewcock and Kevin Crooks who gave up their time to teach the Young Leaders and help make the camp run smoothly.

Mark Bowell
Camp Chief