Here we are!

This is the intro posting for the new explorer attached-part-of-the-district-unit-but-just-for-those-of-us-at-Boreatton unit! The following is copied from the handout note and gives some ideas for what we might be involved with, but we'll sort it all out in September!

Scouts doesn’t end at 14! In the past we have had to send our scouts out to explorer units around the county when they got too old, but now we have more leaders in the Boreatton Group, we are at last able to host our own explorers as part of the Shropshire Borders Explorer Unit.

Explorers is like scouts but now you can take more responsibility and ‘build on your success’. OK that’s from the scout association resource site – sounds like HQ policy speak doesn’t it. What it means is that we support you in developing your own scouting programme and working as a team – identify, work towards and achieve your goals. An obvious example is the Duke of Edinburgh award and we will be running this within the explorer programme. But we can go for a wide range of other activities.

A Boreatton explorer looks out across the Mongolian steppe – which way next?

I have been talking to the organiser of the Scalextrics4Schools competition and he is keen to introduce the First Tech Challenge in the UK – it’s the 14-18 age equivalent to the First Lego League that the scouts keep winning trophies for. The Asia-Pacific county (it’s kind of a UK scout county but a long way away) would like to help Tuvalu Scouts link to a scout group in England which sounded interesting - see how different/same scouts are across the world and share ideas, activities, expeditions... Explorers can join our Rifle squad, experience Winter Mountain Walking with the SSGMG, go white water rafting (you’re all old enough!).

You are also now able to start get involved leading activities: as a Young Leader for scout sections, and also through achieving activity qualifications for sports and activities you enjoy.

We can plan longer term projects that scouts can’t really do as a troop - I have plans for a hovercraft and launching a camera to the top of the atmosphere...

Most of these things you can do through schools and clubs and other organisations, but scouting gives us a structure and organisation within which we can pursue our goals, whatever they may be. Scouting is full of enthusiastic volunteers who will give their time and enthusiasm to us – they recognise that we are doing their activities because we share those enthusiasms. It means we have a ready introduction to a huge range of people and activities, and because everyone is a volunteer, it is generally cheaper and more fun.

If you are interested and want to bring your ideas and energy to our group – contact one of the leaders:

Alan Herbert - 01939 291352 – a.w.herbert@btinternet.com

and

Andy Southall - 07775 938310 – andy@boreatton.co.uk

Join us when we start the unit in September, and maybe come and get to know us by coming to a joint session with the scouts over the next few weeks.