Chief Scout and international adventurer Bear Grylls took to
the air last weekend when, as part of his tour across the South East and London,
he met up with and inspired hundreds of Scouts. This was the final leg of Bear’s
tour of the UK, completed during his time as Chief Scout as part of his mission
to inspire more adults to volunteer for Scouting. Bear visited eleven separate
events in the South East and London over the course of the weekend, illustrating
the diversity and variety involved in Scouting, an organisation offering over
200 activities to young people and adult volunteers.
Bear visited Frylands Wood Scout Activity Centre where he met Scouts from Bromley District, including Chislehurst, Petts Wood and Bickley, who were taking part in a "I'm a Scout, get me out of here!" themed weekend adventure camp competition. He joined in on activities which included making frameworks to light fires on to then carry around on an assault course. He gave the scouts the opportunities to ask him questions and used the time to say thank you to all existing adult volunteers who help deliver adventure and the benefits of Scouting to communities throughout the South East of England and London.
This series of events is part of Bear’s mission to encourage more adults to volunteer for Scouting as there are nearly 700 young people on the waiting list in South East London and over 40,000 across the UK. Shame on us all. There are not enough adult volunteers to accommodate the current demand of young people wanting to join Scouting, which is the largest co-educational youth movement in the country. Recent figures have shown that UK membership of The Scout Association has reached the 550,000 mark.
From breaking down barriers between generations to preparing young people for employment, Scouting makes a real difference to young people up and down the country. Membership of the movement is an opportunity that The Scout Association wants to extend to as many people as possible.
Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, said: “I was super excited to visit the Scouts in South East London. I met a lot of inspiring young people who play a positive part in the adventure that Scouting provides. One of my main objectives for the weekend was to encourage more adults to volunteer with the Scouts to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to join in the adventure that Scouting offers to all its participants. I’m so proud to be Chief Scout and it’s always humbling to see at first hand the adventures that our members are taking part in and their enthusiasm in making a difference.”
Bear was accompanied for the London leg of the adventure on Sunday by Steve Backshall, the BAFTA-winning British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV’s Deadly 60 programme. He said: “The Scouting movement was a massive part of my childhood. My dad was a leader in my Troop we used to have camps in the woods around my home, and their ethos is deeply ingrained in me. Spending a weekend with the Chief Scout, and thousands of scouts from across London was a great adventure!”
Sandhya Dom, 13, a Scout from 14th Bromley, who was selected to meet Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall from the helicopter that delivered Bear and Steve to the campsite commented: “This weekend has been the most memorable thing I have ever done, meeting Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall has been a once in a life time experience. Scouting’s all about adventure, so there’s nothing better than having someone like Bear join in. I love being a Scout – it’s built up my confidence, helped me make loads of new friends and allowed me to try so many brilliant things I would have otherwise never been able to do.”
Jack Biddle, 20, a Scout leader from Bromley said, "The Scouts were so excited by Bear's surprise visit, it’s something I’m sure they’ll never forget! Scouting has done so much in my life so far, and the flexible volunteering makes it incredibly easy to join in the fun, I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking to give something back to their community, learn some life skills, or just have a good time, come along, and Join the Adventure!
www.chislehurstpettswoodandbickleyvillagenews.co.uk
Bear visited Frylands Wood Scout Activity Centre where he met Scouts from Bromley District, including Chislehurst, Petts Wood and Bickley, who were taking part in a "I'm a Scout, get me out of here!" themed weekend adventure camp competition. He joined in on activities which included making frameworks to light fires on to then carry around on an assault course. He gave the scouts the opportunities to ask him questions and used the time to say thank you to all existing adult volunteers who help deliver adventure and the benefits of Scouting to communities throughout the South East of England and London.
 |
|
Chief Scout Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall with Scouts from Bromley District
|
He encouraged one team of frameworkers that the best way to get good, wet mud was to urinate on it! This team went on to win the "I'm the Scout..." competition, no doubt as a result of Bear's words of encouragement.
This series of events is part of Bear’s mission to encourage more adults to volunteer for Scouting as there are nearly 700 young people on the waiting list in South East London and over 40,000 across the UK. Shame on us all. There are not enough adult volunteers to accommodate the current demand of young people wanting to join Scouting, which is the largest co-educational youth movement in the country. Recent figures have shown that UK membership of The Scout Association has reached the 550,000 mark.
From breaking down barriers between generations to preparing young people for employment, Scouting makes a real difference to young people up and down the country. Membership of the movement is an opportunity that The Scout Association wants to extend to as many people as possible.
Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, said: “I was super excited to visit the Scouts in South East London. I met a lot of inspiring young people who play a positive part in the adventure that Scouting provides. One of my main objectives for the weekend was to encourage more adults to volunteer with the Scouts to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to join in the adventure that Scouting offers to all its participants. I’m so proud to be Chief Scout and it’s always humbling to see at first hand the adventures that our members are taking part in and their enthusiasm in making a difference.”
Bear was accompanied for the London leg of the adventure on Sunday by Steve Backshall, the BAFTA-winning British naturalist, writer and television presenter, best known for BBC TV’s Deadly 60 programme. He said: “The Scouting movement was a massive part of my childhood. My dad was a leader in my Troop we used to have camps in the woods around my home, and their ethos is deeply ingrained in me. Spending a weekend with the Chief Scout, and thousands of scouts from across London was a great adventure!”
Sandhya Dom, 13, a Scout from 14th Bromley, who was selected to meet Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall from the helicopter that delivered Bear and Steve to the campsite commented: “This weekend has been the most memorable thing I have ever done, meeting Bear Grylls and Steve Backshall has been a once in a life time experience. Scouting’s all about adventure, so there’s nothing better than having someone like Bear join in. I love being a Scout – it’s built up my confidence, helped me make loads of new friends and allowed me to try so many brilliant things I would have otherwise never been able to do.”
Jack Biddle, 20, a Scout leader from Bromley said, "The Scouts were so excited by Bear's surprise visit, it’s something I’m sure they’ll never forget! Scouting has done so much in my life so far, and the flexible volunteering makes it incredibly easy to join in the fun, I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking to give something back to their community, learn some life skills, or just have a good time, come along, and Join the Adventure!
Before departing
Bear and Steve allowed the scouts to ask them questions. Sandhya - one of the Scouts in the winning team - managed to ask
Bear “What’s the most adventureous thing you’ve ever done?” His response
was “ The jungle and swamps are hard...that's the stuff to watch out for.” Alasdair, another winning team member asked Bear, "If you could go back in time, what would you change?" Bear said, Quite a lot! But then advised scouts that whatever they did they should always have a back-up plan.
www.glsescouts.org.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment