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Issue 20 August / September 2011

Inside Out

The Monthly National Newsletter of Scouting Ireland

IncludingAll the latest from the World Jamboree& your Summer adventures

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Contents

Martin Thompson, welcoming all to the Irish Programme base

World Jambore 2011

Jamboree fun and friendships

Page 4. - Tweets / WebsitesPage 5. - World Jambree 2011Page 12. - Chief Scout AwardPage 14. - PhoenixPage 16. - Rover ScoutsPage 18. - Roverway 2012Page 20. - Blast from the PastPage 21. - Venture ScoutsPage 26. - World EventsPage 27. - Local - Lough Scouts / 8th ArmaghPage 28. - Camping in CrafordsburnPage 29. - Togher ScoutsPage 30. - France 2011

Page 32. - Camp Carnival / Cars 2Page 33. - 18th SantryPage 34. - Fota CampsitePage 35. - Glanworth - 21 YearsPage 36. - Bardon to Botswana / Gleann na Boinne Page 37. - 7th Westmeath / Cavan / CarrickmacrossPage 38. - 18th Meath Cub ScoutsPage 39. - 3rd MonaghanPage 40. - 5th Monaghan / Bandon Venture ScoutsPage 41. - National Beaver DaysPage 42. - National EventsPage 43. - Environmental Programme IdeasPage 44. - Sea ScoutsPage 46. - Leinster MPC

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Hi All,

Welcome back to issue 20 of Inside out. The Team took a break during august to concentrate on Scouting Activities so this month’s issue is a bumper one covering both July and August.This issue features the World Jamboree in Sweden which on all accounts was a brilliant Camp and one that Scouting Ireland can be proud of taking part in. Also featured this month is the Phoenix challenge, The challenge weekend and various reports from group summer camps.One of the new features the Communications team have launched is our photo gallery on the website Check it out here www.scouts.ie/photos/ It features photos from all the recent events.Another feature just launched is Scouting Irelands facebook page. It is the place to see all things going on in all parts of the country in relation to scouting.

So exciting times in the promotion of Scouting Ireland so if you can help by informing all scouts, Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts of the exciting new features . Maybe Also you can print off a copy of this magazine and give the youth members a chance to join in.

Finally if you want to feature in Inside next month maybe a piece about where your group camped then the closing date for receipt of articles and pictures is 30th of Sept. So come on let’s hear about your group send all articles to Steve at news.comms@scouts.ie

Hope you enjoy this issue and see you again next month.

RegardsJimmy Cunningham

Communications Commissioner Corner

Coming Up Next Month.... » Feature on next year’s projects abroad » More blast from the past » Recharge – The Larch Hill Reunion » 20 years of Mountain Pursuit Challenges

piece » Introducing the Communications Team

» Gilwell ReunionAnd so much more!

Here at Inside Out we welcome all types of content from all sections and activities.

The deadline for submission of material is the last day of every month. It can be sent to news.comms@scouts.ie . Ideally text will be in a Word document and photos in .jpg format. Please try to give as much information as possible and don’t forget that you can also submit news directly to my.scouts.ie!

Looking forward to seeing your news!

Steven

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This month’s Scouting Ireland tweets

Featured Websites of the Month

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World Jamboree 2011: Rinkaby, Sweden

At long last, every Irish Scout has arrived at the 22nd World Scout Jamboree in Rinkaby, Sweden. It was a lengthy process, with each of our troops arriving over the course of 3 days into Copenhagen airport, but the wait is finally over – we made it!

The first batch of scouts to arrive on Danish soil were Caithne, Coll, Saileach and Ull. These are the lucky troops who spent the afternoon of the 26th in Copenhagen and visited the Trivili funfair – an excitement the other troops are due to enjoy at the end of the trip, when we visit during the Fall of Leaves camp. The four early bird troops returned to meet the late flight arrivals Caorthann, Cuilean, Fearnog and Feoras. The first half of the Contingent pulled into Rinkaby in a steady stream from 1 am to 5 am. Each troop was greeted by the Irish House staff and a supper of soup and a roll – on the house! They were then presented with their tents and made to pitch them under next to no light.

But as can be expected from the Irish Contingent, the task was managed with incredible enthusiasm – Subcamp leaders were singing their praises for their respectful and cheerful arrival in the dead of night.

The 27th found Beith, Giuis, Silin and Leamhan. After a smiliar greeting in the Irish House, these troops had a much easier experience with the site pitching, with daylight on their side. Meanwhile, site inspectors had the first batch of Irish scouts moving their 2 am positions, some of which were very much in breech of the strict 2

metre regulations – mind the gap, lads!

Finally today, the 28th finds the last of our scouts checked in; Draighen, Fuinseog and Iur. It’s only a shame that they are stuck setting up site in the pouring rain! While the scouts are only arriving over the last few days, the Trom IST have been hard at work, some for over a week, getting the site ready to show the world our colours. The highlight of our Contingent efforts is definatly the Irish House – “An Crann.” Last night was the Irish House’s grand opening. The live music and Irish food had passersby changing course to check out all of our hard work and soon the crowds were swarming to Four Seasons Square. The buzz around site tonight is all about Ireland ‘Did you hear their music last night? What time do they open tonight?’Today is very much a free day for the Irish scouts to get settled and explore the campsite – much exploration needed as the Jamboree Campsite is currently the 3rd largest city in Sweden! The Young Correspondents are in for their training and we can soon expect the production of their journalistic work. Everything is coming together for the official start of the Jamboree.

At 9 o’clock the Main Stage will host the opening ceremony – when all 38,000 scouts are welcomed to Sweden. The buzz around site is incredible; everyone’s excited to get this Jamboree started. With appearances from Bear Grylls and the much anticipated (and hoped for!) visit from the King of Sweden, not a single scout isnt impatient for the evening to arrive.

So far the World Jamboree has been extreamely eventful and exciting for all – the two weeks will not be long enough for the Irish Contingent!!

First Day in RinkabyNiamh Wallis

Draigehan Scouts enjoying the relaxed paceof life at the Jamboree

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For 100s more photos see

my.scouts.ie and the contingent Facebook page

Chief Scout arrives at Rinkaby for the Jamboree

Iur Scouts having the time of their lives

Scouts from Fearnog enjoying every moment

Caorthan Scouts and their huge gate! Irish necker a great success

Irish Scouts highly visible

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So what happened at the jamboree? A small sample!A Royal visit

His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden visited the World Scout Jamboree on Friday. Visibly impressed with the Jamboree and its organisation, the King toured the campsite, had lunch at the Dining Hall, climbed the Jamboree tower and of course spoke to the Scouts attending the Jamboree.

The visit started with a guided tour round the camp. “The King was interested in everything going on at the camp” says Anna Persson, who guided the King. “He asked about Messengers of Peace, the Shelterbox project and the Faiths and Beliefs zone.” Anna continues.

Joined by Queen Silvia, the King had lunch at Dining Hall. “We showed the kitchen and washing up area” says Emma Söderlind, Head of Kitchen block. “They seemed interested, and impressed by the large quantities we serve. And they liked the food” she adds.

After lunch the royal couple first visited the Jamboree Tower, then a Thai Unit. The King and Queen were greeted by the HM King Carl XVI Gustaf’s own Scout Troop, set up 1996 in honour of the Swedish King. “I was very proud to meet the King” says Pimkamon Thepwongrangrsri, who presented the ribbon the King tied to the Unit’s flag. The King also met a Scout troop set up at a school for blind children with funding from the King.

Scouting over the rainbowFollowing a Finnish initiative, on Monday evening (1st of August) over 70 IST, Contingent Leaders, planning team members and participants met on Winter Town Square to exchange experiences and views on being gay, lesbian, bi, transgender or queer (known as LGBTQ) in Scouting. Under the rainbow flag symbolizing how diverse, colorful and happy the LGBT people are, more and more people arrived. Luckily, enough benches to sit on could be found from the tents around so everyone would find a seat.

In a short game the crowd found out where they all came from (around the world) and how different it was in their countries and Scout associations to be gay or lesbian etc. Some talked about big difficulties in their Scout lives, others thought that it was fine to be “queer” in their environment. After some small discussion groups a vision was formulated to make Scouting open for all, supportive of young people who find out that they are “different” and develop a network of contacts of different countries in order to share tools and support.

Flash mob showing off Irish talents

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The Quest Programme Zone was a big hit at the Jamboree

The Quest Programme Zone which is being spearheaded by the Irish, Danish and Swedish Scouts, is the most popular Programme Zone at this year’s World jamboree. This is down to a big effort put in by the quest team ahead of the Jamboree. No stone was left unturned to make this base really exciting and challenging stated Christy Mc Cann who is leading the Irish team on this Zone. He praised the efforts of the Scouting Ireland Members who are taking part and also to the members who came over prior to the Jamboree to get the Zone ready. It has been well received by the Scouts from all over the world.When you come to Quest you’ll enter a reality where you visit worlds from different eras in time. Within each world you are in your patrol, here you take part in physical activities, with games to test your mind and games to help you meet others. Be prepared to run through the forest, climb over trees and explore our “caves”. Use your mind to communicate with others, solve the puzzles and complete the challenges. Relax and meet others while dancing, listening to music, or playing silly games.

Some comments from some troops who have gone through Quest.“Today we did Quest, there was this great bit where we had to lever one of our team half way up a tree to reach some bean bags, the whole thing was really difficult but it was a great feeling when we completed it!“Real challenge real adventure”Every day over 6,000 Scouts go through the Quest Zone and all come out the other side having achieved something whether it be meeting a new friend or solving a puzzle.Well done to all members of Scouting Ireland who set up and run this Programme Zone another first for Scouting Ireland!

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From the pages of....Tuesday 19 July 2011 Two local men and a teenager are off to Sweden at the end of the month to take part in the 22nd World Scout Jamboree 2011.Gerry Finnegan from Omeath, Finbar Gethins from Kilkerley and 17-year-old Joseph O’Meara from Carlingford are among a 1,500 strong group from Ireland going to the event.

“The World Scout Jamboree is held every four years. The last one was held in the UK in 2007. I didn’t go then so this will be my first time attending,” said Gerry.The 2011 event is running from July 26 until August 10 in a makeshift camping area which will accommodate 40,000 scouts from all over the world. When it is completed, the Jamboree will be one of the largest cities in southern Sweden. The theme for this year’s Jamboree is ‘Simply Scouting’. The Jamboree aims to encourage meetings between those from different cultures, religions, countries and contingents. It also aims to use the natural environment as a learning tool, demonstrating both its vulnerability and what individuals can do to better protect the world we live in.The third goal is to encourage solidarity between scouts of all ages, and promote the unity between scout organisations from around the world.“

There will be a strong emphasis on camping and cooking on fires. The King of Sweden will also be there as he is the Chief Scout of Sweden,” said Gerry.“There will be a variety of camp events on the site. The Irish team are building a camp called ‘Quest’ which will involve a lot of challenges for the scouts.

“Another camp is called GDV or Global Development Village which is all about recognising the importance of different cultures and the environment. “We might be camping next to Japanese scouts or Arab or Jewish scouts. It’s like having the world on your doorstep.”

He added: “We will invite different scout groups over to our site and cook them something Irish, maybe a stew or some scones. “The Irish tent will also be putting on different demonstrations and giving them a taste of Irish hospitality. We will

be putting on ceilis and there will be storytelling, tin whistle, guitar and bodhran.” Gerry will be in charge of 36 Irish scouts ranging in age from 14 to 17 on the trip.

Jam

boree 2

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1Irish House, hugely popular day and night

Badges highly sought after

Chief Scout with young correspondents

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Scouting Ireland was asked to speak at a workshop at the Safe from Harm Conference during the World Jamboree, along with 10 other speakers from around the world, as below. 300 adults took part from around the world including Scouting Ireland’s John Brennan, Chief Commissioner Adult Resources; Anne Browne, Irish Contingent Child Protection Officer for the Jamboree & Child Protection Trainer; Charlie McGuinness, Coordinator of the SI Risk Management Advisory Team & member of the Jamboree Planning Team and Ruth Hughes, Support Officer Child Protection & Risk Management.

Keynote speeches from Queen Silvia of Sweden, UNICEF’s Susan Bissell, Helene Gestrin, President of the Swedish Scout and Guide Council and WOSM’s Luc Panissod, are here http://www.worldscoutjamboree.se/2011/08/speeches-from-safe-from-harm-conference/ - main points included that there are 220 million people in the world whose births are not registered; 150 million children are used in labour, over a range of work activities/roles & 13 countries at war are using child soldiers in roles from porters and cooks to fighting and for sex. Scouting has been fighting these statistics for over 100 years.

Participants in the Scouting Ireland workshop were from Italy , Costa Rica , Greece , Holland , Denmark , Egypt & several from Sweden . Our content, summarised below, was well debated in discussion groups afterwards and several positive comments were received as well as interested questions about the Irish vetting system and our training scheme.

The other workshops were 1. Stop Violence against Girls (World Assoc. Of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts)2. Taking Scouting to Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances (Pakistan Boy Scouts Associations3. Youth Protection Training Programs (Boys Scouts of America)4. Just Say No – campaign & advocacy (South Africa Scout Assoc.)5. How to Listen and Talk to Children (B.R.I.S. Sweden – translates to Children’s Rights in Society)6. How to Prevent Abuse or Harassment at Large Events (Swedish Guide &

Scout Council)

Conference at the World Scout Jamboree 2011Ruth Hughes, Support Officer Child Protection & Risk Management, Scouting Ireland

7. Keeping Scouts Safe from Harm in a National Organisation (Kenya Scouts Association and PATH catalyst for global health)8. Children Harm Free Organisation (Arab Region of WOSM – World Org. Of the Scouting Movement)9. Prevention of Violence amongst Children and Youth, and taking Scouting to Sexually Abused Children & Youth (El Salvador Scout Assoc.)10. Child Protection in a Globalizing World (UNICEF)

Scouting Ireland Workshop:

“Bestpracticeistheonlypractice” Garda Superintendent Patrick Burke

“The most resilient young peopleagainst bullying or abuse

are generally thosewith the most fun and friendship in their life”

Outline:1. Constant review of policy, procedure & practice.2. Interaction with organisations outside Scouting.3. Adult recruitment, screening & retrospective vetting.4. Compulsory 4 hour Child Protection Awareness Programme.5. Clear reporting procedures when concerns are noted.6. Training & monitoring of CP trainers.

Policy, Procedure & Practice: Act in an open & visible manner, sometimes it’s better not to join in, be positive in your conversation, mixed gender sections need mixed leadership, be alert to your own & others’ emotions, consider the situation, don’t put yourself or a young person in a vulnerable situation.

Reporting Procedures: i. The onus is on everyone to raise any concern of child abuse, with the Child Protection Officer, without delay.ii. If there is any immediate danger, contact the police and/or the health services and then report to your CPO

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If a young person discloses: React calmly and listen carefully, reassure them it is right to tell, as soon as possible record their exact words and demeanour / body language, ask minimal questions only for clarification, sign and date the record, explain what may happen next (age appropriate), inform the CPO

Do not promise to keep the information secret, don’t ask leading questions or seek intimate detail other than what is volunteered, don’t express any opinion on the alleged abuser, and don’t investigate.

It is good practice to: Ensure appropriate ratio of adults to young people, engage in appropriate physical contact only, respect personal & sexual boundaries, discuss uncertainties with the CPO or other, maintain a healthy work-family-volunteer balance.Do not spend time alone with a young person, if avoidable; don’t give car lifts to young people on your own, if avoidable; don’t make sexual jokes with young people present; don’t be over involved with a particular young person; don’t tolerate favouritism, exclusion or harsh discipline.

Success factors: 50-60 volunteers willing to train as Child Protection Trainers and field difficult questions from new and now-so-new Scouters; designated trained Child Protection Officer on Jamboree Contingent Management Team; relationships training with each Jamboree troop – respect, teamwork, good choices & tolerance; Critical Incident Training and Response Plan prepared

Challenges: Recognising that abuse may happen in our own community, where we can & must influence; once concerns are reported to statutory bodies - timeframes are beyond Scouting control; and repeated reassurance needed when further reports (historic and current) are publicised in Church and State bodies

Further references:• http://www.scouts.ie/uploads/files/Online_Code_of_Good_Practise.pdf• http://www.scout.org/en/information_events/library/diversity/guidelines_ on_scouting_for_children_in_especially_difficult_circumstances • www.wagggsworld.org - 34th World Conference 2011, Edinburgh - advocacy campaign - girls worldwide say “stop the violence”• www.irishgirlguides.ie • http://www.youth.ie/startingout

”The most resilient young peopleagainst bullying or abuse

are generally thosewith the most fun and friendship in their life”

At the end of the conference a new e-learning Safe from Harm course was launched for the 6 million adult volunteers worldwide in Scouting, like the mandatory one completed by 12,000 adults pre Jamboree which alerted them to Swedish cultural and legal expectations http://scout.org/en/about_scouting/the_youth_programme/reaching_out/safe_from_harm/resources/wosm_launches_new_e_learning_on_keeping_scouts_safe_from_harm

For further information please contact

Ruth Hughes, Support Officer, Child Protection & Risk Managementcpo@scouts.ie

01 4956300

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Main points about the Award• A Chief Scout Award for each of the five Programme Sections• An award to help Youth Members in their Personal Journey through Scouting• A means of gaining external recognition through links with the International Award (Gaisce and the Duke of Edinburgh Award)• A means to broaden programme through service, partnership, scouting skills and intercultural engagement.• A unique educational opportunity through the use of the Scout Method to complete the Award Resources now available online:• Registration Forms (In the Programme Section Pages of the ONE Programme Area)• Listing of Accredited Chief Scout Award Mentors• CSA Manual: a support tool for the Chief Scout Award. It explains o What the Award is, o Lists the requirements, o Explains the registration process, o Has guidelines for all the aspects of the Award and Refers to other materials where appropriate. Chief Scout Award Mentors (formally called Chief Scout Award Support Scouters)These are Scouters who have received specific training to support the Chief Scout Award. Only trained and registered, Chief Scout Award Mentors can sign off on the Scout, Venture Scout and Rover Scout ONE Programme Chief Scout Awards. The training is provided jointly by Scouting Ireland and Gaisce. People who are currently President Award Leaders (PALs) are also required to partake in a CSA Mentor Accreditation course.

Chief Scout Award Mentor AccreditationA series of Mentor Accreditation Sessions will take place across Ireland over the coming months. We are working with Gaisce and the DoE to arrange these, and are, thus, awaiting confirmation on dates and exact locations. Information will be posted online and circulated through Scout Counties.

A specific email address has been established to support Scouters/Mentors in relation to the Chief Scout Award: csa.support@scouts.ie

Chief Scout Award

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Rivervalley Chief Scout Awards

day of programme, within the grounds of the college. There were 12 tasks to be completed all took 30 minutes each and were devised with the theme of the event in mind. The tasks tested traditional scouting skills (eg. compass, firework and ropework) and many of the tasks tested mental agility and problem solving abilities. All aspects of the programme delivered through out the weekend were well received by the participants.

Downtime for the scouts on Thursday night was a movie, on Saturday night it was a disco and the participants were encouraged to make use of their costumes. Again on Sunday morning the ‘Era of Adventurers’ costumes were donned for the trade fair which took place before ‘breaking camp’ commenced.

Well done to all Patrols for breaking camp so promptly allowing closing ceremony to proceed as planned. Due to the forecast threat of rain we all crammed into the on site hall for the closing ceremony. The heat and sense of anticipation was intense. The

standards bronze, silver and gold were announced in order of site number and sub-camp by The Programme Commissioner (National Events) and The Programme Commission (Scouts). The sense of relief in the Patrols as their award standard was called out is always worth witnessing and this year was no different. Immediately following the run through of the sites and their respective awards the following trophies were presented

by The Programme Commissioner (Scouts) to the accomplished patrols:

• Special Projects Trophy – 17th Waterford• Programme Bases Trophy – 3rd/ 12th Cork• Test Meal Trophy – 17th Waterford

The 7th National Patrol Challenge of Scouting Ireland was recently held in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick. The Phoenix Challenge 2011 ‘The Era of Adventurers’ opened on the eve of Wednesday 17th August with 53 patrols rushing to their assigned sites within their respective sub-camps Bulls, Curlews, Raven and Wolves to commence site build. The following day the patrols continued with the construction of their sites and completed a series of scouting challenges on their sites and sub-camps. The weather was fanatic and spirits were high.

Following dinner on Thursday evening there was a mass movement to Curragh Chase a Coillte forest park approximately 10 km from Pallaskenry. Almost 500 Scouts and Scouters hiked to Curragh Chase to Bivouac for the night and show off their campfire sketches.

All 53 patrols partook in programme on Friday in the vicinity of the Curragh Chase forest park. There were tasks such as friction bridges, lighted beacons, cliff rescues, assault courses, nature surveying, clay pot making, pulley work and many more. Naturally enough after a night under the stars crammed into bivouacs and a long day of bases the scouts were tired and weary. Two scouts from each patrol were ferried back to Pallaskenry to attend a cooking demonstration, receive their ration pack and

get started on the test meal dinner prior to the remainder of the patrol returning to the main camp. When all the bases were completed all of the tired and weary scouts got a lift most of the way back to the main camp where fires were lit and dinner was hopefully almost prepared.

On Saturday again all 53 patrols partook in a full

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Phoenix Pallaskenry 2011

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• Campcraft Trophy – 17th Waterford• Richard Murphy Trophy – 3rd Waterford• Campfire Prize – 4th Louth (Snow Patrol)

Following the presentation of the trophies for the various categories, The Chief Scout presented the 3rd, 2nd and 1st place trophies to the following patrols.

• 3rd Place Trophy - 3rd/12th Cork• 2nd Place Trophy – 4th Louth Snow Patrol• 1st Place Trophy (Phoenix) – 17th Waterford

The patrols who received the gold standard award are listed below;1. 17th Waterford2. 4th Louth [Snow Patrol]3. 3rd/12th Cork4. 103rd Dublin5. 46th/92nd Cork6. 3rd Waterford7. 2nd Cork8. 7th Waterford9. 4th Cork10. 11th Belfast11. 31st Waterford12. 6th Tipperary [Eagle Patrol]13. 91st Dublin14. 34th Limerick

Many of the people who made the event happen were thanked as part of the closing ceremony and present with pendants. A huge amount of effort went into developing the programme for the event, it was a huge task to set up the site and manage the logistics (many of logistics team were on site two days before the event started). The sub-camp teams had very important task of looking after the participant’s welfare and maintaining high spirits. Finally the difficult task of pulling together every aspect of the event and ensuring everything goes according to schedule is done through the admin office and the event coordination team. All the Scouters whom contributed so much of their time to success of this event should be acknowledged and without whom the event could not happen. However most importantly a salute to the scouts who gave every last bit of energy in doing their very best through out the event, doing Scouting Ireland, their Groups, Troops and themselves proud. I look forward

to next year’s event and experiencing the energy and enthusiasm that goes hand in hand with the Phoenix Challenge.

The Adventures of Radio Subcamp

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Phoenix Staff 2011

Rover Scout Abroad - 5th Port in Thailand

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Oxygen Staff 2011

Another year another Oxegen for Rover Scouts from all over the country. Rovers provided their now legendary Tent Pitching Service at the 2011 event. All funds raised will go into the Scouting Ireland Community Partnership Fund and will be used for good causes later in the year

Roverway 2012

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WHAT is this event?WHO is it for?

WHERE will it take place?And most importantly HOW do

you get involved?

Roverway is a European event for 16 – 22 year old venture and rover scouts from all over the World. Over 22 year olds can participate as leaders or International Service

Team. Roverway 2012 particiption runs throughout 2012, with the main event taking place in Finland from 20th-28th July 2012. This 9 day programme is made up of 2 main parts:

Path: Tribes (groups of 50) set on the paths (a 4 day scout adventure) all around Finland after the Opening Ceremony. During the paths, participants will experience sauna, Finnish nature, and cultural and intercultural food. Each Tribe

will also plan and carry a service project into effect. The paths include a wide range of themes, such as nature, culture, scouting and guiding skills, etc. (During the path stage you will be able to choose for example between canoeing in the lake district, bicycling in the archipelago or hiking up in the north.) The paths are organised by Finnish Guides and Scouts and will be lead by Finnish Tribe Leaders. Camp: After your experience on the paths, Roverway continues on the camp at the Evo campsite until 28th July. There will be plenty to do on the camp, including programme valleys, Festival Day, cafés, and get-togethers, activities and the Closing Ceremony. Check out the Roverway website and keep an eye for updates from Scouting Ireland Roverway Team. Registrations open in September… which path will you choose?

On Sunday 17th July, the first meeting of what will become the next Roverway Contingent took place in Dublin. A number of National Venture Scout Reps, Venture Scout Leaders, Rover Scouts, and Communications Team Member were present for the workshop day intended to provide information and gather input for the next Scouting Ireland Roverway Contingent to Finland 2012 provided by Deputy Head of Contingent, Connor Hodges and Head of Contingent Mary Nugent after their recent Head of Contingent Weekend in Finland. A further weekend for Rover representatives will be attended by Shauna O’Brien on behalf of Scouting Ireland later this year. The day unfolded in a series of presentations, discussions, slideshows, expectations, workshops and feedback. Initially Connor and Mary explained Roverway, what it is, who it is for, how it works etc. through explanatory presentations, videos and slideshows. As well as informing the group what to expect from the Roverway event, they also managed the Irish Contingent expectations in terms of what is inclusive in the participant fee, IST, get togethers before the event, travel, etc. Susie Lynam took the group through a logo workshop, where the theme of Roverway and the Irish Contingent was explored and ideas were thrown out and worked together to form the beginning of the Irish Contingent logo. Keep an eye on Facebook for further information and to share your opinion and cast your vote.

Roverway registrations will open in September and close in December 2011. This will be a strict closing date and applications after this date will be not be accepted. Expect to hear a lot more from the Team at Venture and Rover Scout events from now until December – and help spread the word! For promotional materials please see contact details below.

Roverway began in Portugal in 2003, and has since been in Italy 2006, Iceland 2009 and the 4th Roverway will take place all over Finland.

Scouting Ireland Contingent Roverway 2012

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Shauna O’ Brien represented Scouting Ireland at the Roverway Rover Reps meeting

More to follow next month...

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Blast from the Past...

Scotland, 1994

Germany, 2003

Lithuania, 2002

Belgium, 1998

Explorer Belts

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Ventact(sourced from scoutingfermoy.org)

Ventact is an action packed fun activity weekend held every year in Kilcully Campsite Co. Cork. Up to 500 scouts and guides from every part of Ireland gather for one of the best scouting weekends of the year. It starts on Friday with scouts converging on the campsite in large numbers. Each one loaded to the brim with tents and bags of all description eager to get their regrestration confirmed so that they can put up their tents. The campsite is transformed into a mini village for the weekend with scouts and guides cooking, chatting, making new friends or looking out for friends they made last year who promised faithfully that they would be back again this year. As the evening wore on I could not help thinking how relaxed everyone looked and how easy it was for them to adjust from their urban and city lifestyle to sitting around a fire in the middle of a field chatting.

This is a very well run event with civil defence, first aid posts, information stands, fast food stands and staff strolling the grounds 24 hours a day making sure everyone has the best possible time over the weekend. There is also a group buddy system in place whereby a group from outside Munster can twin with one from Cork and if they send their gear down in advance the Cork group will have it put up before they arrive.

At 2200hrs on Friday the live band took to the stage and for the next two hours both the volume and the enthusiasm of the scouts and guides were turned up to maximum. As midnight approached the scouts and guides started to congregate outside the administration building. Everyone in the groups eagerly awaited the distribution of Saturday’s activity tickets. This year’s activities included abseiling, archery, canoeing, caving, horse riding, orienteering, rock climbing, sailing, windsurfing, sub aqua, water skiing , raft building, fire fighting and high and low rope adventure. The tickets are randomly put in envelopes by the organisers. Each envelope contains one activity ticket for each member of the group. You cannot choose what activities to go on beforehand and there are no extra tickets. It is at this stage that the whole place erupts into a marketplace. Every scout and guide bartering with one and other to trade their tickets up or down depending on what level of adventure they want. By 0130hrs everyone retired to their tents for a few hours sleep until the busses rolled in at 0815hrs on Saturday morning to transport us all over the country depending on where our activity base was.

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After a full day of adventure we arrived back into Kilcully at 1800hrs. We put on some food and talked with others about their day and what it was like. Lots of laughter could be heard all around the site as the day’s stories were exchanged. We had a religious service at 1930hrs and after that everyone was gearing up for the Saturday night disco. This year’s theme was Bollywood and the scouts and guides did not shy away from getting into

character. The light show was very impressive. Someone allegedly said that the Chief Scout was seen throwing some shapes at the disco with the organisers but we

cannot confirm that at this time. Sunday morning and some weary scouts and guides crawled out of their tents for the onsite activities. This year the reflexology base was very popular followed by the upcoming Roverway information tent. This event will take place in Finland next year. The closing ceremony was at 1300hrs and by 1400hrs the mini village that was Ventact 2011 had disappeared.

We would like to thank the organising committee for their endurance and vision in making this event one of the premier scouting and guiding activities of the year.

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We arrived in Hanoi on Friday night and were greeted by Ms. Binh from Helping Hands, an organization that facilitate adoptions from Vietnam. It had been a long two days of travel, so we had a rest day on Saturday in Hanoi, where we experienced Vietnamese culture for the first time, and got acclimatised to the heat before heading to Thai Nguyen to start work on the project.

SUNDAY

We arrived into Thai Nguyen around lunchtime Sunday, and went straight to the orphanage to begin the project. First we met with some of the elderly people who live in the social centre, and gave 45 packages of condensed milk, sugar and biscuits to them as gifts.We then had a meeting with the Director of the centre, Mr. Van Trieu, in his meeting room to organise a schedule for the 5 days and discuss what needed to be done.We were also introduced to the children living in the orphanage.We

also brought with us a new outfit for all the babies, and the older children. It was decided the main meeting hall in the complex was in dire need of a new paint job, so we launched straight into sanding and scrubbing the walls, floors and ceilings to make sure they were clean and smooth before even one coat of paint was put on.

According to our contract, our working day finished at 5 p.m. everyday, so after our preliminary sanding, we walked back to our accommodation, the Dong A Hotel. The local people of Thai Nguyen were intrigued by 13 filthy dust covered Irish people all wearing blue and white neckerchiefs walking through the back streets of the town. We received a warm welcome, a enthusiastic mixture of ‘Hello’s and ‘Xin chào’s!

MONDAY

Monday morning, we woke at 6.30a.m. , to avoid working during the hottest part of the day (11a.m.-1p.m.). Even at this time, the heat and humidity would even put the sunniest of Irish summer days to shame! We arrived at 8a.m to start our days work. We finished the last of the sanding, and got to work on the first coat of paint, the white undercoat. Fortunately, we were able to procure scaffolding, to access the higher sections of the building. Everyday, we took a break from 11 to 1.30, to have lunch, conveniently during the hottest part of the day. Monday saw us having the majority of the building painted white, and confused the locals even more when they saw us again, covered head to toe in white paint!

TUESDAY

On Tuesday we managed to finish the rest of the undercoat, and get the first overcoat on, a creamy yellow. After a few minor spillages and paint roller malfunctions, we had gotten the hang of the painting, and were making good progress. We were slightly hindered by a group of hornets who had decided to make it their business to follow us around menacingly, and fly into our paint repeatedly.

WEDNESDAY

On Wednesday, the final coat of yellow paint was carefully applied to the entire building, and our work was nearly done. We received a helping hand from a group from the Student Union from the University of Thai Nguyen , many of whom

4th Cork in Vietnam - Thai Nguyen Orphange Project

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were avid students of English, and were keen to make friends and teach us some Vietnamese! With their help, we managed to polish off the final coat on the building.

THURSDAY

Thursday, we spent the day finishing any odd jobs that needed doing, cleaning the area, which included scrubbing paint off the floors! We also painted the walls next to the entrance gate, which gave new life to the front of the centre. Our friends from the previous day returned to help finish the job. After all the work was done, emails and phone numbers were exchanged, and the Vietnamese students left. Preparations were started in the newly painted building for the big celebrations that were to come the following day.

FRIDAY

On Friday, the final day of our stay in Thai Nguyen, we attended the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the social centre, visited the babies again, and had a brilliant meal under a marquee in the complex itself, a delicious assortment of Vietnamese food, which everyone had grown to love. After lunch, the Director gave us a vacuum flask each as a gift on behalf of the orphanage. We were also all given a letter of thanks, and a copy of the local newspaper from that day, which ran a story about the celebrations.

As a group, we hope we helped in a small way to improve the lives of the residents of the social centre, and we would like to thank Mr. Van Trieu , Ms. Binh and Sharon O’ Driscoll who helped facilitate our work, and gave us such a warm welcome and hospitality. We also would like to thank Yvonne, our Venture leader for doing so much work during the year to make this trip possible!

29th Belfast Venture Scouts - Carryduff in Malta

29th Belfast Venture scouts based in CARRYDUFF recently travelled to the beautiful island of Malta for a fantastic week of activities and leisure for their annual summer camp.

Malta is a venture scouts dream with direct flights from Ireland, only 30 minutes from the airport to the national scout campsite in Golden Bay, predictable glorious weather, warm crystal clear seas and a plethora of water and land activities.

Whilst clearly a mediterriann country in architecture and terrain, English is the predominate language, which removes any communication barriers. We stayed at Ghan

Tuffeha (Golden Bay) national scout camp site on the west side of the Island which is a purpose built campsite with excellent facilities. http://campsite.scoutkeeper.net/ [1] It is very close to local bus routes and the beautiful beach of Golden Bay.

Initial contacts by e-mail are always answered promptly and there will always be availability somewhere on the site. We commissioned the services of GOZO adventure to deliver 3 full days of activities which included Scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking,abseiling, rock-climbing. Other days were spent visiting places

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of interest and travelling to local towns or just relaxing on the local beach. Every evening after dinner the ventures dandered around the corner to the local beach to chill out although chill out was difficult as the temperature only fell from 35 degrees during the day to 25 degrees at night. Unfortunately our tents didn’t have Air Con.

Each day was preplanned and we organised a local coach company to transport us around the small island. Although it was our first trip to Malta we all agreed it definitely wouldn’t be our last. A full report can be read on the 29th Belfast web page at

http://29thbelfastscoutgroup.btck.co.uk/Sections/Ventures

Venture Challenge Weekend

Photos: Courtesy of Patrick Keegan

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Lough Scouts Camp at Larch HillThe 5th Cork Troop (The Lough) stayed at home this year for summer camp and camped at Larch Hill, our National Campsite. The weather was kind in general over the stay for the Scouts and the Scout Leader Michael Phillips reports on a very successful and safe camp. Group Leader Colin Heas was on hand to bring all the gear to the campsite, cook the first evening meal and returned at the end of camp to transport all the gear back.

Danny Murphy was the main back up leader and ran a very successful and enjoyable programme. The troop were also joined some evenings by Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, now working in Dublin and also by Steven Cull, former Venture Scout with the group, who brought the Scouts hill walking for a day.

The Scouts have had a long association with the 5th Wicklow Scout Troop (Bray) and in particular with their leader Mick Carroll. Both groups met up and the Lough Scouts stayed at the Wicklow Scout Den for two nights as part of their programme. Venture Scouts from the 5th Wicklow were down this weekend at Ventact, held at Kilcully Campsite.

On camp at Lurgaboy Adventure Centre, Markethill, Co Armagh

8th Armagh Cubs & Scouts

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Camping in Crawfordsburn- with the 3rd Cork and the 9th - 10th Dublin

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Togher Scouts Camp in Isle of manThe troop which is 50 years old has had a long tradition of camping on the island since their very first camp there back in 1961. The campsite is at Glenlough, Union Mills and this year is the tenth time the troop has camped on the island and during that time have made some very good friends and contacts. These include retired police constable Calvan Quayle and his wife Betty along with Graham Bell formally from the 152nd Dublin (Marley Grange) who has been on the island now for 22 years. Graham and his twelve year old son Conor were very welcome overnight campers on Friday night. Leaders on camp include Ian Twohig, Pat Bradley, David Barry and Philip O’Dea.

Programme

The programme hwasas been wide and varied with the troop attending Tynwald Day, the annual open air session of the Manx Parliament held each year since 979 making it the oldest parliament in the world. Weather was a little unkind but the late afternoon sun made up for it. In the meantime the boys went to the bowling alley in Ramsey and a great contest over three lanes followed with Scout Leader Brendan Mulligan BSA tying for top score with Patrol Leader Ninian O’Shea. With a water based theme to this yea’rs camp the group have been availing of the best of the facilities. They went sea fishing off Peel with some splendid catches with scout Aaron Dunton catching seven from one cast alone. Another full day on the sea with a break for lunch saw the group split

in two with half doing sea kayaking and the other half doing cannoning and bouldering.

Traditional trips to the Laxey Wheel and going to the top of Snaefell, the island’s highest mountain were not forgotten either.

American Quest at the Camp

Scout Leader Brendan Mulligan, Chief Commissioner for the state of Pennsylvania joined the Togher scouts for the camp. He had met the Scouts on last year for their golden jubilee camp held at Camp John H. Ware 3rd in Pennsylvania.

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France 2011TNS Scouts and TNSC Scouts from 115th Ballinteer joined forces with K2 Scouts from 86th Mount Merrion for a jointly run Summer Camp this year. The destination was France and a Southern region of the expansive ‘Massif Central’ mountain range. Sixty five Scouts were in attendance with eleven Scouters. It was the first joint Summer Camp between the two Scout Groups since 2001 and revives a long tradition of similar projects, first started in the 1990’s.

The two Groups co-operate on other projects too, including Patrol Leader Training. Following the success of France 2011, outgoing Patrol Leader at TNSC Scouts Ema Stapleton takes over as SPL at K2 Scouts on secondment, joining fellow Venture Scout Cliona Dowling, also a former TNSC PL, working in K2 Scouts as part of her Gaisce award. This transfer of youth leadership echoes a similar project undertaken in 1998 when a certain Ciara Higgins (latterly of NMC and current GL in 86th Dublin) came over to 115th Ballinteer on secondment as a PL to show the (then male only) PL team a thing or two about leadership!

Scouter Orla Maguire is harnessed up and ready for action at the ‘Aerobranche’ course that included a 500m wide cross-river runway and a rickety bridge some

30 metres off ground that would give Indiana Jones a run for his money. Pictured with Orla L-R are APL Dillon Rafferty, incoming SPL at TNS Conor Watters, outgoing SPL at TNSC Jack Marmion and Rebecca Tyrell from TNSC.

Patrols Leaders Laoise Keys (from K2) & Aisling Carroll (from TNS) share a joke with Section Leader at TNS Scouts Alex Nutley, during the PL Dinner, held in the local village while the SPL’s & half the Scouter team took the troops on a night hike into the surrounding mountains.

An ecstatic Ema Stapleton and an industrious Siobhan Parker (both PL’s at TNSC Scouts) approach the bank during rafting whilst SPL Gail Nutley prepares to abandon ship. Also on-board but out of shot are Aisling Murphy (PL at K2) and Ciara Folan (PL at TNS).

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49th Cork in SwitzerlandThe Wednesday night Scouts from Ballincollig traveled to Adelboden in Switzerland for summer camp this year. They departed Cork on July 1st and returned on July 11th. While they were there they managed to cram in an action packed programme, which included, an activity park, a night sleeping in straw, night hikes, dry toboggan runs, a visit to the Trummelbach Falls, and of course you would not have been in Switzerland without taking a few trips on the cable cars. They hiked to the wood carver, where they each received an engraved woggle, They also made a very brief visit to the International Scout Centre in Kandersteg.

It must be said that some of the best highlights of camp were, reaching the snow on the Engstilgenalp mountain, - (no mean fete as the snow had melted quiet substantially this year), Climbing to the splash pool of the waterfall at Lake Oeschinen and making the decent by foot from Neisen Kulm which is situated at 2362mtrs to the mid station at Schwandegg, which is at 1590 mtrs, and completed the decent by the funicular rail car.

As part of “Plan, Do, Review” the scouts kept a log throughout camp. Not only did the Scouts enjoy writing the log each day, they sought it out and realised that it will be a basis on which they can plan future camps and activities.

Valehunt 2011

TNS Scouts and TNSC Scouts from Ballinteer Scout Troop ran their annual Valehunt activity last weekend and this year, the event was attended by other troops from 3 ROCK Scout County too. A total of eight patrols took part and the activity, a two-day wide game that tests teamwork, stamina and patrol spirit was won by K2 Scouts, from 86th Mount Merrion.

Each patrol chose a site in the valley with options to camp in the forest, by the river or on the valley floor. Much strategic thinking goes into the site location as each site needs to be hidden or defendable from other patrols. A major objective of the weekend is to acquire credits from other patrols, in the form of tokens that can be traded or captured.

The weather was apalling for the Friday set up by Scouters & SPL’s but cleared overnight into a glorious weekend. The event takes place on private land (with landowners permission) in County Wicklow and the first Valehunt took place at the site in 1997.

The picture shows SPL Gail Nutley’s hiking boots from the rear of a land rover during a visit to the sites to deliver food supplies. At this point, patrols are in the process of choosing site locations and in the distance, towards the valley entrance is the scouters site.

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The Northern Province are holding a Provincial Camp “Camp Carnival” from 1st June until 3th June at the Baronscourt Estate, near Newtonstewart, Co. Tyrone. The Team are in place and working hard preparing a great programme.

The camp is for all scouts from Beaver Scouts to Rover Scouts.

The theme is “Carnival Colours” and it’s going to be great. it’s the first Northern

Provincial camp where Beaver Scouts will have a full 2 day programme

of activities and have the choice of sleeping under canvas for two nights and avail of a full and vibrant, fun packed two day programme .

Camp Carnival 2012

Checkout our facebook page Camp Carnival 2012 and “like” to keep up date with news, views and competitions.

The Scouting Ireland Communications and Cub Scout teams offered Cub sections he opportunity to attend the gala premiere of Cars 2 in Dublin this month. Pictured with Programme Commissioner (Cub Scouts) Annette Byrne are Cub Scouts with their winning box car designs. Keep an eye on www.scouts.ie for more opportunities like this!

Cars 2 and Scouting Ireland

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18th Santry re-decorating their den

with help from “Dulux Lets colour Ireland project”

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Fota CampsiteA very wide and representative group gathered last weekend at Fota Campsite to witness the raising of flags for the first time at a new flag pole erected to the memory of the late Arthur McAdoo. Arthur McAdoo first camped in Fota in the 1930’s as a member of the old St. Luke’s Group. He continued his involvement with Scouting and with Fota all his life in various roles from secretary of the Scout Association in Cork to scoutmaster in the 2nd Cork (St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral) to boat examiner and finally as advisor to all. Shortly before his death in 2009 on a visit to Fota he discussed the need for a new flagpole and the idea of a patio in front of the cottage with picnic tables which could also be used for project work by Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. Don Trotter in speaking said that with those projects now complete it was most fitting that they be dedicated to Arthur McAdoo.

Four other projects were also undertaken during the past year. All the electrics have been put underground with a new three phase electrical supply, bringing the whole system up to present day standards. The third project was a recycling bay and waste management system which is now in full operation. The fourth project was the installation of a shower and wash portakabin with four showers and washbasins. The last but not least was the erection of a new alter.

In the late 1970’s the 9th Cork (Carrigrohane) under the late Donal Murphy constructed a timber alter which was used until it rotted away some years ago. On a visit to a campsite in Essex some of the leaders saw a brick version that would be a suitable replacement. After a short discussion with the committee the go ahead was given with the brick being acquired by Kevin O’Connor, Paul Falvey acquired the stone for the top and Liam Cronin, Richard Hamilton, Kevin O’Connor and Pat Donoghue went into a building mode.

The formal and very fitting blessing was performed by Fr. Dave Kenneally, chairman of the spiritual and religious advisory panel of Scouting Ireland and Rev. Brian O’Reilly, Church of Ireland Rector of Cobh.

Don Trotter of the Campsite Management committee in speaking said “So where do we go from here? “Well our aim is to be a quality campsite. “We are never going to be a large campsite so we need maximise our resources. “We need to erect a new building in order to provide for all year round accommodation. The cottage needs reproofing and we must improve our sanitation facilities. “In addition we have plans to develop more activities. Finally I want to thank all the members of the management and development committees for their work and support along with the group who come here virtually every week of the year to carry out maintenance and work on small projects. “Without their input the campsite would not function. “Finally I want to thank the Fota Heritage Trust for all their support and for giving us a 25 year lease with an option of a further 25 years which secures our position in Fota. “My thanks to former Property Manager Tom Fannon for his help over the past three years.”

The Chief Scout Michael John Shinnick in speaking said he was delighted to see so much ongoing work at the campsite. He went on to say “Fota is a compact campsite that we can be very proud of with so much to offer. “With the Fota wildlife park and railway adjacent, and the heritage town of Cobh give great scope to visiting groups. “As Chief Scout I am delighted to recommend this campsite not alone to many Irish group but especially overseas groups”. The Chief Scout went on to thank all those associated with the ongoing work and the very high standard which has been achieved.

The attendance included John Brennan, Chief Commissioner, Marion Shinnick, Morgan O’Sullivan, Provincial Commissioner; Mary Waters and Lucy Kay, County Commissioners; George and Ada Thompson; Frances Minogue, National Treasurer; Violet Warner, Irish Girl Guides and long time friend of Fota; Colin Heas, Chairman joint committee for guiding and scouting in Cork; Hugh McAdoo, son of the late Arthur McAdoo; Linda McSweeney, Education officer of the Wildlife Park.

The camp staff at Fota are Kevin O’Connor (Leader), Kealan Burke, Cianan Shemeld, Moira Reilly, Evan Causer, Conor Shemeld, Claire Beasley, Bernie Flanagan, John Brennan, Robert Wallace, Paul Kelleher and Damien Donovan.

“A neat compact campsite that we can be proud of” – Chief Scout

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Glanworth Scouts Start to Celebrate 21 Years

The 105th Cork (Glanworth) Scout Group are commencing a year of celebrations to mark their 21 years of unbroken service. Here we look back at how it all began and the people who put themselves forward to make it happen. In May 1991, Michael J. Shinnick, in scouting since youth, approached Parish Priest Fr. Hennessy and Fr. Lawton to ask if they would sponsor a scout unit in Glanworth Parish. A commitment by Richard Butler and Marian Shinnick had been given at this stage to act as leaders if a unit was started.

In June 1991, Michael J. Shinnick went to the Community Council and presented what scouting was about and got the go ahead and a scout unit would be formed for Glanworth, Ballindangan and Curraghalla Parish Scout Unit. Then in August 1991, an open meeting was called to start scouting at which 30 people attended. From this meeting people volunteered to act as leaders and go on a committee.

Leaders: Richard Butler, Marian Shinnick, Arthur Wilson, Liam Lawton, Kay Sheehan, John Sheedy, Pauline O’Sullivan, John O’Keeney, Patricia Hickey and Margaret Quirke and the committee members appointed were Margaret Barry, Nellie Condon, Alice Mulcahy and Noel Sheehan.

In September 1991, the first cub pack (8-10 years) meeting took place on September 11th at which a total of 45 boys and girls turned up. This number of youth members was beyond all expectations. On the same night, 14 youth members enrolled for the scout section. This was the first scout unit to have a co-education policy i.e. boys and girls. The colours for the unit were decided, sky blue with red border on their neckerchief. Then in October the scout section was formed with the following leaders: Arthur Wilson, Liam Lawton, John O’Keeney and Sandra Fitzgibbon.

It was not long before the first investiture ceremony was held in January 1992 at which 45 cubs were invested in Glanworth Church together with the leaders. The first 28 scouts (11-16 years) were invested on the same night. Elaine Fitzgibbon was the first female scout invested in North Cork.

In March 1992, the scout unit marched in Fermoy’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and won the best club association trophy. The first hike went to Liam Bailey’s land via the south bank of the River Funcheon where first Icelandic Tent purchased for IR£380.00 was pitched to the delight of all – we had come of age. In the same month John Sheedy retired as unit leader and Michael J. Shinnick took over.

In May 1992, the first troop camp took place in the Mill Field, Glanworth for the weekend. Leaders on camp: Liam Lawton, Dympna Sheehan, Michael J. Shinnick and Patricia Hickey. P/Ls: R. Wilson, B. McAuliffe, C. O’Brien, L. Nolan and L. McCarthy.July 1992 saw the scout troop going on its first ever summer camp – LONDON – Gilwell Park National Scout Campsite, North London. In August, the Beaver section (6-8 years) was formed under leaders – Margaret Kiely, Marian O’Callaghan and Sinead Coleman.

In September 1993, the Venturer section (16-19 years) was formed under leaders Declan Condon and Brenda Healy. The first Explorer belts were achieved in 1999 by Jean O’Brien and Joanne Roche.

In 1994, Patsy Barry took over as Cub leader from Richard Butler and Ailish Barry joined as Cub leader.

In July 1994, the scout troop qualified for the All-Ireland Scout Campcraft “The Melvin Trophy” held in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick. They finished 13th in the country which was a great achievement. Then in 1996, Michael J. Shinnick retired as unit leader and Attie Wilson took over as unit leader. We had Bernie Martin and Patsy Barry follow as G.L .

This Year Eileen Fisher steps down as Group Leader and Evelyn O Brien as Treasurer. The Group Make up will then be Group Leader - Brian O’Sullivan, Treasurer - Attie Wilson, Secretary - Mary Gallagher, Quarter Master - Patsy Barry, Chairman Group Council - Declan Condon, Venture Scout Leader - Breda O’Connell, Scout Leaders - Ber Barry, Kevin Fitzgerald and Padraig O’Connor, Cub Leaders - Natalie O’Neill and Mary Quinn Mahon, Beaver Leaders - Zoe Rodgers, Becky Rodgers and Sinead O’Brien

The first event of the year took place yesterday at Glanworth village with a Bar-B-Que for all parents and supporters. A series of Events are planned in the Community over the coming 12 Months to celebrate this milestone.

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Bandon to Botswana Project

Gleann Na Boinne Venture Scouts scale Corrán Tuathail

More to follow next month...

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7th Westmeath do their bit for the Tidy Towns

Cavan Monaghan Fun Weekend

Carrickmacross Summer Camp

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18th Meath Cub Scouts head to Wales for their Annual CampThe 18th Meath Thursday night Cub pack ventured to Wales for their first ever foreign trip. The cubs were joined on the trip by 5 Cubs who had recently moved to Scouts, 3 Ventures as “helpers” and 1 Beaver who was accompanying his Scouter father so mum could get a well deserved break.

We left from Laytown at early o’clock on Friday 1st July and when the ferry pulled out from Dublin port at 08:20 26 excited members of the group were looking forward to their weekend in Wales. We arrived in Holyhead and were greeted by our bus driver who took us to our hostel . A short 30 minute bus journey brought us to our home - The Old School lodge - and all ran into their rooms to get settled.

Saturday saw us have an early start for a day of hiking followed by a treasure hunt game.Sunday saw us head to an adventure centre where we did rock climbing, raft building and canoeing. We were all glad to see that the knots we have learnt were useful when it came to tying barrels to poles and all of the rafts successfully completed the course. Canoeing in the afternoon was made slightly more difficult with the strong breeze coming down the mountain but no-one managed to get blown into the raft course. Sunday dinner was a rare treat - pizza & chips. This was followed by another rare treat for our Cubs.

The hostels common room was transformed into a cinema while they were eating pizza and after a short thank you speech to our departing cubs they all settled down to watch. By supper time, they were all looking forward to their beds and by 11pm, not a sound was heard.

Next morning saw us up early to clear the hostel and wait for our bus back to Holyhead and home. There were cheers as the boat arrived at Dublin but this was mostly from the Scouters. A tired 18th Meath made it back to Laytown just after 6pm on Monday 4th July and returned the Cubs to their parents. For the first time in a long time, there were no crys of “never again” from either Scouters or Cubs so all in all, a great camp.

18th Meath - Thursday Cub Scout Pack.

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3rd Monaghan Carrickmacross under Canvas in RoscommonThe 3rd Monaghan Scouts this year held an historic camp in Lough Keel Campsite beside Lough Key Forest Park in Co. Roscommon. All 5 sections from Beaver Scouts right up to Rover Scouts went on an annual camp together for the first time. A total of 95 youth members and 30 leaders camped on the sunny weekend of the 9th of July. Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts stayed for an exciting 2 nights and the three older sections Scouts, Venture Scouts and Rover Scouts stayed on for a total 10 days. In Lough Key there were many activities available for the group and plenty of forest and water area for the leaders to create exciting and adventurous activities as well. Throughout the sections there were activities such as night hikes, stalking in the forest, rowing boats, survival on an island, cycling, high ropes, and loads more. The 12 Beaver Scouts had a great time going on a boat trip on Lough Key, hiking around the forest park and visiting the Swedish Boda Borg (a crystal maze type activity). The 40 Cub Scouts took rowing boats out to Castle Island to cook their own lunch and had an afternoon at Zip-It Forest Adventure Centre braving zip lines and high ropes up to an incredible height as well as partaking in other activities over the weekend.

The 27 Scouts who stayed from Friday the 8th of July until Sunday the 17th and participated in Orienteering, Survival on Orchard Island, Fun day on the lake (In the Rain)!, canoeing at Lough Allen, Zip-It Forest Adventure, ”The Army Day”, night hikes, shopping in town and competition dinner.

The Venture Scouts started a day earlier and decided to cycle to Roscommon to kick off their camp. A 2 day cycle with an overnight stop in Cavan covered the 140km to the campsite. Activities included a 3 day survival on Orchard Island, the Boda Borg centre, completing the highest level on the Zip-It Forest adventure, racing rage

buggies, clay pigeon shooting, laser combat and cooking a competition dinner for 6 very critical judges.

The oldest section, Rover Scouts, also participated in the annual camp. They were on hand for the entire week helping out in different sections to set up and run activities with the leaders. They also held their own competition dinner and entertained everyone at the campfires at night. The camp was deemed a great success by all and many thanks to all the leaders who gave their time for the young people of 3rd Monaghan Scouts. To read more about these events and see more photos visit our website www.carrickscouts.ie

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5th Monaghan in RestrevorThis month saw the 5th Monaghan Castleblayney head up north for there summer adventure with the eastcoast adventure centre in Rostrevor Co.Down.

The centre is very good with lots to do and they keep you active all the time and make sure you have loads to do. The activites they do are bouldering,archery,Kayaking/canoeing,jet ski,banna boating,survial camp,hiking,rock climbing,absailing,blindline,zipline,skills games and much more you can choose what you want to do Castleblayney scouts enjoyed every minute of it and they are looking to go back next year.

Bandon Ventures at Musgrave Triathlon

National Beaver TeamI have been asked to write an article to enlighten the readership about the makeup of the National Beaver Team.

Firstly, my name is Stephen Halpin and I am the National Commissioner for Beavers. The way I see it I am the patrol leader in the beaver team.

I have been a scout since I was eight with the 98th Dublin. I was a cub and scout leader and then group leader. When group leader all the beaver leaders left at the same time and I stepped in for a temporary short term replacement( that was seven years ago). I then got involved in organizing county events for beavers, I was used to this as I had been a part of the scout CPC team. I used the framework that we had developed over many years and adapted it to beaver scouts , after all beaver scouts are scouts but just shorter.

Over the next two years the county developed a fantastic county events programme and in my role as CPC I visited all the groups within the county often giving advice but more often gaining new ideas, new methods. I was asked to help out with Jamboree 2008 on the beaver day and questioned the lack of beaver programme at national level and shortly afterwards found myself with a new position.

My First Task

My first task was to appoint a team, I wanted a team of scouters who were passionate about scouting, who believed in the scout method and who believed that beaver scouts were capable of doing more scout like activities.

At national council over the last few tears there was one man who spoke very passionately about beaver scouts. I wanted that passion on my team and that passion for scouting flows through the blood of Maurice Woods from Santry. He always has the beaver scout at the centre of everything he does. Maurice is also responsible for diversity and programme planning.

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The team needed scouters who have a proven record of working together and as I had worked very close to Paula Corr in Fingal I asked Paula to maybe answer the odd email and attend a few meetings, I can’t believe she fell for it, Paula is very organised and brings a voice of reason to some of the outlandish ideas.

As part of the commissioner role we meet with the PYPR and they recommended a few scouters from around the county , these were scouters that had displayed excellence at running county or national events in the past and after discussions with Gina Mizzoni and Aideen O Connell I realized that I needed their enthusiasm engery and drive. Gina’s is the liaison team member with the events team.

The team required a liaison person with the training team and after working on the Jamboree 2008 with Fiona Finn and knowing that she had a background in training I asked Fiona to join the team. We realized that the team was based mostly around the Leinster area and this needed rectifying. Having worked with Sheila Mac Carthy from Cork on the Jamboree 2008 and knowing her proactive attitude Shiela was invited to join.

We were a small team just starting to get to know each other and I know we needed a few more scouters. At the next national event I spoke to many leaders and was very impressed with a couple of leaders from Bray , they agreed to join up but only if both could join. No problem and then we had Michele Adebisi and Susan Timms on board.

While working on the ONE PROGRAMME it became obvious that we needed someone to specialize in scouting skills and that is when I asked Bernie Reddy from my own scout section in to be the team scout skill expert. This was the team that developed the one programme for beaver scouts. We needed new ideas and after following Clare’s posts on the chat forum , I met with Clare and welcomed her flare and imagination to the team.

In summary the beaver team is a dedicated team of active scouters , who are aware of the challenges and limitations of the programme. I would like to thank all the team members who have given up many hours attending meetings , programme sessions and training courses so that the future of this great movement of scouting within Ireland continues to grow and encourage each beaver scout to grow into a responsible member of society.

The team is not static and the door is always open for new scouters and new ideas. If you feel that you have something to offer the beaver team please contact me at

beaverscouts@scouts.ie.

National Beaver Days 2011This year the national beaver days will be taking place in the North and South on the 8th and 9th October.

Last year the beaver days took place in the West (Lough Keel) and the East. For many groups this was their first experience of attending a national event and both days were very successful. By spreading out the geographical location we would hope to encourage more groups to coma along and join in the experience.

This was one of the goals developed by reviewing previous years events. Other goals were to develop a programme that help a link to the progressive scheme, while keeping things simple. Also to incorporate ideas that can be used in group and county events.

With many groups embarking on the ONE journey it was decided to develop the programme around the various SPICES.

The bases were kept simple , each base could be set up in a matter of minutes and replicated a number of times depending on numbers. The beaver scouts were not aware that the activities were bases on the SPICES , they just had fun on the obstacle course( physical) , string trail (emotional) , playing giant jenja ( intellectual) and eating sausages with their friends( social).

However at the end of the day, after the campfire (Spiritual) , when they were receiving their bright new SPICE woggle , it was explained why they were getting a SPICE woggle and what each colour and shape represented. It all made sense to the beaver scouts and the woggle had a meaning and each beaver had a new story to tell, the SPICE woggle became a sought after item popping up at events all over the world.

Many groups are at this stage planning their programme for the year and I would urge you to suggest this to your beaver scouts and let them decide if they would like to attend a national event.

If you have any queries on this event or a query about beavers in general please do not hesitate to email beaverscouts@scouts.ie and I will do my best to help you out.

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National EventsI am writing to inform you of a number of upcoming National Events on the calendar. The next couple of months are busy as sections return nationwide. October is particularly busy with events for every section!

Outlined below are all that is scheduled for the next two months. More details can be found in the National Events calendar at my.scouts.ie

September:Booking Code Dates Event More Info11 - NE 246 23/09 - 25/09/2011 Sionnach - Wicklow Booking Form

October:Booking Code Dates Event More Info11 - NE 247 01/10 - 02/10/2011 Tri-Zone (Lough Dan to Larch Hill) Info Sheet

11 - NE 248 07/10 - 09/10/2011 Sionnach - Burren Booking Form

11 - NE 249 08/10/2011 National Beaver Scouting Day - North Info Sheet

11 - NE 250 09/10/2011 National Beaver Scouting Day - South Info Sheet

11 - NE 251 16/09 - 18/09/2011 MPC Ulster www.mpcteam.ie

11 - NE 254 07/10 - 09/10/2011 Sionnach - Comeraghs Booking Form

11 - NE 255 22/10/2011 National Cub Scouting Day - West Info Sheet

11 - NE 256 23/10/2011 National Cub Scouting Day - East Info Sheet

This is just a snippet of the National Events run on behalf of Scouting Ireland each year. For further updates, keep an eye on the calendar: my.scouts.ie/calendar

I look forward to seeing many of you on a National Event soon.

Regards STEPHEN SYNNOTTProgramme Commissioner (National Events)events@scouts.ie

Contact National Office on Wednesday Nights: Youth Programme Night, between 19:00 - 21:30 (01) 495 6300

SECTION SELECTOR

Always check latest details online at:

my.scouts.ie/calendar

Upcoming National Events

Please consult the calendar for bookings & details

https://my.scouts.ie/calendar

National Beaver Scouting Day - NorthCrawfordsburn Scout Centre, Co Down

8th October 201111 - NE 249

€8 / £7 per Beaver Scout

National Beaver Scouting Day - SouthCuskinny Court, Cobh, Co Cork

9th October 201111 - NE 249 / €8 or £7 per Beaver Scout

National Cub Scouting Day - WestBallina, Co Mayo

22nd October 201111 - NE 255 / €50 per Six

National Cub Scouting Day - East23rd October 2011

Larch Hill, Dublin 1611 - NE 256 / €50 per Six

Tri-ZoneLough Dan to Larch Hill1st - 2nd October 2011

11 - NE 247 / €30 per team of two

Sionnach: Wicklow23rd - 24th September 2011

11 - NE 246 / €40 per team of four

Sionnach: The BurrenLough Dan to Larch Hill7th - 9th October 2011

11 - NE 248 / €40 per team of four

MPC ConnaughtSheefrie Hills

16th - 18th September 2011www.mpcteam.ie

MPC UlsterMournes

14th - 16th October 2011www.mpcteam.ie

Sionnach: Comeraghs21st - 23rd October 2011

11 - NE 254 / €40 per team of four

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Environmental ProgrammeIdeas2011 is the International Year of Forests: Celebrating Forests for People. This Year of Forests aims to increase awareness of the importance of forests in the world in everything from mitigating climate change to providing wood, medicines and livelihoods for people around the world. Listed below are a selection of activities which are focused on trees and forests.

Sensing the Woods: Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts Run an activity where the scouts use their five senses to explore and connect with nature in a forest. Explain to the group that they are going to explore the natural environment around them using each of the senses individually. Which senses do they use the most? Which senses do they think will tell them the most and the least? Use different activities based on the five sense (Scavenger Hunt – Sight, Barefoot Walk – Touch, What do you hear? Etc). At the end, sum up how our senses have painted a picture of the local environment.

Making Bird Feeders: Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts Good feeders let birds feed in ways that match their natural way of feeding. Some birds use feeders often, others hardly ever use them. You can make simple feeders from cardboard milk cartons or plastic drinks bottles. Suggested food: Peanuts (fresh unsalted), sunflower seeds, fat – lumps of suet and meat trimmings – and fruit, especially apples and pears. But remember, feed regularly: don‟t put out lots of feeders and then forget to refill them. Also, ensure fresh water is always available for drinking and bathing.

Forest Book: Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts Get the scouts to compile pictures of animals and plants that live in forests. Using the pictures each Lodge/Six can make a forest book. You could make several posters based on different types of forest, e.g. Irish, tropical, rainforest, boreal.

Meet A Tree: Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts In pairs, scouts explore different types of trees. One scout is blind-folded while the other leads him/her to a tree. The blindfolded scout explores the tree, feeling the bark, leaves and even exposed roots, anything which can help them get a mental image. Then, the scout is led away from the tree, the blindfold is removed and then they must identify which tree it was. For older scouts, you could do this with several trees and they would have to identity which was which.

Scavenger Hunt: Cub Scouts, Scouts Give each small group a list of about twenty items to find in the forest (eg. Oak leaf, pine cone, stone, piece of litter etc.). Give the teams a set amount of time to search the forest for the items. At the end of the time, the items collected (have a special area or container for each team) are counted, with higher marks for certain items if you wish.

Pioneering Wood: Scouts, Venture Scouts, Rover ScoutsPrepare for a pioneering project by understanding more about pioneering wood. Look at how to maintain pioneering wood, how to store it, how to correctly source new wood and how to prepare it for use. Ensure you have suitable facilities to store and maintain your pioneering wood collection.

Understanding Wood as Fuel: Scouts, Venture Scouts, Rover Scouts Identity and gather different types of wood (e.g. oak, pine, birch). Make different fires using the wood and record their properties as fuels, i.e. which types are good kindling, which are quick burning, which give off good flames, which give off good heat and which give good embers. Make out a table of your findings so that in future

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you can better choose which wood you need when cooking and, hopefully, will save on the amount of wood you burn.

Actually, Leaving No Trace: Scouts, Venture Scouts, Rover Scouts Run a backwoods/survival activity in which the scouts aim to leave practically no trace of their presence after the event. The entire activity should involve the use of as much natural materials as possible and the complete return of the forest to as it was.

Forest Media: Venture Scouts, Rover Scouts Make a short film set in or about a forest, it can be a simple documentary or a short dramatised piece highlighting an issue.

The Life You Lead: Venture Scouts, Rover Scouts Explore the way in which your lifestyle choices can have a positive or negative impact on forests globally. Look at how you live, what products you buy and consider where they come from and at what cost for the planet and for those involved, especially in the developing world. Afterwards, see if you can (and are willing to) make changes which will have positive outcomes for forests and people in the developing world. You can also calculate your carbon footprint (cmt.epa.ie/en/calculator) and commit to reducing that number.

New Sea Scout Group in CorkPlans are under way to start a new Sea Scout Group in Cork, which will be known as 66th Cork (Aghada) Sea Scouts. There will be three sections to start with - Sea Beavers, Sea Cubs and Sea Scouts.

The main movers in the formation of the Group are Patrick O’Connor (ex Irish Navy), Finbarr Cronin (ex Merchant Navy) and Neil Collins (ex Sea Scout from Blackrock, Cork)

At a recent meeting for interested adults, 38 turned up, and subsequently 25 have signed up and are now undergoing Stage 1 to 3 Training.

We wish the new Group fair winds and good sailing!

Preliminary Notice - Sea Scout Long Distance Skiff RaceThe Long Distance Skiff Race from Dun Laoghaire to Dodder Sea Scout Den will take place on Saturday 17th September.

The start will be at the Marina Breakwater Wall at 11.30 hrs.

The under-17 crews will row across the Bay into the Dublin Port channel at the Poolbeg Light House. The first crew change will take place at Costello’s Slip, where the under-15 crews will take over and row to the Poolbeg Yacht Club Marina. The under-14 crews will then row the last section up-river through Dublin Port, under the East Link Bridge, and turn into the River Dodder, to the finishing line at the 4th Port (Dodder) Sea Scout den.

Each Troop must provide a powered escort craft for its own skiff.

Please confirm entry with Daniel.

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Completion of Sailing CoursesThe first three ISA dinghy sailing courses at DunLaoghaire Sea Scout Den in June were reported in “InsideOut” Issue 19.

The fourth course was held July 4–8. Then there was a break for four weeks, during which the Summer Camps were held.

The fifth and sixth courses took place August 8–12 and 15–19.

Tuition during the six weeks covered the syllabus for “Introduction to Sailing”, “Basic Skills” and “Improving Skills”, the ISA Dinghy Sailing Scheme Grades formerly known as Levels 1, 2, and 3.

There was an average of 10 students on each course.The Course Leader was Ciarán Bradshaw, ISA Senior Instructor, of 14th Port (Donabate), with Doireann Ní Shíocháin and Míde Ní Naoire, ISA Sailing Instructors, of 8th Port (DunLaoghaire), and Eoghan Lavelle, ISA Sailing Centre Principal, DunLaoghaire.

Dún Laoghaire Sea Scouts Summer Camps

8ú Calafort (Dún Laoghaire) Gasóga Mara returned to Lough Arrow (Loch Arbhach) in County Sligo for their Summer Camp this year, after a gap of a couple of years. As well as camping equipment, a rowing skiff, a BP18, 6 Pico sailing dinghies, 3 rowing punts and 2 motor craft (for safety and rescue) were transported in an articulated truck to the campsite on the southern end of the lake.

Each Troop had a 10 day camp, Buíon Manannán from 15 to 24 July, with 42 Scouts and 7 Leaders, and Buíon Fódhla from 24 July to 3 August, with 35 Scouts and 5 Leaders.

Lough Arrow with its many sheltered bays, anchorages and three islands, is an excellent site for a Sea Scout Camp. Annaghgowla is the most northerly island, and the other two are Inis Mór and Inis Beag. Annaghgowla was used for popular overnight bivouac journeys.

Both Troops had mixed weather, but Fodhla was more fortunate than Mannanán!

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Leinster MPC 2011

Ok, let’s get started. Pat, Brian, Sean, Alan and I (Greg) were getting ready for our mountain pursuit challenge (I’m gonna call it MPC if you don’t mind). We forcefully shoved all the gear into the back of Pats Nissan. Boy, we had a lot of gear, about 60kg I’d say, and headed off on our trip to the Wicklow mountains. After a drive of two hours listening to what some people call “oldies”, ‘thanks for the memories Pat’, we arrived at our first stop.

People from all over were gathered there, yes, you guessed it - at McDonald’s. I was very hungry so I bought 5 eurosaver burgers and the guy at the checkout goes ‘do you want fries with that’? I nearly laughed out loud. Anyway we left after we had satisfied our hunger and another hour later we saw what we came for - the Wicklow Mountains. At the base camp we saw scouts with the same colour neckerchief as us but they wore it with the colours the other way around to the way that we wear it. These scouts were from Wellington in Dublin. So we had a bit of a chat with them before we were called to our briefing meeting.

Shortly after that we started chatting again and then a scouter from the MPC team brought us into the command post and told us there was a patrol leaders meeting so we had to nominate a pl, I’m not going to tell you who, because by now you should know, - Brian. Then we prepared for our night hike (ohh spooky). Obviously it was dark so it wasn’t long before we had to put on our head torches. Soon after it got dark the scenery was all but a distant memory. After a few kilometres we reached low camp where it was just too dark and miserable to go “socializing” with fellow hikers so we put up the tents got into our sleeping bags and hit the hay.

We woke up at 0730hrs to see the outside of our tents were covered with fresh morning dew. It had been a cold night outside with a touch of frost in the air. It’s a great feeling to be warm in your sleeping bag knowing that outside the pod and flysheet it can be absolutely freezing. After breakfast and a quick sweep of the

campsite we headed off on our days hike which would take us deep into the mountains. We passed a few man-made bridges and thanks to my cub

tracker badge I was able to spot a distinct arrow made with stones. Most of the climbing was early on in the day so then all we really had to do was get across the mountain range in one piece (a lot harder than you think). Later on in the day the heavens opened (in a bad way) it was dreadful, winds gusting 90 km an hour and rains so bad that we could not see 20 metres ahead of us.

We were greeted by many leaders from all over who gave up lots of useful tips and trick on navigation skills. We continued on in high spirits, telling jokes and singing songs. We reached the base of Lugnaquilla and we took off up there at a fair rate of knots. The spot height 925 is the highest height that the four of us from summit patrol had climbed (next Everest). Unfortunately the view was very bad, clouds, clouds and more clouds. Then to make it even worse we were welcomed by winds just as strong as we felt early on in the day. Even though the weather was severe we still managed to take a few stones and spell out the name of the best scout troop in the world - Fermoy. After that we continued hiking for another hour or so until we reached high camp at an early time of four o clock.

This time we could go socializing with other scouts. I met some that sounded Scottish and found it hard to understand them. I then met up with another group from Leinster. Nice bunch of guys. I also talked to another guy from Wellington - that was great fun. Due to my way with names, I can’t remember his name. Anyway I was also speaking to Liam Lawton a leader from Glanworth and he gave me some handy advice for the shield and for the rest of our MPCs. After a while Alan decided to go for a nap. Sean and Brian went off talking to more scouts. After talking to a scout who has an obsession with pasta I decided to centre my thoughts on the day by sitting on a rock overlooking the beautiful waterfall. At about 6 o clock it started to rain so I went into the tent. Brian and Sean, despite the rain, stayed out.

I fell asleep for a bit and when I woke up I put on our dinner. After dinner we chatted for a while and then decided to get some sleep as we had an early start on Sunday morning. We woke up early on Sunday morning and made some breakfast. We checked our gear, did a site sweep and headed off on the last leg of our journey back to the cars. The heavens opened, this time in a good way, it was scorching. Not to sound old but ‘the sun was splitting the stones’. After climbing an awfully steep waterfall we basically just went in a straight line for the rest of the day. While walking Pat stopped us every now and again and asked us a lot of questions on map and navigation skills. After a review of the weekend I have concluded that Pat is very good at map work. We continued to the end where we didn’t buy t shirts this time because there were no new designs.

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We made our way back to the car where we listened to more old songs, sorry Pat! We arrived in Portlaoise, if I’m wrong Sean will correct me, and we went into Midway where I bought some ice cream. The lads got pizza and wedges. I looked around and saw another scout troop and Liam Lawton, all of us having the same idea of getting lunch before the long drive home. After a good meal we headed back to the scout hall and went our separate ways. All in all it was a great weekend. We all learned a lot of extra skill, thanks to our MPC guru Pat, and I can’t wait for the next MPC in Connacht

http://scoutingfermoy.org/sections/scouts/item/196-leinster-mpc-2011