Scouting Snapshots

YouShape month is all about empowering our young people to work in partnership with adults to ensure that their voices are heard when making decisions for their scouting adventures.

But it’s more than just a month, this is what we do in our everyday scouting and #YouShape month is a chance to celebrate this.

This month we are focussing on the topic of forums and pushing that forums don’t have to be boring!

They are an integral part to ensure we create a programme that reflects our young people’s ideas. We have provided our leaders and young people a plethora of resources on our website to help them and spark imagination.

Another integral part of youth shaped scouting is peer leadership. This is valuable for all sections and develops our young people into leaders of the future as well as improving their leadership and management skills that they will use later in life. In Blackpool, myself and my deputies, Ben and Tayler, are visiting groups to see what they’re up to and provide a youth shaped programme for them.

Scouts crack the Morse Code

Members of the 51st Blackpool Scout Troop went through their final part of their Communicators Activity Badge to complete their challenge held at their HQ of St Stephen’s Parish Church Hall in North Shore.

Amy Southern, Scout Leader at 51st Blackpool, said: “We decided to do the Communication Codes part of the badge.

“Over the past few weeks the Scouts have learnt the phonetic alphabet, eight international Q codes signals and how to send and receive a short message by Morse Code.

“This week our Scouts have constructed their own Morse Code Oscillator to send a short message.

“They really enjoyed it.”

Last push for shopper votes

Shoppers are being asked to help a last push for votes for Blackpool Scouts.

The District is asking Tesco customers to throw their support behind the organisation in the supermarket’s latest Bags of Help Scheme.

Blackpool District Scouts Mowbreck Campsite has been chosen for the next round of voting, with Scouts hoping for help to plant trees at the campsite.

The Scouts have asked for £3,840 to cover hire of machinery, ground cover, railway sleepers, deposit for new mowing machine, new strimmer, wheelbarrows and gardening equipment.

Mowbreck is also an excellent Training Facility for Scouts who are undertaking training for international camping visits, such as the World Scout Jamboree, and those undertaking their Chief Scout Gold.

Groups are also encouraged to visit, and participate in environmental projects such as tree planting, clearing of the woodland, putting up bird and bat boxes, and planting bulbs.

Voting takes place in the Bags of Help Scheme up to Wednesday, February 28.