1st DARTMOUTH SCOUT GROUP
TOP FIVE FACTS:
- Membership: 40 with waiting lists for Beavers and Cubs
- Price: £40 per term
- Meetings: Monday evenings. 5.15pm Beavers, 6.30pm Cubs, 7pm Scouts
- Volunteer staff: 7
- Motto: Be prepared.
Every Monday night in an understated hut halfway up Victoria Road, a group of adventurous boys and girls meet to build dens, light fires and eat marshmallows!
Dartmouth Scouts has been running for over 100 years and is made up of beavers (6-8 year olds), cubs (8-10) and scouts (10-14). The scouting movement began in 1907 and was initially just for boys but girls were allowed to take part towards the end of the 20th century and all sections officially became co-educational in 2007.
The Dartmouth group is led by Sue Larner, she’s the Deputy District Commissioner for the South Hams, but to the children she is simply Akela. “The aim of the organisation is to help them reach their full potential to become confident, honest and brave young people. Each week we put on a range of activities inside and outdoors so the children can gain their badges. They learn practical lessons like cooking and first aid whilst picking up important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and resilience, but above all else the main aim is to have fun or there is no point coming!”
Beavers is run by Laura: “The little ones have six activity badges to work towards. For ‘Personal’ they set themselves a challenge - so if they’re a fussy eater they may say they’ll try 20 different foods over the next three months. We go on hikes along the Slapton Line, make swings and dens and have sleepovers – I think that’s their favourite part actually. We do an activity like puppet making, then they all snuggle up in their sleeping bags with sweets and watch a film.” Dartmouth is the only scout group in the South Hams with its own land attached so other groups regularly use it for camps.
Richie is the cub leader: “Tonight, we’re helping the local community by doing a sponsored silence for Dartmouth Caring, it teaches them discipline and shows how something they do can help others. We try and keep activities as varied as possible. Cubs do slightly more advanced activities than beavers. We do outdoor camps and get the young people to use a saw and an axe to build fires and then cook their food. Other activities include air rifle shooting, problem solving, building sling shot gliders from balsa wood and planting trees in the community orchard.
The scouts are even more adventurous - going on two-day expeditions around the South Hams, which they plan themselves. Richard is the leader: “Groups of three or four have to sort out the route, follow a map and find a suitable place to camp. They are picking up such important life skills like independent thinking, working as a team and communication, but they just think they’re having fun. I think they grow up the most whilst in the scouts. A lot of changes happen between the ages of 10 and 14 and I enjoy watching them transform into young confident adults.”
The team need more young people to join the scouts in the 10-14 section. If you are interested go to www.scouts.org.uk/home or contact Sue on – sue@tor-cottage.co.uk or phone 01548 521316.
MEMBER PROFILES
Name: Elizabeth
Age: 7
Group: Beavers
Best part of beavers: Making new friends and watching films like Hotel Transylvania at the sleepovers.
Top skill learnt today: How to put someone’s arm in a sling and what to do if someone falls off their bike. I now know about the recovery position.
What badges have you earnt: Lots! For our gardening badge we had to plant flowers and learn what they need to grow. I’ve also got a space badge – we had to learn all about the planets.
Other hobbies: Gymnastics, ballet and I sometimes go rock climbing.
Favourite school subject: Science. I like learning about the human body.
Favourite book: The Rainbow Magic Fairy series.
Naughty treat: Chocolate!
Name: Manaar
Age: 8
Group: Cubs
Favourite outdoor activity: Camping and cooking outside. We’ve done chocolate bananas, toast and cheese straws over the open fire.
Tell us about a couple of your badges: We had to use maps and compasses for the navigator badge. We went to the Fleet Air Arm Museum for our Heathrow badge.
What are you learning today: How to care for people and spot dangers for wheelchair users.
Favourite cub game: Bottle flipping – you have to run around the room then stand on a chair and throw a beanbag at a bottle and try and knock it over.
Other hobbies: Swimming, karate, cooking club and football.
Top dinner: Pizza
Where do you want to go in the world: Simon Cowell’s house – I bet it’s huge.
Three words to describe yourself: Funny, friendly and silly.
Name: Lilly
Age: 14
Group: Scouts
Best part of scouts: I really like being outside. I enjoy the camping and hikes. The survival skills badge was hard but good fun – you have to show basic knife skills, put up a shelter made from natural materials and sleep in it and be able to use distress signals.
Important skills learnt: How to be more confident and independent.
Other hobbies: I’m in Dartmouth Players and act in quite a few shows, I’m Wishee Washee in this year’s Aladdin pantomime.
Top of your Christmas list: A pair of Converse shoes.
Top holiday ambition: Australia – some of my family live out there.
Favourite music: Ed Sheeran.
First published in By The Dart magazine December 2018
