88


CLUB CULTURE 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.


E


very 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, lead- ership 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 chal- lenge - 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 activ- ity 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


“We try and keep


activities as varied as possible.”


local community by doing a sponsored silence for Dart- mouth 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 activi- ties 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 them- selves. 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 trans- form into young confident adults.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132