Group Camp brings Scouts together for weekend of fun

Story by 1st Blaxland Scout Group

Last weekend, 1st Blaxland Scout Group held our annual Group Camp. A Group Camp brings together the youth members and Leaders from all four sections of our Group for a giant weekend of Scouting fun and challenge.

About 80 youth members, from our five-year-old Joey Scouts up to our 18-year-old Venturer Scouts, joined 20 Leaders and adult helpers for a great weekend at Camp Coutts, near Waterfall south of Sydney. Group Camps are a very special and important event for the Group, helping build a close and inclusive Group, as well as allowing our younger members to see what their future Scouting life looks like. This helps with member retention and the growth of a strong group.

The weekend started with a bush hike into the campsite for all youth members, with our senior Scouts carrying full packs with all their camping gear for the weekend, while the younger members carried the essentials for the 2km hike in. Next was our opening parade, then it was time to set up camp and have lunch. While our younger members were catered for by a great team of adult helpers, our Scouts and Venturer Scouts were responsible for feeding themselves over the weekend. 

The activities conducted throughout the camp were a great opportunity for Scouts of all ages to challenge themselves. Some of our senior Scouts built a rope bridge over the swimming hole, while our Venturer Scouts set up six activity bases for our Joey Scouts, Cub Scouts and younger Scouts. Each base provided fun and challenging Scouting activities covering a range of Scouting skills, from knot tying, to construction, through to navigation and fire building as well as a fun sporting challenge.

Saturday night saw our Venturer Scouts run an exciting wide game for all. Of course no Scout camp would be complete without a campfire singalong, so after the game we all came together for an hour of great campfire songs, led by Akela. The next morning our Scouts hiked up to Mount Westacott, while our Joey Scouts and Cub Scouts did a few more activities, including building emergency bush shelters. Then it was fun time, swimming and taking on the rope bridge – can you get across the rope bridge without falling in the water? 

All good things must come to an end. After packing up a ridiculous number of tents and having lunch we had closing parade, where we were thrilled to invest some new members into our sections as well as present one of our Scouts with her well-earned Australian Scout Award, the highest award in the Scouting section. BRAVO Emily.

An amazing weekend was had by all. None of this is possible without the hard work and commitment of a few groups of people:

• Our incredible Leaders – We have a brilliant team of Leaders through all sections, who work hard to ensure the youth members have fun whilst learning and building a range of Scouting skills and attitudes
• Our fantastic parent helpers – An event like this is not possible with just our team of Leaders. Parent helpers are essential to ensure we have a safe camp and that no-one goes hungry
• Our Venturer Scouts (aged 15-18) – These wonderful young people pass on the skills they have learned through their Scouting journey by planning and running activity bases for our younger youth members
• Our Parents – who support and encourage our youth members in their Scouting journey, as well as transport them to places far and wide for great experiences like this. 

A giant thank you to these people, and 2025 is off to a flying start at 1st Blaxland Scout Group.