Online Edition 2021
Page
Reunion Express
4
Promise to the Planet We’ve all read and heard that we need to taking action to save this precious planet we call home. Have you thought about how Scouting can provide a catalyst to make your local community take steps of change? This is where #PromiseToThePlanet comes in, an initiative launched by the Scouts partnered with the WWF, it provides a programme of steps that through local actions we can all make steps of change. Reunion Express spoke to Rob Murray, a volunteer involved in the project. “The whole concept is about how we can support Scouts to take action, anywhere in the world, to
make an impact locally as well as on the wider world around them”. “The four pillars of Reduce, Recover, Recycle and Rethink are core to the project and will encourage Scouts of all ages to engage in credible actions and issues that affect them and their communities. Actions can be as big or as small you like , with 57 million Scouts from across the world making their promise to the planet our small actions will have a big impact”. For more information on how to take part and to log and share your involvement go to: https:// www.scouts.org.uk/aboutus/help-others/promise-tothe-planet/
Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns
In 2019 Scouts trailed an early years’ pilot to explore the possibility of welcoming 4 and 5-yearolds to Scouting for the very first time. Focusing
on storytelling, routine, and play, Squirrels aims to reach a diverse range of communities and provide our youngest members with the best start in life.
Saroj Watton, Squirrel Leader from 64th Birmingham Scout Group, was involved in the project: “We have had an amazing response from the local community interested in enrolling their children onto Squirrels. It’s helped build strong community links with Scouts and reached out to parents of different backgrounds, which has created an enriched and diverse section”. When asked why they felt it was important to prioritise rolling Squirrels out in communities most in need, Paul Little, GSL of 64th Birmingham Scout Group added: “Areas of deprivation have less opportunities plus families have less funds
for expensive activities. Scouting is often the cheapest activity out there and makes one of the widest impacts”. You can view a short video about the early years’ pilot on the Scouts website: https://bit. ly/3BHfq2k Squirrels will grow bit by bit over the next few years, with the first sections opening this Autumn. Interested in finding out more about Squirrels? How’s it going was this morning at 10:00 on Essex Chase and Squirrels: Engaging New Communities is available in the Campfire Circle at 13:00.
