beavers

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rs Scout Leade r e v a e B r ine fo The magaz April/May 2009

THE NA NTRE SPACE CE

Backyard botany

Grow your own games

Fire starters

Bushcraft for Beavers

E D I S Y R T N U O C FROM Y T I C R E TO INN es oni l o C t n e r e f f ery di Meet two v

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Growing pains Emma Wood digs deep to help e you grow your weekly programm

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ou may be one of those Beaver Scout Leaders who has the double-edged sword of a really successful Colony.

Your Colony is full to bursting, which is great for activities, but you have to turn would-be Members away. Alternatively, you may have less than a dozen or so Beaver Scouts and are rattling around in your meeting place.

Low membership numbers doesn’t necessarily make things easier. I know from experience that meetings with low attendance often means you race through games and activities and have to think quick to create extra activities on the spot to fill the time. Also, subscription income is low and may impact on your Group’s standing running costs.

In both instances, being aware of the need for growth is vitally important. A full Colony with a big waiting list is ripe for splitting into two. Your growth plans should therefore be angled towards new leaders. A small Colony’s growth plans require a quest to find additional Members, which will strengthen the Group long into the future as they progress along their Scouting adventure.

This issue’s activities and games take the ‘growth’ theme literally, although all could be used as part of your Balanced Programme to attract new leaders and Beaver Scouts, by incorporating them into ‘bring a friend/parent’ events, open evenings and the like.

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Mr Grass Head you will need

• grass seed • sawdust • tights • plastic cups • paper clips, paper, felt-tipped pens and scissors.

1. Cut a pair of tights into pieces about 15cm in length.

2. Tie a knot in one end of the tights.

3. Pour in some grass seeds.

4. Pour in some sawdust to fill up the tights.

5. Tie a knot in the other end of the tights.

6. Briefly dunk the grass head into a bowl of water, then place it onto the plastic cup, grass side upwards.

7. Cut out two round pieces of paper and draw on some eyes.

8. Stick the paper onto the extended paper clips.

9. Push the end of the paper clip into the grass head.

10. Place in direct light and water every other day.

Beavers April/May 2009

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programme ıdeas

Compost Awareness Week 4-10 May With fun days and activities planned across the UK to help us all be a bit greener in the garden, this is great chance to get your Colony excited about composting!

Find out if there is an event near you on www.compostawarenessweek.org.uk

Sunflower seed competition you will need (per Beaver Scout) • four sunflower seeds • a pot or plastic cup • some potting compost.

Cress experiments you will need (per Beaver Scout) • cress seeds • three cups • cotton wool.

1. Place a lump of cotton wool at the bottom of each cup.

2. Sprinkle the cress seeds onto the cotton wool.

3. Label the cups: ‘light and water’, ‘light only’, ‘no water,’ or ‘no light’.

4. The first cup is watered regularly.

5. The next cup has no water.

6. The third cup has a piece of card placed over the top to prevent light getting in (or is put in a cupboard).

7. Beaver Scouts take home the experiments and bring them back the following week or report their findings. What happened? Discuss your findings and emphasise that plants need light and water to grow.

1. Beaver Scouts fill their pots with compost and push four sunflower seeds in, covering them with compost.

2. Paint the pots (acrylic paint will adhere better than poster paint) or wrap the pot in a paper sleeve and decorate that.

3. Water well.

4. Beaver Scouts take the pots home and grow them on a window sill.

5. When about 5cm tall the plants should be planted outside in their gardens (or a relative’s), window box or grow bag. Whose grows the tallest?

6. Encourage the Beaver Scouts to take photos of their sunflowers.

Indoor vegetable patch Create a Colony vegetable patch by using a grow bag and then planting tomatoes, beans, mange tout and so on. Alternatively, buy a mushroom growing kit and watch the mushrooms grow, week by week.

Use towards

Like this?

Experiment Activity Badge

Visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol and search ‘garden’

scouts.org.uk/pol

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Baby pictures Bottle gardenlet you will need

• a two-litre fizzy drinks bottle per person • potting compost • stones • seeds.

1. Cut off about 15cm from the top of the fizzy drinks bottle and put the top to one side.

2. Place some stones into the bottom of the bottle to help with drainage.

3. Put about 6cm of earth into the bottom and sow some seeds – short flowers are ideal.

4. Water and put the top back in place. To do this, cut four or five vertical slits on the top half and slot it into the bottom half.

Colony height chartt

you will need

• photographs of everyone when they were babies.

1. Encourage everyone (including leaders) to bring in a photograph of themselves as a baby.

2. Number the pictures and display them around the hall.

3. Give everyone a list of names and get them to put the correct baby number against each name.

4. Alternatively, one Lodge is asked to try and match the members of another Lodge to their pictures by getting them to stand next to the photographs – how many do they get right?

Colony pet Why not buy a packet of ‘Sea Monkeys’ or ‘Triops’ (from all good toy shops) and try growing them as a Colony pet?

you will need

• lining paper and pens • photos of each Beaver Scout (optional).

1. Make a height chart using the lining paper.

You could create a dual scale of imperial and metric measurements.

2. Measure the Beaver Scouts (shoeless) and then mark their position on the scale with a mark, the date and, if possible, a small photo of them.

3. Repeat this at the start of each half term – is anyone growing?

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Growing train 1. Beaver Scouts line up in relay formation in teams of five or six. A chair is placed opposite each team at the other end of the hall.

2. The first person runs up, round the chair, back to their team and grabs the next person who holds onto them around the waist. They both then run to the end of the hall, round the chair and back to their team.

3. This is repeated until all have run.

Beavers April/May 2009

All profi

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PROGRAMME IDEAS

Building a tower you will need

• paper cups/playing cards.

1. Players line up in relay form, with a pile of 50 plastic cups at the far end of the hall, in front of each team.

2. When the whistle blows, player one in each team runs up and starts building a pyramid from the cups.

3. The whistle is blown again (this allows slow players to achieve) and they must run back and set off player two, who comes up and carries on.

4. Winning team is the first to use all 50 cups, or which has the tallest pyramid when time is up.

Beaver Zip Pull Item code: 1026674

£1.25

scouts.org.uk/shop 01903 766 921

A removable zip pull that can be clipped on various items of clothing or camping gear.

Beaver 750 ml Drinks Bottle

The Big Adventure Uniform Badge 09

Item code: 1024945

£3.75

Item code: 1026680

A stylish drinks bottle.

It has a flip dust protector cap. Capacity is 750ml and it has a rubberised and shaped grip that makes it easier to hold on to.

Beaver Tote Bag

£1

£3

The badge has been endorsed to wear on uniforms in the usual top left chest pocket event placement.It can be worn by anyone involved in The Big Adventure and is unrestricted.

Item code: 1026564 Size: approx. 30x42cm

A sturdy tote bag

All profits go back into Scouting. The Scout Association Registered Charity Numbers 306101 (England and Wales) and SC038437 (Scotland).

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Creative Activity Badge

The race is on ctane Start your engines, it’s another high-o e year ahead with Beaver Scout Creativ Activity Badge sponsors, Hot Wheels

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his year the race is on as the Formula Hot Wheels is launched. All year, Hot Wheels will be celebrating the excitement of motorsport and teamwork. Hot off the press is the new Creative Activity Badge activity pack, set to provide more great and engaging ways to inspire your Colony as they work towards gaining their badge.

These new materials challenge your Colony to create their own motorsport team. What are their team colours, team name and logo? What kinds of people do they need on their team and what qualities should their team car have? They’ll need to put their thinking caps on and grab the arts and crafts materials for this one!

Competition of the year And, that’s not all. The race is on for us to find the ultimate Formula Hot Wheels Beaver Scout Team of the Year. The Hot Wheels experts would love to hear all about your Colony’s team design. The Colony with the best team entry will win a Formula Hot Wheels Race Event of fast-paced fun and games as well as lots and

Order your FREE pack Visit www.scouts.org.uk/hotwheels

lots of Hot Wheels goodies. There are prizes for second and third place too.

To enter, just order your free Hot Wheels Creative Activity Badge pack (details below), have some fun designing your own team or teams and send photos of your work by email to ukpress.office@mattel.com or post to Formula Hot Wheels Beaver Scout Competition, Mattel UK, PO Box 3135, Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4YL. You can also find out more about the competition by visiting us at Gilwell Park’s Cub and Beaver Fun Days on 20-21 June.

The prize: - A Formula Hot Wheels party including games and activities, to be held in November or December 2009.

They will also receive a total £250 worth of Hot Wheels toys and goodies for distribution among their members.

- Second and third place winning Colonies will each win a total £250 worth of Hot Wheels toys and goodies.

- Every Colony that enters will receive a Formula Hot Wheels certificate.

Terms and conditions: - The competition is open to Beaver Colonies only.

- Entry is by post or email only and must include examples of the group’s work either photographic or copies of their pictures and designs.

- The prize is as stated and there is no cash alternative and the winners will be those that the judges deem to express the most creativity.

- The Formula Hot Wheels party must be taken in November or December 2009.

- Competition closing date is 15 October 2009.

- We regret that we are unable to return entries.

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make and do

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Sunny side up Light up your life by making your own sun catcher. By Charlie Dale

un catchers work in a similar way to stained glass windows, but on a much smaller scale. Different colours are used, much as if you were painting a picture, but the light of the sun streaming through them can make them come alive. As research visit somewhere that has stained glass and look at how it’s used. The most obvious and usual place would be a church, but many civic buildings such as museums, town halls and even swimming pools can have them. In an older church you’re most likely to see a traditional stained glass window; one that either tells a story from the Bible (in the days when they were put up most people couldn’t read, so it was the best way to tell the stories), or commemorate an important person. A more modern building may use the stained glass in a more abstract way, with just patterns and shapes.

Making your sun catcher you will need: • felt-tipped pens • grease-proof or tracing paper • pencils • scissors • sticky tape.

1. Draw a circle on the grease-proof paper. Use a round side plate or saucer for quickness. Cut out.

2. Draw your design onto the circle using the pencil. You can make a picture of someone or something, or make an abstract design. It’s up to you.

2. Once happy with the design, trace over the pencil using a black thick felt-tipped pen. Stained glass windows use leading to help them hold the window together but the thick black lines can add to the design.

3. Colour in the spaces using different coloured pens.

4. Using sticky tape, stick the bright sun catchers to your meeting place window or let the Beaver Scouts take them home.

5. Catch some sun!

scouts.org.uk/pol

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February’s Top 5 programmes on Programmes Online

Ref

Activity name

15341

The Founder’s Story

39393

Human Dominoes

6222

Spring Scavenger Hunt

37791

Good Turn Beaver Trail

34898

Banana Seller

This issue’s theme is water, written by Emma Wood

POP Programmes on a plate

Activity/Game

Time

Opening ceremony

5 mins

Game: Water relay

10 mins

Activity: Experiments

30 mins

Activity: Water pipeline

15 mins

Game: Water targets

10 mins

Closing ceremony

5 mins

Zone

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Zone

Method

Instructions

N/A

Follow themes

Introduce the theme for the evening. Talk about water and its importance. Hold your meeting in a sheltered area outside.

Fitness

Play games

You will need: Plastic cups, buckets of water and empty buckets.

1. The empty bucket is placed at the opposite end.

2. In teams, the Beaver Scouts fill their cups, one at a time and place the cup on their heads – it must touch their head at all times. They run to the opposite end of the hall and pour any remaining water into the empty bucket.

3. The winning team is the one with the most water after all have run once (or twice).

Creative

Follow themes

You will need: Plastic cups, water, sugar, salt, sand and sawdust.

1. Working in small groups, Beaver Scouts try to dissolve sugar, salt, sand and sawdust in water.

2. Does it make a difference if they use hot water?

Creative

Follow themes

You will need: Old newspapers, sticky tape, water, two buckets.

1. Beaver Scouts roll up old newspaper into tubes (pipes) about 3cm in diameter.

2. Join these together so that it reaches along the ground.

3. When complete, the leader pours the water in one end using a jug or watering can, while the Beaver Scouts stand in a line supporting the pipe.

4. How much comes out at the other end? How long did the pipeline last? Is newspaper a good material?

Global

Play games

You will need: Water pistols, tea lights, lighter or matches.

1. Place a lit tea light on an upturned bucket in front of each of two teams, at one end.

2. Beaver Scouts run up and have two shots of the water pistol to try and extinguish their tea light.

3. If they succeed, they get a point for each tea light.

4. If they fail they run back and hand the water pistol to the next player who has a turn, and so on until everyone on the team has had a go.

5. If the tea lights are extinguished, replace with (dry) new ones.

6. The winning team is the one that extinguishes the most tea lights.

Beliefs and Attitudes

Follow themes

Discuss what they have learned.

For more great ideas visit www.scouts.org.uk/pol scouts.org.uk/pol 11

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Location, Location, Location?

Colony in the city so different Is setting up a new Beaver Scout na Wallace finds out to starting one in the country? Tri

‘Do you hate kids?’

It’s not the kind of question you’d expect a Scouting recruitment poster to ask, but it worked for Gina Hardy.

She helped set up a Beaver Scout Colony in the village of Albrighton, Shropshire, by organising a ‘fun day’ for adults interested in finding out more about Scouting.

Gina, an Assistant District Commissioner, needed more adult volunteers to keep the local Cub Scout Pack open and to set up a Beaver Scout Colony and Scout Troop. ‘We targeted our recruitment campaign at adults with different skills and tried to appeal to people’s community spirit,’ says Gina. ‘We told parents “we need adults so your children can go to Scouts”.’

At the fun day, in November 2008, adults who ‘hated kids’ were asked to get involved in the administration side of setting up the sections. Everyone who attended had the opportunity to try out archery, make their own water rockets and turn their hand to various arts and crafts. The tactic worked. Out of ten people who signed up that day for more information, nine attended a day-long workshop three weeks later and became leaders. The new Beaver Colony opened mid-February.

Community support ‘Giving up their time is quite an ask for adult volunteers at a rural Beaver Colony. They may have to travel a long way to come to meetings every week and public transport links can be poor,’ says Gina. ‘We adapted the information in The Scout Association’s parent packs (www.scouts.org.uk/ involvingparents) to try to answer questions we thought new Beaver leaders would have, like “how do I keep control?” and “how do I deal with money?”.’

In inner London, Group Scout Leader Mike Leggett agrees that creating enthusiasm among Beaver Scout Leaders is crucial. He set up a Beaver Colony on the Isle of Dogs in May 2008, thanks to the support of the local community. At the first meeting, there were 18 Beavers.

Now there’s a waiting list for the group, although that has now brought its own challenges.

‘Parents were desperate for the Colony,’ says Mike.

‘There’s nothing for younger kids to do here, only a few parks. If the kids weren’t at Beavers they’d be sat in their room playing on their Xbox.

‘We set up a Cub Pack in November 2007 and Scouts in September 2008. It was at a Cub camp that leaders and parents discussed the idea of setting up Beavers.

Word of mouth spread the idea and the younger brothers and sisters of the Cubs and Scouts came along just three weeks later.’

12 Beavers April/May 2009

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Summer times Dust down your boots as the summer adventures are about to begin.

By Maggie Bleksley

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couting is all about doing outdoors activities but with our weather being so unpredictable we also need to include some summer-themed indoor activities as back-up. If you have your own outdoor area, it’s a great place to do handicrafts if it is not too windy.

Access all areas Whether you’re planning a trip to a farm, a walk in the country or simply an evening in your local park, you will help your Beaver Scouts get as much out of the experience as possible by checking out the Countryside Code website: www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk.

Packed with a wealth of adventurous and educational activities for all outdoor situations, the projects encourage children to observe the environment. It will also help them to gain the Global Challenge.

Chill out smoothies What better way to end an active meeting on a warm evening than with refreshing drinks.

Forget the squash and biscuits. Let the Beavers make smoothies. These are delicious and healthy, a drink and snack all in one. Give a choice of fruit, optional milk products or substitutes and there will be something for everybody. This activity could help them on their way to achieving their Healthy Eating Activity Badge. As always, remember to check for allergies.

Special smoothie makers are now available, but a small blender is fine. Work with a small group at a time. The blender should, of course, be operated by an adult.

you will need • blending equipment, large cups and spoons • a selection of the following: soft fruit, such as strawberries, bananas and peaches, sliced, fruit juice, yoghurt, milk, coconut milk and/or soya milk, runny honey.

1. Give each Beaver a cup and let them mix in their chosen ingredients. Any combination should work.

2. When they are ready, simply tip the cup into the blender, blend for a minute or two, and return to the cup.

3. Label if they are keeping them until later.

4. For another tasty smoothie recipe turn to page 19.

14 Beavers April/May 2009

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Global challenge

Dressed for the occasion

Water games If the weather is warm, take them outside for water games. It’s a good idea to forewarn parents, as a change of T-shirt would be beneficial. Have a few towels ready.

For the simplest game, all you need is a rinsed-out washing-up liquid bottle per Beaver.

Fill with cold water and let them get squirting.

Don’t be afraid to intervene if it starts getting out of hand. For some slightly more controlled water games, try these:

Water pistols: Beavers try to knock down plastic bottles or skittles by squirting them with water.

Water balls: These absorbent balls can be purchased cheaply at most toy shops. You can spice up just about any of your favourite ball games by using these.

Water relay: In teams, Beavers fill up yoghurt pots from a container at one end of the field and run to empty them into jars at the other end. The team that ends up with the fullest jar is the winning one. To make it a little harder, prick a few holes in the bottom of the yoghurt pots.

Balloon water bombs: Run some water into some balloons and tie up. Beavers form a wide circle. A leader stands in the middle and throws a balloon to a Beaver who must catch it and throw to another Beaver without bursting it. Be careful not to put too much water in them.

Being hit by a heavy balloon can be painful!

Try holding a parade for Beavers dressed in their summery clothes, such as sunhats, sunglasses, shorts and sandals. Who is the coolest Beaver? They could make these flips flops for the event. I won’t guarantee their durability, but they are fun to make and it would be a good craft for a summer sleepover.

you will need • craft foam • marker pens • scissors • pipe cleaners • sticky tape • hole punch.

1. Using the marker pens, Beavers draw around their feet on the foam, leaving at least 3cm space between them. Make a dot between the big toe and the next one where they meet the foot.

2. Help the Beavers to cut out the foam feet, leaving a margin of half a centimetre around the outline. It may be helpful if you draw a line in a different colour to guide them.

3. If desired, cut out small shapes in contrasting colours for decoration.

4. Punch a hole in the dot between the toes and one on each side towards the back. Punch a hole in the centre of the decorative shapes if using.

5. Let the Beavers thread two pipe cleaners into the hole between the toes and thread the decorative shapes to lie along the top of them.

They should leave about a centimetre at each end on the underside. This is bent back to hold in place. Next, they thread the other end into each back hole. Make sure they are not pulled too tightly before bending back the ends.

6. Tape the ends down to secure.

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More to explore The Space Explorers’ Pack is packed with activities, competitions and an exclusive offer. Have you explored it yet?

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he information and activities in the Leapfrog Space Explorers’ Pack has been developed by the Space Experts at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

There is content appropriate for you to build into your weekly meetings as well as activities for Beavers to try at home with the help of their parents.

Many of the activities have also been developed to count towards earning the Explore and Experiment Activity Badges.

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s a competition to win 20 passes to the National Space Centre and one of 20 Leapster2 Gaming systems. There’s also a fantastic money-off voucher at Toys R Us for Leapster2.

Further activities and resources are available online at the National Space Centre website (www.spacecentre. co.uk/beaverscouts).

Leapster2 Learning Game System The Leapster2 is an educational gaming system appropriate for children of up to eight years. The Leapster2 is the perfect parent’s choice for guilt-free gaming because: • games feature children’s favourite licensed characters • all games teach maths, spelling, creativity, problem solving and more • all games have levelled learning which means they adapt to each child’s individual learning pace • all games have enough contact and challenges to cover at least two years’ worth of appropriate curriculum.

It all adds up to kids having fun and learning while they don’t even realise they are.

For more information on Leapster2 and the LeapFrog Learning Path visit www.leapfrog.com/leapster2

Order the Space Explorers’ Pack now!

Order your free pack from www.scouts.org.uk/leapfrog but hurry as the competition closes on 30 April 2009.

16 Beavers December 2008/January 2009

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PROMOS AND RESOURCES

y a d o t w e n g n i h t e m o s y Tr ces what’s Sainsbury’s Lindsay Evans introdu 9 new in the Active Kids scheme for 200

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ince joining the scheme in 2007, Scouts have redeemed about £1m of equipment, providing free sports equipment, cooking resources, active experiences and coaching. And this year we hope you will claim back even more.

For Active Kids 2009 (AK09), Sainsbury’s have sourced the latest equipment and experiences which will be relevant to your Group. New resource packs have been produced, building on the ideas and activities from previous years, designed to help promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle. This year Sainsbury’s Active Kids have added many more outdoor activity equipment to the catalogue, from a stainless steel flask to walkie talkies, even a Vango six-person tent!

Equipped for adventure We’re especially proud that many AK09 items can be used to support specific badges and programme initiatives, as well as providing outdoor and recreational equipment.

As ever the success of your AK09 efforts depends on how enthusiastic, organised and inventive you are.

Setting goals will help to keep you motivated and focused. It’s the ideal chance to get everyone involved and excited about what can be achieved.

To help you set targets and goals you can create an online wish lists of all the items that you are aiming to collect for. These can be edited and updated as often as you like.

Parents and other collectors can review your wish list and check your progress to date to see what’s left to collect!

Collecting vouchers Taking part is simple; you can earn Active Kids Vouchers when you shop at Sainsbury’s until 3 June. For every £10 spent in Sainsbury’s supermarkets or every £5 spent in Sainsbury’s Locals you’ll earn one Active Kids Voucher.

Not signed up yet?

Then check in to www.sainsburys.co.uk/activekids

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Bushcraft

Light your fire Help your Beaver Scouts become bushcraft experts with our outdoor specialist Ruth Hubbard. In the first in the series she goes back to basics for a sure fire way to make fire

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aking fire is one of our Colony’s favourite activities and one that can be done at any time of year. The following is a tried and tested version for Beaver

Scout age.

1. Prepare a tinder box - a small, airtight tin containing several means of making a fire: - strike anywhere matches.

- cigarette lighter (makes sparks even without fuel).

- fire-steel (can be safer than matches).

- a tea light (either to preserve a flame in your camp mug or to act as a firelighter).

- a small piece of inner tube (which will burn whatever the weather).

- a handful of birch bark.

- a film canister of cotton wool balls rubbed in Vaseline.

2. Show the Beaver Scouts the tinder box and each of the items in it.

3. Split them into groups of a maximum of six, each supervised by at least two adults, and let them have a go. Success will elicit either triumphant cheers or awed hush depending on the Beaver.

4. Tell them a fire needs three things to burn: heat, air and fuel. Explain that if the ground is cold or wet they must build their fire on a bed of sticks. Emphasise that a

fire is delicate – squash it and it will go out.

The fuel is ‘punk’ (dead holly or sweet chestnut leaves, dead bramble or bracken, birch or cherry bark are our favourites), followed by sticks no thicker than matchsticks, then pencils, then thumbs, then wrists and no bigger.

5. Show them how to set fire to the cotton wool with a deft flick of a fire-steel (£7 from www.scouts.org.uk/ shop). If you are not an experienced fire-setter, practise beforehand. Collect your punk well in advance and dry it in your airing cupboard. Perhaps dry out small, handfulsized faggots of tiny sticks (Christmas tree skeletons are great) and make sure you get the right kind of wood – birch burns fast and hot, oak will just smoke (download factsheet FS315001 The Burning Properties of Wood from www.scouts.org.uk/infocentre).

6. Once the fire is roaring, give them a bucketful of appropriate sticks and off they go. Make sure that one of the two adults with each group is instructed never to leave the fire – the other adult can be the gopher.

Top tip: Always have a bucket of water, with a mug with which to pour water, in case of minor burns.

Next issue: campfire cooking

18 Beavers April/May 2009

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HEALTHY EATING BADGE

t h g u o h t r o f d Foo With 42,000 Beaver Scouts gaining the Healthy Eating Activity Badge in its first year, it’s so far so good for the Eat in Colour badge partnership

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at in Colour’s mission is to educate and excite young people about fruit and veg, so when they heard about the Healthy Eating Activity Badge for Beavers, sponsoring it was a no-brainer.

Anthony Levy, Eat in Colour Chairman, explains: ‘With child obesity levels still rising, it is very encouraging to see that the badge is so popular. We would like to thank all the Beaver Scout Leaders for encouraging their Beaver Scouts to enjoy fruit and vegetables at a young age.’

Beaver Scouts who have earned their badges have been invited to complete a food diary, recording the details of their weekly diets. We wanted to see how close they were getting to the national average and so far they are beating it, which is great news!

If your Beaver Colony is thinking about which badge to do next, why not make it the Eat in Colour Healthy Eating Activity Badge? So far, lots of Colonies have shared their food diaries with us. Please keep the diaries coming. Forward your thoughts, experiences and food diaries to the Eat in Colour team at eatincolour@brayleino.co.uk or post to The Blue House, Clifton Down, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HT.

The Eat in Colour Campaign is looking for more Colonies who have earned (or are going to earn) their Eat in Colour Healthy Eating Activity Badge to take part in publicity. So if you’d like some help getting your Beavers into your local newspaper then email eatincolour@brayleino.co.uk or call Harriet Jones on 0117 906 4506.

Be prepared We’ve created the perfect smoothie for a hectic Colony meeting!

Oats are a great source of slow release energy which reduces the desire to snack. Liven up this energy packed smoothie by adding tasty fruit such as bananas – which are a good source of energy, fibre, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and are rich in vitamin B6.

Ingredients (per smoothie) 235 ml milk 40g rolled oats 1 banana, broken into chunks 14 frozen strawberries 1. Give each Beaver Scout a glass full of their ingredients.

2. Beaver Scouts pop all ingredients into blender for up to two mins.

3. Pour back into glass and enjoy.

Order your information pack today If you’d like to take part in the Eat in Colour Healthy Eating badge then visit www.scouts.org.uk/healthyeating to get your FREE pack.

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Beaver Scout Team: Karen Jameson (UK Adviser for Beaver Scouts) Jenny Winn (Programme and Development Adviser for Beaver Scouts) Contact them at: programme@scout.org.uk Tel: 0845 300 1818 Published by: The Scout Association, Gilwell House, Gilwell Park, Chingford, London E4 7QW Contributions to: scouting.magazine@scout.org.uk This issue’s contributors: Maggie Bleksley Alison Chapman Charlie Dale Ruth Hubbard Karen Jameson Emma Wood ADVERTISING Tom Fountain tom@thinkpublishing.co.uk Tel: 020 8962 1258

What you’ve been up to over the last few months: Xina Moss, leader of the 9/11th New nham Beaver Colony in Kenya Cambridge cycled 6,000 miles to in the to raise £60,000 to build a school n. regio il rural Gilg 30 Beaver Scouts turned up to the first meeting at Buncrana, Northern had Ireland. Interest was so great they ard. onbo nts pare e to get mor ers Over 50 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, lead Pine s Scot 100 ted and parents plan trees in Carnoustie to commemorate the founding of the Scout Group in February 1909 and to encourage red squirrels into the area.

INTRO

How can Beaver Scouting grow?

Jenny Winn looks at what we can all do to make a difference In October last year the Programme Team introduced Your Programme, Your Voice to the Beaver Scout section, following a successful trial in the Cub Scout section. This online survey runs three times a year and it is a chance for you to let us know what you think about the different areas of Beaver Scouting.

Karen Jameson, the UK Adviser for Beaver Scouts and her team will then use the survey results to develop the different projects in the section. The next survey is due to run in May. An email alert will go out via the weekly ScoutingPlus to let you know when the survey is live and what the address is.

This issue we are looking at growth. Emma Wood takes a literal look at everything earthly that can be grown (page 4) while on page 12 we meet two very different Colonies who have recently opened and discover the challenges that came with both.

At the time of going to press the national census figures were being collated. It looks like it is another year of growth, which is fantastic. A full report will be on www.scouts.org.uk from 20 April, and we hope some of the national newspapers will be covering the story as well so look out for it.

Free Big Adventure resources If you are planning to turn your summer camp or sleepover into a Big Adventure ask your Group Scout Leader or Group contact for free resources and invitations so you can make the most of this national recruitment opportunity. For more information please see www.scouts.org.uk/thebigadventure

Tell us your growth stories We are looking for people to share their experiences of recruiting new adults and youth members. Email scouting.magazine@scout.org.uk

Contents 4 Growing pains From shoots to sunflowers

9 Sunny side up Make a sun catcher

10 POP Water, water everywhere

12 Location, location, location?

Inner city versus rural countryside

8 The race is on...

A fast-paced competition

14 Summer times Adventures for outdoors

16 Competition A new pack for Beaver Scouts

17 Try something new today Active Kids 2009

18 Light your fire The first in a new bushcraft series

19 Food for thought Cooler shakers

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FEATURE

Using media Up in Shropshire, Gina advertised for adult volunteers and Beavers through the local media. She put adverts in everything from her local newspaper to the Women’s Institute newsletter. It wasn’t as easy for Mike in London. ‘There are security issues because anyone could walk into the Docklands Community Centre where we have our meetings,’ he says. ‘It’s difficult to sing from the rooftops about what we’re doing sometimes.’

Mike’s Beaver Leader, Vanessa Taylor, thinks that security issues can sometimes get in the way of the activities Beavers can do in an inner city location. She says that in the countryside, Beavers can knock on neighbours’ doors and do chores to earn money for their Colony. ‘But I wouldn’t trust my neighbours here,’ she says. ‘There’s so much you can do in the countryside. You can do animal care, naturalist and plant-related badges. You can do astronomy. You can see the night sky a lot clearer without all the lights that there are in the city.’

Different backgrounds That said, Beavers in rural communities do miss out on some activities too. Gina says that when it comes to tackling multicultural and faith issues, for example, Beaver activities are limited by location because Shropshire is not very ethnically diverse. ‘Our nearest mosque is in Birmingham which is like going to London for our kids and the nearest activity centre is in Kidderminster – 44 miles away.’

The benefit of opening a Beaver Colony in an inner

city location, meanwhile, is that the Group provides an opportunity for children from different backgrounds to come together. According to Mike, Isle of Dogs’ Beavers are mainly from working class backgrounds, but they mix with children whose parents are professionals and send them to school in nearby Greenwich. ‘Class doesn’t really apply with six year olds,’ says Mike.

Getting help Key to making a new Colony work – whatever the location – is to ensure you have fun setting it up and ask for help when it’s needed. Vanessa says it’s important for Beaver leaders to feel comfortable approaching their Group Scout Leader for support with the everyday running of the Colony, while Mike feels he can get advice from the Executive Committee. Gina advises that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help from Gilwell Park or to adapt existing Scouting material to generate support for a new Colony in your community.

‘You need to be willing to find ways to spread the message that Scouting is a fantastic thing,’ says Gina.

‘Your own imagination is your only limit.’ more info Contacts In England: the Regional Development Service / local Regional Development Manager.

In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: your country headquarters.

See page 18 of the main magazine for more ideas on how to grow your Group.

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