In May, we went on a ‘Back to Basics’ Camp, organised by Akela. It was really fun, and great to learn a lot of the basic skills that we need for Scouting!
The Cubs arrived on the Friday evening, and put their tents up before it got dark. They had a snack and hot chocolate around the camp fire, before going to bed.
The next morning they woke full of beans, albeit a bit cold from the night before. Before breakfast, they did a nature scavenger hunt in teams, finding things around the field we were camping in that met the required criteria.
After a full English breakfast, the Cubs set to work to construct a fence and archway around the camp, practising their pioneering skills. It looked really good!
This time, they had to cook their own meal on the fires. The Cubs made and lit fires in groups, and, once they’d kneaded the dough, cooked flatbread in frying pans over the fires. They were suprisingly tasty and turned out really well!
Following the flatbreads, they cooked dough sticks over their fires, which turned out equally as tasty!
After lunch, the Cubs set to work making bivouacs. After moving all of the branches from the back of the camp to outside the front of it, they split into three groups. They began by making a simple frame, then they laid and pegged a tarp over it, and from there they were able to lay the branches onto the structure. Finally, once they’d made the bivouacs, they were able to play in them!
Once dinner was over, we gathered round the campfire to sing some songs, before going to bed.
Over night, it managed to get colder than the previous night, reaching -2°C! However, not even the ice in the hand-washing bowl fazed the Cubs, who were up and at ’em, and ready to go.
After they’d had breakfast and packed their kit into their bags, the Cubs set to work constructing benches, again practising their pioneering skills. They worked really well in groups, and made some very sturdy benches.
After lunch, it was time to deconstruct everything that the Cubs had made, and put the tents down before they went home.
As it got so cold, we awarded the Cubs with a badge for their camp blankets! We hope everyone enjoyed the weekend as much as we did!
