Challenge

Exceptional things happen in the great outdoors….

/ haineyf / Leave a comment

On the 25th and 26th September the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts of the 14th Ayrshire Scout Group (Prestwick) lead by Active Outdoor Pursuits in the Craigengillan Estate, Ayrshire got wet with a wide range of water sport outdoor activities.

An aspect of Scouting that applies to all sections (Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and beyond) is to try new things and push yourself. The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts did exactly this with some adventurous activities on the Group Activity Day.

The young people went on a Gorge Adventure. This revolved around a gorge (Dalcairney falls) where the young people scrambled up and down a naturally formed gorge, jumping into deep pools and sliding down naturally formed rock flumes, an sailing down cliffs into the water below and walking behind waterfalls. What could be more adventurous than that! But they didn’t stop there, they also learnt to Stand Up Paddle Board on a mega board and canoe too.

This event was particularly useful for the all the young people who are working towards their Adventure Challenge Badge, which is needed for their Chief Scout’s Bronze, Silver and Gold Award.

After they had completed their activities, they were still full of energy and excitement, until they realised they still needed to carry the canoes back to the trailer. I am sure they all slept soundly that night.

Beaver Gregor McCallum said ‘I literately had the best day ever!’

Jamie Pitt (Cub) said ‘it was brilliant and so much fun! And I can’t believe I jumped off a cliff. Thank you everyone!!’

James Buchanan a Scout with the 14th Ayrshire Group said ‘I had an absolute ball on the activity day, the best experience of my life!’

Watching the Scouts having fun, being a team, helping each other made me think becoming a Scout Leader was totally the right thing to do! Hearing the Active Outdoor Pursuits instructor Matthew telling me he’d never had a group chanting each other’s name to encourage one another was amazing! Great bunch of young people we’ve got! Joanne King, Scout leader for the 14th Ayrshire Scout Group (Prestwick )

Fiona Hainey Group Scout Leader for the 14TH Ayrshire Scout Group (Prestwick) said ‘our incredible Scout leaders all believe that amazing things happen in the great outdoors. We hope to guide the young people to learn leadership, teamwork, resilience, initiative, and the world famous Scouting heritage and values too. We hope to inspire young people to reach their potential and learn skills for life while having fun and adventure and developing friendship along the way.’

We would like to thank Arnold Clark Community Fund and the Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) for their generous grants making this activity day affordable for all to enjoy. It was great to started the 2021/2022 Scouting year off with a bang. Reinforcing excitement and adventure as a key building block in young peoples development. The 14th Ayrshire Scout Group look forward to having many more experiences in the future.

If you are interested in helping out with Beavers (boys and girls aged 6 to 8), Cubs (boys and girls aged 8 to 10), Scouts (boys and girls aged 10 to 14), or Explorers (boys and girls aged 14 to 17) or helping in the background with things such as building maintenance, finances etc, please contact Kyle and Carrick Scouts using the link below.

If you would like to join Scouts Association in South Ayrshire we have groups across the Kyle and Carrick District. Find more information on Kyle and Carrick Scout District

http://www.arnoldclark.com/community-fund

http://www.voluntaryactionsouthayrshire.org.uk/

http://www.activeoutdoorpursuits.com/activities-in-ayrshire/

Fantastic Campfires

/ haineyf / Leave a comment

AS restrictions continue to ease, the 100th Alloway Burns Explorer Scouts restarted their face to face meetings outside once again. All group meetings are operating in line with strict COVID19 secure guidelines to keep everyone safe.

The Explorer Scouts met at Cambusdoon, on Friday night. The challenge of the evenings meeting was for the first group to boil a tin of water, using only matches and a tin.

On completion of the task, they were to clear the fire area leaving nothing but memories.

All groups succeeded – mainly because we haven’t had any rain for so long.

We’re delighted to see our young people getting stuck back into Scouting challenges.

If you want to get involved or join the Scouts Association in Ayrshire we have groups across the Kyle and Carrick district. Find more information on http://www.kcscouts.scot

#skillsforlife #100thAllowayBurnsExplores #kyleandcarrickscouts

My Mission To Get My Chief Scout Silver Award

/ haineyf / Leave a comment

HI my name is Kaleb Strong and I am 9 years old and I am in the 14th Ayrshire Cub Scout group in Prestwick. In Lockdown I have been working towards my Chief Scout Silver Awardas I wanted to give myself a challenge. To get the badge I had to complete 7 challenge badges. For each of the challenge badges I had to do lots of different requirements some took longer than others and I just did a bit every day after home schooling. The tasks were challenging but at the same time they were lots of fun and gave me a break from boring school work!

My most challenging challenge award of them all was most definitely the Team Leadership badge. The part of the badge I was most nervous about was hosting the Cub meeting last Friday. It took me three days to get all the games ready but I really wanted to do it as I knew this was my last challenge badge. I emailed Fiona (the Beavers leader) a couple of times to check it sounded good which it did so that helped lots. I was really really nervous but I managed to do it and it looked like everyone had lots of funplaying all my games and all my friends listened really well which stopped me being so nervous. My Cub leaders Craig and Pete told me at the end I did really well so that made me feel really happy.

The best part about doing the badges in Lockdown is once you complete a badge you get a surprise letter through your door addressed to you. In the letter there is the badge that you earned and a certificate with a message on the back signed by Fiona which is really nice and she always tells you how proud she is of you which makes you want to keep going for it.

I am so excited to have got my Chief Scout Silver Award which is the highest award that you can get in Cubs. Fiona and Craig came round to my front door on Saturday to present it to me, I could hardly wait. My Mum, Dad and little brothers Izaak and Jarod are so proud of me and said we are going to have a treat dinner on to celebrate my achievement.

Over recent weeks and months, Kaleb has done tremendously well working on his badges during a difficult time for all. From earning his Stage 1 Musician badge through to his Artistic Activity badge and his Thistle badge, he has always shown great determination. He is one of very few in the Scouting movement to earn all three stages of the Great Indoors Badge and he has already made great headway with his Hikes Away badges, getting to Stage 5 in a short time. Perhaps most awe-inspiring is his effort to gain his Challenge Awards, with many of the Skills, My World and My Personal Challenge badges earned since the New Year, alongside his Outdoor and Adventure Challenge badges. Completing his Leadership Challenge badge through leading the Cubs’ Zoom session recently was most pleasing to see, and in gaining his Chief Scout’s Silver Award Kaleb and his family can be rightly proud of all he has achieved…the 14th Ayrshire Leaders certainly are! 🌟 Cub leaders Craig, Pete and Daniela said.

Eat, Sleep, Cycle

/ haineyf / Leave a comment

Cub Scout Finlay Nutt from 14th Ayrshire Scout Group (Prestwick) and little sister Isla Nutt aged 8 have taken on a super bike riding challenge to raise money for their Auntie Emma. Finlay and Isla want to raise as much money as they can for their Aunt, to go to Mexico for life changing treatment for her MS. Multiple sclerosis is a neurological condition which affects the brain and spinal cord and can lead to serious disability. Instead of fighting off infection, the immune system attacks the nerves which control different parts of the body. The money that Finlay and Isla raise will go towards HSCT therapy to halt the progression of the disease and hopefully grab back some quality of life with their much loved Auntie Emma before her the MS get any worse! These 2 active fundraisers want to see their Auntie Emma well enough to take their cousins Rory and Skye to the park or even swimming one day.

They’re first challenge was to set a fundraising goal on their Go Fund Me page. Knowing that their Aunties treatment costs over £40,000, they asked each other ‘where should we realistically start’? They decided on £100 for the initial target and already they have smashed this and raised £1870. Their dream target would be to raise over £2,500 for their special Auntie Emma.

Although Finlay and Isla love cycling, they readily admit that this challenge is hard work and they will need lots of perseverance, particularly as it’s winter. Isla is a real trooper, even through this horrible weather we have had recently, Isla won’t stop or turn back! Both Finlay and Isla really understand how active this challenge is but their determination to help their Auntie Emma is heartwarming. The siblings will be cycling a total of 130km (80 miles) the distance from Prestwick to Auchterader, where their Auntie Emma lives.

‘Finlay and Isla said ‘We have never felt like we were doing this challenge alone. Our Mum and Dad always cycle along with us and support us. All our friends and family are so caring! We are loving the cycling challenge and knowing that we are helping Auntie Emma. Although we didn’t realise just how far 130km was in the Ayrshire winds! We can’t wait to see Auntie Emma and our cousins when lockdown is finished. It will be really special knowing how far we have cycled to help her raise money towards her life changing treatment.’

Currently Finlay and Isla have cycled an amazing 75km during the February half term break. Another 55km to go until they reach their target of 130km. Keep going Finlay and Isla you are an inspiration to us all and your Auntie Emma will be so proud to have such a special Niece and Nephew

Fiona Hainey 14th Ayrshire Scout Group Leader (Prestwick) said ‘ Wow Finlay and Isla you are demonstrating all the values of Scouting, it’s not the amount that matters but the meaning behind your donation!’

Please help Finlay and Isla reach their dream fundraising target of £2500.

Click here to donate to help Finlay and Isla raise money for their Auntie Emmas MS treatment.