scouts

Annual Camp 2022 (Scouts/Ventures)

Barry Kennedy

Our Annual Camp this year is heading to the International Outdoor Adventure Centre (IOAC) in Wexford. The dates are Wednesday 6th to Sunday 10th July. We’re still finalizing the details but the cost should be in the region of €160 per Scout. This includes camping fees, food and activities over the 5 days

Activities on-site include kayaking, high ropes, archery tag and raft building. We’ll also be running a few activities to finalise this year’s Patrol of the Year Award which will be presented on the Sunday of the Camp. 

In order to book a place, can each Scout/Venture bring up a €20 deposit this week (in an envelope with your son/daughter’s name on it)? If your son/daughter cannot attend this week, please let us know if they would like to attend the camp.

We’re currently looking into organising a bus to/from the camp but this will depend on the numbers attending. 

County Backwoods Event (UPDATED)

Barry Kennedy

Our next Scout event is the County Backwoods Event.

Please note: We are aware that the change of dates to the 19th/20th March does not suit everyone. As this is a County event, the rescheduling of the event is outside of our control. We would ask that you confirm if your son/daughter can or can’t attend by 5pm Wednesday 9th March as we need to let the County team how many will be attending.

Important information

  • Start: Sat, Mar 19th 10 AM
  • Finish: Sun, Mar 20th 12 PM
  • Location: Castleconnell Scout Campsite
  • Cost: €30pp

This event will be for teams of 4.

Required Personal Equipment:

  • Raingear (Jacket & Trousers)
  • Hat & Gloves
  • Boots
  • Warm fleece
  • 2 x Changes of clothes (1 Change packed in rucksack, 1 left with Scouter)
  • Sleeping bag
  • Sleeping mat
  • Survival bag
  • Head Torch (with spare batteries)
  • Bowl, Cup and Cutlery
  • Penknife (suitable for survival tasks)
  • Water Bottles – filled and in your Back Pack (To carry 2lt of water)
  • Toiletries
  • Personal First Aid Kit
  • Rucksack – ALL personal and Team equipment must fit into, or be attached to the Rucksacks. Allow room for some team gear

Directions

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/7T9HSgZbv9HeJJhz7

Backwoods Skills

This event will cover elements of stage 3 in Backwoods so Scouts should familiarise themselves with these skills over the next few weeks. We’ll be covering most of it during Scout meetings but we’ll also add some resources (links, videos) to this section

Group Weekend @ Curraghchase [Scouts/Ventures]

Barry Kennedy

We will be running our first camp since 2019 on the 24th – 26th of September. This will take place at the new County Campsite in Curraghchase (directions below). The cost of the camp will be €30 (which will include food and campsite fees) which must be paid next week (23rd September). The Beavers and Cubs will be joining us on Saturday for an investiture/award ceremony.

We will be meeting at the campsite at 7:00 pm on Friday and collection is 12 noon Sunday (returning to scout hall afterwards to help put away gear)

Tents for Scouts

Due to Covid-19, everyone will be in individual tents (Siblings may share). If your son/daughter has a tent, we would ask that they bring it along. This should be a small, 1-2 person tent, not a big family. If they don’t have a tent, let us know and we can supply one.

Venture Scouts will not require a tent – more details to follow

Investiture & Award Ceremony.

We will be holding the investiture for all sections on Saturday afternoon. We will be inviting parents of those getting invested to come out and join us for this. This will be between 3.30 pm and 5 pm on Saturday. This will be a great opportunity for you to see Scouting in action.

If your son/daughter does not have a neckerchief & woggle, please let us know ASAP and we will order them. This will cost €8.50

Gear list:

  • Rucksack
  • Tent (See above)
  • Sleeping bag
  • Pillow
  • Ground mat
  • Warm clothes (3 changes of clothes)
  • Rain gear
  • Hat/Gloves
  • Hiking boots
  • Mug, Bowl, Plate, Spoon, Knife, Fork
  • Tea towel
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Head torch

ELECTRONIC DEVICES ARE NOT PERMITTED

Directions

There is a one-way system in place at the campsite. See Google Maps instructions here https://goo.gl/maps/rMpJKXfSG5NipG8UA

1.       Head out the N69 (Limerick-Tralee Road) to Curraghchase

2.       Continue past the main entrance for Curraghchase Forest Park (DO NOT GO INTO THE FOREST PARK) for 1.2km

3.       Turn right at Killeen House B&B

4.       Continue for 1.6km until you get to a fork in the road, veer left here

5.       Continue for 2km until you reach a T-Junction. Turn right here

6.       The Scout Campsite is 500m up this road on the right

Scouts move up to Ventures

Barry Kennedy

Tonight our Scout Troop had its last weekly virtual meeting of the current Scout Year. We’ll be organising some outdoor activities in the next few weeks 😀 and will post the details on the Whatsapp group. We’ll also be dropping out some badges to the Scouts who’ve completed the next stage of the Crean Awards

Tonight’s meeting was also the last meeting for our Patrol Leaders Eoghan, Jack and Jake as they move on to Ventures. The three boys moved up to the Scout Troop when it was rebooted in 2016 and have been the driving force of the Troop over the past four years. Without them, the Scout Troop wouldn’t be as strong as it is today.

Along the way, they’ve participated in several County and National events including completing the MPC diamond and representing the Group at the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, USA in 2019. They are currently finishing off their Chief Scout Award. As part of this, they’ve been helping out with other sections passing on their skills to the Beavers and Cubs

The Group would like to thank them for all their efforts in Scouts and wish them the best of luck on the next step of their Scouting Trail.

Scouts Weekly Challenge – Homemade Stoves

Barry Kennedy

This week’s challenge is to make a homemade stove using either a tin can or two coke cans. Scouts can pick which of the two Stoves they make. There are several variations of these designs so we would suggest the Scouts do some online research to find the variation that suits them.

Remember to be careful during the making and use of the stove. Parental supervision is encouraged. Best of luck

Hobo Stove

Click to access Hobo-Stove-scouts.pdf

Soda Can Burner

How To Build a Coke Can Stove for Hiking and Camping

Animated Knots

Barry Kennedy

Over the last few weeks, our Scouts have been covering the basics of knots, hitches and lashings during their Virtual meetings. We’ve been using the fantastic website Animated Knots to teach the knots to the Scouts (they also have a very handy app). We’ve had the opportunity to look more closely at the knots than we would during our normal meetings and we’ve even covered some knots the Scouts might not be familiar with.

Here’s what we’ve covered so far: (Updated 26/6/2020)

Block one

Reef Knot: https://www.animatedknots.com/square-knot

Bowline: https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot

Sheet bend: https://www.animatedknots.com/sheet-bend-knot

Block two

Figure of Eight: https://www.animatedknots.com/figure-8-knot

Clove Hitch: https://www.animatedknots.com/clove-hitch-knot-rope-end

Round Turn & Two Half Hitches: https://www.animatedknots.com/round-turn-two-half-hitches-knot

Block three

Alpine Butterfly https://www.animatedknots.com/alpine-butterfly-loop-knot

Timber Hitch https://www.animatedknots.com/timber-hitch-knot

Square Lashing https://www.animatedknots.com/square-lashing-knot

Bonus challenge Turks Head https://www.animatedknots.com/turks-head-knot

Block four

Monkey’s Fist https://www.animatedknots.com/monkeys-fist-knot

Bonus Challenge Heaving a line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q40J8G6gDI

Block five

Diagonal Lashing https://www.animatedknots.com/diagonal-lashing-knot

Round Lashing https://www.animatedknots.com/round-lashing-knot

*******

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be returning to this site to cover a few more knots, hitches and lashings, including a few new and challenging knots.

We’ve also been talking about some pioneering projects we’d like to try in the future once we return to scouting together. This website has a few ideas https://scoutpioneering.com/favorite-larger-projects/

Moylussa Hike & Scout Christmas Sleepover

Barry Kennedy

We have two events for the Scouts on Saturday 7th December – a hike and a sleepover. Can you please inform the Scouters by Thursday 5th December if your son is attending.

Moylussa Hike

We will be hiking up Moylussa (531m), the highest point in Clare. We’ll be meeting at the Scout Hall at 9 am. We expect to return to the hall around 2 pm (update to be sent via WhatsApp group). At this time of the year, there is a possibility that the summit of Moylussa will be covered in snow.

As part of their badgework, Scouts should do the following before the hike:

  • Scouts should pack their own bags (see below) and know what goes in the bag (and why)
  • Scouts should be able to get a weather forecast for the day of the hike

Gear List

Due to the time of the year, warm clothes, raingear and headtorch are essential as well as the usuals. Please ensure all Scouts have the correct gear as it is important for their safety, wellbeing and enjoyment on the hike.

  • Scout Neckerchief
  • Day bag
  • Raingear
  • Hiking boots
  • Hat & Gloves
  • Warm Clothes (layers)
  • Water (2ltr min)
  • Packed Lunch
  • Bivy Bag
  • Change of Clothes/Shoes (to be left in the leaders’ cars)
Image result for packing a rucksack scouting ireland

Christmas Sleepover

Our second event is a Christmas Sleepover in the Scout Hall. This event is being organised by our Patrol Leader’s Council. There is a €7 charge for food.

This will start from 8.30 pm (Please note there is a Heineken Cup match on in Thomond Park at 5.30 pm so there may be a considerable amount of traffic in the area). We’ll be finishing at 10.00 am on Sunday.

Scouts should bring a sleeping bag and ground mat.

Mobile phones/electronic devices are not permitted.

Scouts conquer Torc Mountain

Barry Kennedy

Well done to our 12 Scouts and 5 Scouters who successfully summited Torc Mountain (535m) in Killarney over the weekend.

We started at the lower car park (V967 847) and headed up the path to the impressive Torc Waterfall. After the waterfall, we continued on to the upper Car Park (V967 840) where we joined the Old Kenmare Road. We stopped briefly to do some map-reading at the fork by the Old Torc Bridge (V965 837). We continued along the road until we reached the turned off. From here, we follow a stone path with some railway sleepers to the summit of Torc Mountain.

At the summit, we had lunch. We also attempted some feature recognition of the various peaks in the distance such as Mangerton and Purple Mountain. We descend the mountain and headed back to the Car Park (with a slight detour at the Fork to complete the loop of the Waterfall trail)

After the hike, we stopped into Supermacs before heading for home. Thanks to Scouters Barry Kennedy, Neil Ryan, Bob Halvey, Mike Boland and Mike O’Halloran for helping run this great day in the hills. We’ll be back in Kerry before long to take on Mangerton, Purple Mountain and, maybe, even Currantoohill.

Details for your logbook

Scouts should complete their logbook of this hike in order to progress in the Hillwalking adventure skills and for the Four Seasons hike badge

Number in Party17
MapOSI 78
Duration4hrs 22mins
Distance9km
Height Gain 468m

Feel free to show your log to one of the Scouters for feedback.

Torc Day Hike (Scouts)

Barry Kennedy

We are organising a day hike for Scouts to Torc Mountain (535m) in Killarney on Saturday 16th November. This is a fairly easy hike that passes the stunning Torc Waterfall and (if the skies are clear) offers a fantastic view over Killarney National Park, the Lakes and the McGillicuddy Reeks

Parents need to let Barry know if they will be attending by 5pm Thursday

Location Torc Mountain, Killarney
DateSaturday 16th November
TimeMeeting 8am at the Scout Hall
Cost€5 petrol contribution + money for Supermacs

We aim to return to the Scout Hall between 6pm and 7pm. We’ll update parents via Whatsapp when we are leaving Killarney

Gear List

Due to the time of the year, warm clothes and a headtorch are essential as well as the usuals 

  • Scout Neckerchief
  • Day bag
  • Raingear
  • Hiking boots
  • Hat & Gloves
  • Warm Clothes (layers)
  • Water (2ltr min)
  • Packed Lunch
  • Bivy Bag
  • Change of Clothes/Shoes (to be left in the leaders’ cars)
Image result for packing a rucksack scouting ireland

All Scouts need to have paid the full fees for the first term and have submitted their activities consent form in order to attend this hike.