the

LOWDOWNTHE MAGAZINE OF WEST LANCS SCOUTS

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SOUTHRIBBLEWYREBLACKPOOLCHORLEYFYLDELONSDALEORMSKIRKPRESTON

IN THIS ISSUE...

Global Challenge DayExtreme Linking!Adventure Made Easy

Empowering Young PeopleHigh AchieversSelling Scouting

plus loads more...

Welcome to The Lowdown...

The Lowdown is the magazine of

West Lancs Scouts, with news,

reports, resources, comment and

features for all adults in our County.

If there is something you would

like to see, or you’d like to

contribute, you can contact the

editors at:lowdown@westlancsscouts.org.uk

AUTUMN 2012

Contents

Copyright West Lancs Scouts 2012Waddecar Scout Activity Centre, Snape Raike Lane, Goosnargh, Preston. Lancs. PR3 2EU

ON THE COVER

Global Challenge Day Helping leaders deliver the Global element of the programme

Adventure Made Easy Adventurous Activities but without the permits! We tell you how

Youth Involvement How the Scout section are working with young people to shape their Scouting

High Achievers We take a look at some of the activities our top achievers have been doing

Extreme Linking! How one District took linking between beaver and cubs to a whole new country...

Selling Scouting 10 Top Tips to help you say the right things about Scouting

Why Sleep Under the Stars for a Week? Trogz Explorer Unit tell us about their week in Germany

Explorer Belt We find out how 35 West Lancs Scouts got on with 100 miles of cultural exploration

Project Peru 2012 West Lancs Scouts changing peoples lives for the better; their own and others!

Egypt 2013 Last minute opportuni-ties for this incredible experience to a fascinating country

Shelterbox Find out how one charity is supporting Scouting, and get some great ideas for your own programme too!

GOING GLOBAL

DEVELOPMENT DAYS

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Development Projects Andy and Barbara update us on development projects around the county

Rotary International As the Scouts and Rotary International seek to work closer together across the North West, we find out more about how both organisations can benefit from each other

Red Rose 2014 Join the Red Rose adventure in the English Lake District, for a truly international adventure on our doorstep.

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Welcome to our County Newsletter.

Twice yearly we aim to share news from aroundthe county. We hope you find it to be useful,interesting and that this motivates you to continueto volunteer with us or support us. It’s never lost onme how lucky we are to have such decent peoplegiving so much time and energy to what we do.

The impact of our combined efforts is seen eachweek across our 500+ sections where laughterand fun are hallmarks of the joy of our hobby.Our role as a County is to support our adults whowork with young people and those who supportthem.

I’m ever more encouraged when I speak to oursupporters in civic society, our political leadershere in Lancashire or representatives from otheryouth organisations. They value what we do and seeus as an organisation who is adapting to the needs of the community and what young people want. I just hope we are as proud of ourselves as they are of us.

So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for what you do. We are lucky to have so many caring and enthusiastic people in our County. Keep at it and keep encouraging other to get involved with us, however they feel they can. Thankyou.

Welcome

Carl HankinsonCounty Commissioner

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GLOBAL CHALLENGE

In July this year Bill’s Meadow at Waddecar Scout Activity Centre was

covered in a sea of turquoise as nearly 100 Beaver Scouts and their

leaders gathered for a fun-filled day of activities themed around the

Global Challenge Badge. The aim of the day was to help leaders with

delivering the Global element of the programme and of course for the

Beaver Scouts and leaders to have a great day out. There were lots of

bases for them to take part in, including:

We finished off the day by singing some camp

fire songs and each of the Beaver Scouts were

told that they had all achieved their Global

Challenge Badge – they hadn’t realised they

were working for a badge, they’d just had lots

of fun and games.

COUNTRYSIDE CODE TREASURE HUNT

The beaver scouts had to find the missing elements of the countryside code which were

hidden around Bill’s Meadow

FAIR TRADEwe learnt about better prices, working conditions, sustainability, and farmers/workers in the

developing world and where our food comes from. All made better by having food to taste!

SCOUTING AROUND THE WORLD

We really blew their minds when we told them about Scouting around the world and that

sometimes they’re not even called Beaver Scouts.

INTERNATIONAL FOODBeaver Scouts love food so we had to look at food from around the world and of course had

lots to taste.

RECYCLINGWhy we recycle, what we can recycle and some

great games were played using recycled objects

FAITHS AND BELIEFSLooking at the different faiths of Scouts

around the world

by Cath Hargreaves

Assistant County Commissioner

(Beaver Scouts)4

That was the challenge we set our Explorer Scouts one Wednesday evening in July. We assured them that they didn’t have to be an expert but yes, they would get wet! They took the challenge and had a fantastic evening with the girls winning the task by being the first to complete their raft, first across the lake and having the raft that stayed together for the evening!

Recently at Eclipse Explorers the leadership team have been looking at ways to bring more outdoor ‘adventurous’ activities into our weekly programme as we know from Unit forums that these are the activities that the Explorers love the most. Although we’re a committed leadership team we do not have any Activity Permits or NGBs and so offering these activities at first didn’t seem possible. However, with a little thought, some local contacts and ideas from other leaders we’ve been able to facilitate our Explorers taking part in more adventurous activities on our unit night.

Rafting was just an example of one of these nights. Nearby is an outdoor activity centre “Rock and River” which have facilities to offer Rafting, Kayaking, High Ropes, Climbing, Archery and Shooting. All we had to do was book the equipment with the venue and we were able to provide an instructor locally from within the District. As it was Class C waters we just needed to make contact with our DC to see if she was okay with the local scout instructor taking us. The cost was small as we weren’t hiring an instructor in and the Explorers (and leaders) had a fantastic time!

As well as this two leaders in the District are keen mountain bikers and so after a quick e-mail they arranged to take our Explorers Mountain Biking and Geo-caching which they loved.

Offering these opportunities to our Explorers on a weekly basis rather than just at the large camps has meant that the Explorers are really buzzing about their Scouting and many are starting to show interest in taking some of the activities further through training and specific events.

Over the autumn we’re looking to put on skiing, climbing, kayaking and high ropes. It has been much easier than we first thought and there are so many people out there who can help and support these activities. The Explorers can’t wait to start some new adventures on Wednesday nights!

One lake, four barrels, one hour...

Are you up for it??

“We know from Unit forums that these are the activities that the Explorers love the most”

by Richard Charnock

Eclipse Explorers, Ormskirk

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What an impressive turnout! 74 Patrol Leaders from across 8 Districts all descended onto Waddecar Scout Activity Centre to enjoy a day of action packed, fun filled activities. Whether they were climbing, kayaking or attempting to make pancakes blindfolded it seemed like everyone seemed to find something that they enjoyed.

Pauline Worthington, County Scout Leader said that the aim of the day was “To get patrol leaders together for a fun packed day, in which as a County, we can take the opportunity to thank them for all their efforts as Patrol Leaders because they are so key to the success of Scouting”. Their other aim was “to allow young people to have a say in what activities they want to take part in”.

This is so fundamental because Scouting is all about giving people the opportunity to do new and exciting things and young people are so important in that factor. Josh from St Josephs Scout Troop in Houghton said “I liked the fact we had the opportunity to experiment with new things and I’ve learnt that you can in fact cook a full course meal in a plastic bottle”.

Another PL involved in the day, Joseph, from 46th Preston Scout Troop said he liked the “fun and adventure from climbing” and his new friend Jessica from 4th Poulton included the fact that she “learnt new skills that she could use in life”.

Sarah B.Young Spokes Person

YOUTH INVOLVEMENT

Sarah B, a Young Spokesperson,reports on the County Patrol Leaders’ Day.

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HIGH ACHIEVERS!2012 saw the return of the Queen’s Scout Award

presentation evening at Fulwood Barracks, a very

special occasion for all the Queen’s Scout Award

recipients in West Lancs.

Here are just some of the things our Queen’s

Scouts have done to earn their awards...

Residential: I went to Uganda on a project with West Lancashire

Scouts in 2005. We helped fund and build a centre that was going to

be used by a town for medical, educational and social facilities. We

had a selection weekend that consisted of Explorers and Network

members all over the county. When we were first selected we did not

really know each other, but over the training weekends and during the

project we all bonded as a group and we are still all friends today.

Skill: For my skill I took up climbing where I progressed from being a

novice to gaining an instructor permit in climbing and abseiling.

Physical activity: For my physical activity I took up running. I went

training regularly and I came 269th in the Blackpool Hilton Half Marathon

with a time of 2 hours four minutes and 20 seconds. 13.1 miles was and

is still a long way.

Expedition: I did my Explorer Belt in Belgium in 2009. The main

goal of our expedition was to find West Lancs Scouts who had fought

and died in Belgium during the First World War. We also had several

mini challenges set by our assessors.

International/environmental/values: I was part of the International

Service Team at the World Scout Jamboree in Thailand in 2003.

Nights Away: Attending Network camps such as Gathering and

Connected I was easily able to complete 18 nights away, all of which

were under canvas.

Service: I have helped at Beaver Scouts for 8 years now, I have

helped at 6th Fulwood Beaver Scouts, and also 5th Durham City

Beaver Scouts whilst at University.

In order of appearance: Lee Brooks; Matthew Newton;

Matthew Harwood; Janet Barton7

It is amazing where you end up when you start working on a joint linking activity between Cubs and Scouts. We ended up at Larch Hill, Scouting Ireland’s International Campsite at Tibradden, Dublin in Ireland! A Contingent of 21 from Chorley District with 7 Cubs, 8 Scouts and 6 Leaders for a week from 22nd July to 29th July, travelling in three mini-buses from Chorley to Holyhead to join the ferry overnight to Dublin.

We had indoor accommodation, with all the adverse weather in the U.K. and also July is the wettest month for rain in Ireland we were glad of being indoors. Our programme included both cub and scout activities with the opportunity to be involved with gaining the experience of Ireland’s culture.

On arrival at the campsite, and settling in, plus the odd hour catch up with lost sleep, we embarked in three groups to explore the 100 acre campsite.

Monday was when our programme started on site with pioneering, building ballisters then onto Fort Adventura that contained a MAZE and HIGH ROPES plus a small climbing wall. This was the only day it rained all week.

EXTREME LINKING!by Alan Venn

Assistant District Commissioner (Scouts) - Chorley

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Tuesday we travelled into the centre of Dublin taking in the places of interest, plus visiting the Leprechaun Museum where the story was told by an Irish Girl as we moved through the various areas. Then we split up into our groups to explore the city for a few more hours before meeting up, to go for a Traditional Irish Meal at Gallaghers. While waiting for each group to meet up we met Scout Leaders from Germany, Kerry Ireland and a scout from San Diego California USA.

Our next full day out was at Causey Farm, this suited all ages,and included making soda bread, milking a cow, making hugesoap bubbles, playing hurling, seeing the various farm animalswith hands on with young chicks and sheepdog puppies,as well as welly throwing and finally learning to play thetraditional Irish Bodhrán. The most enjoyed activitywas the peat bog, running and jumping in and gettingreally peated up. Before we left we had our bakedbread with butter and jam.

The final day was a 10k hike to the summit ofMountPelier a hill in the Dublin Mountains toa ruined building built around 1725 and isbelieved was originally a hunting lodge. Thiswas the last night for many groups on campand we had an International campfire.

Before we left each Patrol/Six gave a shortreport back on the experience and all wherepresented with the Expedition and GlobalChallenge plus the Heritage/Local Knowledge Badges

“Our programme included both cub and

scout activities with the opportunity to be involved with gaining

the experience of Ireland’s culture”

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TALKINGABOUTSCOUTING.

When it comes to talking about Scouting, you’d think we’d be the

experts! But have you ever thought about what other people hear

when we blabber on about our amazing hobby? Now there are some

great resources to help us say the right things when we’re trying to

recruit a parent or apply for funding...

Go to www.scouts.org.uk/brand for loads of really easy to use guides

and resources full of helpful information.

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TOP 10 TIPS1. Be Prepared Check out the great guides2. Be Clear Who we are and what we do3. Be Relevant Right message for right audience4. Be Inspiring Use exciting photos of activities5. Be Consistent Adopt the Scout viual identity

6. Be Positive and Challenging Talk positively about Scouting

7. Be InclusiveShow that we are open to all

8. Be SurprisingChallenge the misconceptions about Scouting

9. Be SeenWe’re special, let’s prove it!

10. BP and Bear GryllsWe have some famous

members!

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This year twenty Trogz Explorer Scout Unit from Fylde district spent their Summer Camp in Bavaria, Germany.The Unit flew from Manchester to Munich Airport, before travelling by bus and train to the small town of Parsberg in the beautiful ‘Altmuehltal’ Nature Park in Bavaria. The next day the Explorers made friends with their German hosts and together they built a large tower, using only rope and long poles. Since it was a rather hot day, the impressive structure soon was abandoned when everyone walked down to the village mid afternoon to cool off in the local swimming pool. The weather was brilliant and so request to the Leaders to sleep under the Stars was granted and this became the norm for the rest of the week.

Tuesday was action packed with Summer-Sledging in the morning followed by a visit to a High-Ropes Course in the afternoon where interesting obstacles had to be climbed and negotiated while being on a safety rope between 10 and 60 feet off the ground.

The Units 2-day Canoeing Expedition on the local river, started on Wednesday and after 24km of paddling they arrived at a very modern Camp Site called ‘Hammermuehle’. The second day was not quite as challenging, so the singing on the mainly still waters was growing louder to the great amusement of local passersby.

On Friday everyone went to Munich for hours of sightseeing, shopping and indulging in the local culture. That evening for their end-of-expedition-meal food was served at a Pizzeria where the Explorers celebrated a wonderful Summer Camp. The following day unfortunately everything then had to be packed again and they all flew back to Manchester Airport.

WHY SLEEP UNDER THE

STARS FOR A WEEK?

“I had a fantastic week in Germany! Just a shame it had to end so soon.”

BECAUSE WE CAN!

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WHY SLEEP UNDER THE

STARS FOR A WEEK?

35 West Lancs Scouts aged 16 to 20 have attempted a 100 Mileadventure around Romania and Bulgaria in the hope of completingtheir Explorer Belt Award. To gain the award each participant mustvisit four major settlements, complete a major project, 10 minorprojects and hike a total of 100 Miles in 10 days.

One team of five, Matt, Ali, Andrew, Gemma and Jack startedtheir expedition in Buchareșt. They have traveled a total ofover 1000km throughout Romania using a range of transport;Hiking, buses, trains, and trams. They visited Bucharest,Timisoara, Arad, Oradea, Cluj Napoca and Sibiu.

Along the way they completed a range ofminor tasks such as, enjoying a meal with aRomanian family, working on a farm, as wellas getting into a local newspaper!

Their major project involved comparing thelifestyle of young people in England to that ofRomania. For this they visited local Scouts inCluj Napoca, interviewed young people andparents throughout Romania. The group tookup the opportunity to visit the National ScoutHeadquarters in Norchrich, 30km from Sibiu.

Romania provided extra hurdles to completing theaward; waking was restricted by day timetemperatures of 38°C , communication with locals was difficult asmost only spoke their native language (This can make asking afarmer to milk his cow very challenging) and strong culturaldifferences had to be respected. A Scout gaining their ExplorerBelt with West Lancashire in 2012 has shown extra commitmentand determination to achieving the award through which they willhave developed a better understanding of Romania and the World.

By Craig Dewar, Expedition Leader

EXPLORER

BELT.West Lancs Scouts travel to Bulgaria

and Romania in search of an adventure

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As the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony occurred on July 27th, 17 members of West Lancashire Scouts, including myself, arrived in Lima, the Capital of Peru, for what was to be one of the most amazing International trips with which any of the leaders or participants had been involved.For some, it was a first international trip, including myself and I was buzzing with excitement! Peru was a mix of vibrant cities, beautiful, quiet mountain villages, extremely pleasant people, with a rich, diverse culture and impressive history. We travelled from coast to mountains and back and in-between had the opportunity, to experience amazing food and spectacular scenery. We also, ‘gave something back’ to the Villagers of Anapahua- the main reason for our trip and a very humbling one too.

We travelled to Anapahua after acclimatising, with the intention of installing just a water filtration system. What we actually did was a lot better; we completed our main objective and on top, installed new taps and pipes, and fixed old ones. We also fixed the pipe to the village greenhouse, enabling the village to grow food all year round. This was a very worthwhile project and we were informed, that the whole village were extremely grateful for our work.

R&R after the project took the form of an Amazon visit or Andes Trek. All visited Machu Picchu and the beauty of it and the surrounding scenery blew us away! Carl Pilkington missed out big time when he opted not to go all the way! What an idiot (abroad)!

Project Peru 2012 was a truly humbling experience and hopefully, a lasting legacy for West Lancs Scouts; One that I am, extremely proud to have been a part of.

Jonathan Berisford

PROJECT PERU 2012

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We’re pleased to say that the West Lancs Scouts adventure of a lifetime to Egypt in August 2013 is now full. Deposits are being collected by the end of November, however due to the demand, if you were interested but did not apply, any positions not paid for by the end of November will be opened up on a first come first served basis. So if you were interested but didn’t apply, watch out for possible news in Scouting+ West Lancs. The Egypt Experience is open to all members of West Lancs Scouts over 10½ to participate in.

Egypt has a lot to offer with the landscape and history will provide the setting for an exciting Scouting adventure. After a day acclimatising in Cairo we will travel into the desert and spend a night camping in a Bedouin tent. The trip will include all the main sites in Egypt.

The programme has been arranged to allow periods of rest within the busy schedules. A 3 day cruise down the Nile will form part of the trip. We will also use sleeper trains to move large distances overnight, these are air-conditioned with bunks to sleep in.

The cost of the adventure will be no more than £1150 per person for the package including transport, food, accommodation, and main activities.

To find out more visit our new website http://www.westlancsscouts.org.uk/egypt.

EGYPT 2013

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The Scout Association has worked in partnership with ShelterBox for many years and this partnership continues to go from strength the strength.

The ShelterBox charity provides large boxes to families contain lifesaving tents and supplies to those who are affected by disasters, at a time when they most need it. The charity, which is at the forefront of disaster relief, most recently provided boxes to families in Haiti who were affected by Hurricane Isaac.

To enable scouts to get involved with the ShelterBox project the agency has created a set of fantastic of Go Global resource packs which are specifically written for each section. The resources include many activities that can be run during a unit night or you might want to usethem in a ShelterBox themed camp. Activities are in 3 sections:

Go Global packs can be found atwww.youngshelterbox.org/global.php

ShelterBox also run an annual London Scavenger Hunt which sees Cubs, Scouts and Explorers take part in secret challenges at famous London landmarks. This year over 600 Scouts took part in this fun one day event and a video showing the day can be found on http://www.youngshelterbox.org/events.php . So, if you fancy taking up the challenge then look out for details of next year’s event and maybe your Unit could travel to London and help raise the awareness of ShelterBox 16

GLOBAL AWARENESSlearning how global issues affect local, national and international communities

in partnership with...

YOUNGSHELTERBOX

GLOBAL MOVEMENTdiscovering more about Scouting locally, nationally and internationally

GLOBAL ACTIONenabling and empowering Scouts to make a difference in their world; recognising that

Scouts need to make a difference (individually or collectively) in their local, national and

international communities.

DEVELOPMENT DAYS

It’s been a busy year for development across the County and it’s great to see that Groups, Units and Districts continue to drive opportunities to offer Scouting to more young people.Over the last year, we have seen 17 new sections open across the County and with another 5 new sections being actively worked on in the next few months, we are hoping for a great census!

Catforth our newest Group opened its’ doors last October with a team of enthusiastic volunteers from the local community driving the project. It started with 20 new Beavers, and a waiting list of young people. This week, almost 12 months on, the Group has just opened their Cub Pack. We have seen 4 new Beaver Colonies open at Anchorsholme, Clifton, Halton, and Silverdale; a new Cub Pack at Calder Vale; and a new Scout Troop at Hornby, giving the already active Cubs somewhere local to move on to. Groups are also taking up the challenge to expand what they offer and we have opened 6 2nd sections during the year. This includes 2nd Colonies at 4th Poulton le Fylde and 2nd Cleveleys; 2nd Cub Packs at Garstang, Lostock Hall and 2nd Cleveleys; and a 2nd Scout Troop also at 2nd Cleveleys. Not be left out Districts continue to expand their Explorer provision with 3 new Units opening at Great Eccleston, 16th Morecambe and 33rd Lancaster.

It’s definitely not been all about new sections this year though with the Development Officers giving support throughout the year to 16 Groups and currently working with another 11 Groups. This support can take a variety of forms from recruiting a new GSL and Executive Committee, to recruiting sections leaders and young people.

At Trinity Methodist in Chorley, Andy got involved to help the DC find a new GSL as the Group had been without one for a couple of years. While the sections had plenty of young people, the leaders didn’t have any management support and the Executive Committee as a result weren’t giving the support needed. Early on, Andy identified that the ACSL, also Andy, had the right skills and experience for the role of GSL and spoke with the DC about asking him to do the role. He said yes!

Andy said “I took on the role because it was obvious that if we didn’t raise our game and get a fully manned and engaged Exec we’d continue to ‘bounce along the bottom’. Andy gave me hands on support with the existing leaders; helped develop the Exec, so we have a full team; and worked with me to engage parents and recruit extra leaders. The results are self evident; today we are almost full in all Sections more than doubling our numbers in less than 12 months. We also have 6 new Leaders in training across the Sections…”

by Barbara Hughes and Andy Marsden

County Development Officers

“Today we are almost full in all Sections, more than doubling our numbers in less than 12 months. We also have 6 new Leaders in training across the Sections…”

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At 23rd Lancaster in Lonsdale, Barbara was asked to help recruit a new Beaver Team as the Beaver Leader had stepped down and the Assistant worked shifts, so was unable to attend every week. The GSL had been holding the fort, but had been unable to find anyone to take on the role. As work began on the project, 2 coincidental things happened – the DC was contacted by Sean who had moved into the area and wanted to get involved after being a Cub Leader in Yorkshire and a student replied to an ad placed on Do.It.Org. A great start!

Numbers had dropped in the Beaver section to six regular children and as some of these were nearing their 8th birthday, it was urgent to start promoting the section. Barbara did some flyers for the local schools and invited them along to an open night. On the night, a couple of parents expressed an interest in helping and another student dropped in after seeing the Scouts out one night and offered to help as she had done Beavers back home.

Sean said “We’re going from strength to strength. We now have a 20 strong colony even with the three going up to Cubs, and a 6 strong leader team! We even have a waiting list of very eager beavers at the moment too…”

If you want any development advice or support, do get in touch with Andy or Barbara for a chat.

“We’re going from strength to strength. We now have a 20 strong colony even with the three going up to Cubs, and a 6 strong leader team!”

IT ALL ADDS UPTO MAKING ABIG DIFFERENCE.

Scouting and the Rotary Club working together to help young people reach their potential.

Did you know - Scouting in Cumbria and Lancashire is one of the preferred charities of Rotary District Governor, David Simpson? David has been actively involved in Scouting for over 17 years as Wyre’s District Treasurer and as a member of the County Executive Committee. He has also been enthusiastically involved with the Rotary Club for over 27 years. So perhaps it is no surprise that Scouting was announced as one of his preferred charities when he took up the role of District Governor in July this year.

David said “Young people get so much bad press and it is important to realise that it is a minority that gain notoriety. My sons both progressed through Scouting and got so much out of it. I feel it was their experience in Scouts that helped them achieve success in their careers.”

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So what is the Rotary Club?Rotary Club is a service organisation that runs countless humanitarian projects both locally, nationally and internationally, and also partners with many charities worldwide. Members organise community projects that address many of today’s most critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, health, hunger, the environment, and illiteracy. They also work for and with young people to address challenges facing the youth of today. Rotakids, Interact and Rotaract are part of the Rotary family, which are clubs designed to involve young people aged 7-11, 12-18 and 18-30 respectively.

Rotary members are enthusiastic, fun-loving and active volunteers who give their time and talents to serve communities both at home and overseas. They are dedicated people, men and women from business and professions, who share a common interest in helping others. In Great Britain and Ireland there are over 55,000 Rotary members in 1,855 clubs. There are 73 Clubs in Rotary District 1190 which covers Cumbria and most of Lancashire. Each member enjoys business as well as social networking opportunities, while giving something back to those less fortunate, learning new skills and having a huge amount of fun!

For Scouting, this year, is an excellent opportunity to work with the Rotary Club and promote what we do. This may have many benefits for us including - new adult members, particularly for roles such as Group Scout Leader, Chairman, Treasurer and other roles with a managerial skill set; giving our young people the opportunity to attend Rotary’s youth leadership programme; and broaden our programme of activities with a variety of competitions being run each year from Young Writer, Photographer and Chef to Youth Speaks – public speaking competition.

The Rotary youth provision can be based in Scouting and a good example of this is in East Lancs where Rossendale Explorer Scouts operate an Interact Club as part of their programme, receiving support and guidance from the Rotary Club of Bacup. Their commitment is to undertake 2 community projects annually, one based in their local community and one with an international focus. You may already do this, but operating Interact gives another way of recognising the work our young people do.

We have already had requests from local Rotary Clubs for Scouting to come along and speak to them about how they can support us and they are keen to build a relationship with us. So if you’d like more information about ways to work with your local Rotary Club, get in touch with Barbara Hughes, who is our liaison for this exciting project. e: barbara.hughes@westlancsscouts.org.uk

“Young people get so much bad

press and it is important to

realise that it is a minority that

gain notoriety. My sons both

progressed through Scouting and

got so much out of it. I feel it was

their experience in Scouts that

helped them achieve success in

their careers.”

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The next issue...We really hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of The Lowdown. If you’ve got comments, suggestions for articles, or you’d like to be involved then please let us know: lowdown@westlancsscouts.org.uk

RED ROSE201426th July - 2nd August 2014

English Lake Districtwww.redrose.org.uk