WE might be stuck in lockdown, but that hasn't stopped the biggest Scout camp ever taking pace.
And more than 150 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and their families from 12th Swindon Scouts took part in the Camp At Home.
The global challenge gathered 95,342 Scouts from 68 different countries to sleep out for one night.
Cub leader Richard Bennett said: “It’s the time of the year when ordinarily, Scout groups across the country would be heading off to a camping trip.
“With the coronavirus lockdown and social distancing that’s not possible at the moment. So, we thought instead of us going camping, we bring camping to our home, so everyone can take part.”
While some slept in tents in their gardens, others built dens indoors.
Richard added: “The idea is that everyone spends the night somewhere which is not in their own bed.
“Whatever facilities people have, they were still able to take part in the experience.
“It wasn’t just about spending the night sleeping. When we go on camp with group, we have a programme full of activities and adventures. We had a series of activities that people could do together but apart.”
Scouts spent the night cooking, creating campfires, eating marshmallows and catching up on Zoom.
“We had three Zoom meetings so they could engage with each other and try to limit the isolation that so many people are experiencing,” Richard said.
“We believe it’s the biggest single camp to take place. While we are all doing our separate things, in our separate houses, it brings that community feeling together.”
The group had to adapt themselves to a new way of communicating and operating.
“It’s a totally different concept to what we used,” said Richard. “I have been a leader since 2008, in that time, I’ve not had to do a virtual camp at home, so it’s a learning experience for us all.
“ Normally we would meet every week, since the pandemic, so we’ve continued our weekly meeting on Zoom at the same time. We are trying to keep the same programme, but obviously we adapted it to what we are able to do virtually.”
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