The Outdoor Explorer Challenge
🏕️ Beginner Challenge: The Outdoor Explorer Challenge
Can you complete your first outdoor skills mission?
You don’t need expensive equipment or previous experience.
This challenge is about getting outside, paying attention to your surroundings and putting a few simple outdoor skills into practice.
🎯 Your Mission
You can do them during a walk, at camp, in your garden or during a supervised outdoor activity.
Try to complete as many as you can.
🧭 1. Find Your Way
Choose a starting point.
Walk a short route with an adult or leader.
Before you start, look around and remember three things you can see.
At the end, see if you can describe how you got there.
Can you remember the route without looking back?
🌿 2. Nature Detective
Find:
- 🍃 A different-shaped leaf
- 🌳 An interesting tree
- 🐾 A sign of an animal
- 🐦 A bird
- 🌸 A wild plant
Don’t pick or disturb anything.
Take a photograph or make a drawing instead.
🔍 DID YOU KNOW?
You don’t need to touch wildlife to investigate it.
Tracks, feathers, nests and other signs can tell you a lot about what lives nearby.
🌦️ 3. Become a Weather Watcher
Before going outside, look at the weather.
Make three predictions:
What will the sky look like?
Will it be windy?
Will it rain?
Then go outside and see how accurate you were.
🌦️ CHALLENGE TIP
Don’t just say “sunny” or “rainy”.
Look carefully.
Are there high clouds? Low clouds? Dark clouds? Is the wind changing?
🎒 4. Pack Your Adventure Bag
Imagine you’re going for a one-hour outdoor adventure.
Choose five things you would take with you.
For example:
🎒 Backpack
💧 Water
🧥 Waterproof jacket
🔦 Torch
🩹 First-aid supplies
Now explain:
Why did you choose each item?
There isn’t necessarily one correct answer.
The important thing is being able to explain your choices.
🧠 5. What Would You Do?
Imagine you’re outside when it suddenly starts raining heavily.
You are still some distance from your destination.
Think about:
🌧️ What could you do?
🧥 What equipment might help?
🗺️ Should you change your route?
👥 Who could you ask for help?
🏠 Where could you safely shelter?
There’s no single perfect answer.
The challenge is to stop and think before acting.
🏆 Your Score
Give yourself one point for each task completed.
⭐ 1–2 Points
Outdoor Beginner
You’re just getting started!
⭐⭐ 3 Points
Outdoor Explorer
You’re beginning to think like an adventurer.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 Points
Outdoor Adventurer
You’re developing some great outdoor habits.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Points
🏆 Outdoor Skills Champion
You’ve completed the whole challenge!
🚀 Want to Make It Harder?
Once you’ve completed the challenge, try it again — but make it harder.
Level 2
Complete the challenge somewhere unfamiliar.
Level 3
Complete the tasks without being reminded what to do.
Level 4
Teach one of the skills to someone else.
⭐ LEVEL UP
The best way to improve isn’t always to learn a completely new skill.
Try doing a familiar skill better.
🧑🤝🧑 Team Challenge
Try this challenge with a friend or your Scout group.
Split into small teams.
Give each team the same five tasks.
At the end, compare your answers.
Did everyone choose the same equipment?
Did everyone notice the same things?
Did everyone make the same decisions?
Why were your answers different?
That’s where the real learning begins.
⚠️ Stay Safe
Remember:
- Follow your leader’s instructions.
- Don’t explore unfamiliar areas alone.
- Don’t eat wild plants, berries or fungi unless properly identified and approved as safe.
- Don’t approach wildlife.
- Stay away from unsafe water, roads, cliffs and other hazards.
- Activities involving fire, tools or other hazards should only be undertaken with appropriate supervision.
The challenge is to learn — not to take unnecessary risks.
🏅 Challenge Complete!
Once you’ve finished, ask yourself:
What did I find easiest?
What was hardest?
What did I learn?
What would I like to learn next?
And most importantly:
What adventure should I try next?
🧭 A Note for Parents & Leaders
Activities involving fire, knives/tools, water, heights, remote locations, overnight activities or other hazards require appropriate supervision, training and risk assessment.
Young people should follow the instructions of their leaders and should not undertake activities beyond their training or supervision arrangements.
SurvivalGuidesUK is an independent educational resource and isn’t an official Scouts website.
🔒Ready to test your survival skills?
Join Survival Guides UK for free, complete challenges, earn badges and increase your Survival Level.
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CRAIG BURR
FOUNDER · SURVIVAL GUIDES UK
I'm Craig, the person behind Survival Guides UK. I created SGUK because I wanted somewhere people could learn real outdoor skills in a practical, straightforward way — from lighting a fire and tying knots to navigation, campcraft and everything in between.
You can read more about the story behind SGUK here as well as our approach here.
