Activity Plans

Ready-to-use scouting and outdoor activity plans for leaders, with ideas organised by duration, setting and activity type for easy session planning.

Recreating Historical Scout Activities

Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–3 hours depending on the activityLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts, Explorers, leaders and history enthusiastsSkills: Research, traditional camping skills, pioneering, navigation, signalling, teamwork, historical awareness Recreating historical Scout activities can be a great way to understand how Scouting developed while practising practical outdoor skills. Historical activities might…

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Safe Use of a Hatchet

Activity Overview Difficulty: AdvancedTime: 30–60 minutesLocation: Designated axe area or suitable outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts and Explorers, with appropriate adult supervisionSkills: Tool safety, woodcraft, cutting techniques, risk management, concentration A hatchet should only be used in a controlled area with suitable supervision, a stable chopping surface and a clear safety zone. Check the hatchet…

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Team Pioneering

Activity Overview Difficulty: Moderate–AdvancedTime: 60–120 minutesLocation: Campsites, activity fields and suitable outdoor training areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced Cubs with appropriate supervisionSkills: Pioneering, teamwork, communication, leadership, knots, lashings, planning and problem-solving Team pioneering involves working together to design and construct a structure or solve a practical problem using poles, ropes, knots and…

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Large-Scale Pioneering: Scout Campcraft Guide

Activity Overview Difficulty: AdvancedTime: 2–6 hours or a full activity sessionLocation: Large, level campsites and suitable outdoor activity areasBest for: Older Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced teams with close adult supervisionSkills: Advanced pioneering, project planning, knots, lashings, structural design, teamwork, leadership and risk management Large-scale pioneering involves building a substantial structure or project from…

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Half-Day Activity Plan: The Ultimate Outdoor Survival Challenge

A practical half-day survival activity for Scouts combining navigation, shelter, teamwork, observation, problem-solving and outdoor decision-making. This is designed as a larger activity that can fill a substantial morning or afternoon without feeling like one long game. Teams move through a series of connected challenges, with each stage contributing to a final expedition scenario. Activity…

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The Survival Challenge – 90-Minute Scout Activity Plan

A practical survival skills activity for Scouts built around a changing outdoor scenario. Instead of teaching a series of unrelated survival skills, this session puts young people into a fictional situation where they have to make decisions, prioritise resources and adapt as the situation changes. The challenge is designed to test thinking as much as…

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60-Minute Activity Plan: Campcraft Olympics

A fast-moving Scout campcraft activity made up of short practical challenges rather than one long task. Teams move through a series of campcraft stations, earning points for completing challenges safely, accurately and as a team. The format keeps everyone active and gives young people the chance to practise several different outdoor skills in one session…

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60-Minute Activity Plan: Lost! What Would You Do?

A practical lost outdoors activity for Scouts that teaches young people what to do when a walk, hike or outdoor activity doesn’t go according to plan. Rather than turning getting lost into a frightening scenario, this activity focuses on calm decision-making. Teams work through realistic situations, decide what they would do next and learn why…

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60-Minute Activity Plan: Water Wise

A practical water safety and outdoor skills activity for Scouts that gets young people thinking about one of the most important outdoor resources: water. Rather than simply teaching that “water is important”, this activity explores where water comes from, how to judge whether a source is suitable for use, how water can become contaminated and…

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60-Minute Activity Plan: Nature Tracker Challenge

A practical nature tracking activity for Scouts that gets young people looking closely at the outdoor environment and noticing signs that are easy to miss. Instead of simply identifying plants and animals, teams become trackers. They search for evidence such as footprints, feeding marks, feathers, nibbled leaves, trails and other clues, then try to work…

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