Ready-to-use scouting and outdoor activity plans for leaders, with ideas organised by duration, setting and activity type for easy session planning.
A fast-moving team activity where young people investigate a fictional outdoor incident, study clues, remember details and work out what happened. It needs very little equipment and can be adapted easily for Beavers, Cubs or Scouts. Activity Overview Time: 60 minutesGroup size: 6–24 young peopleSuitable for: Beavers, Cubs and ScoutsLocation: Indoors or outdoorsMain skills: Observation,…
The outdoors is full of clues. A broken twig, a feather, a footprint or a chewed leaf can tell a story about what has been happening nearby. Scouts don’t need to be expert naturalists to start noticing these details. The Nature Detective Challenge encourages Scouts to slow down, observe their surroundings and look for signs…
A well-organised campsite can make outdoor activities much easier. Campcraft is the collection of practical skills that help Scouts set up, organise and look after a campsite. It includes simple things such as deciding where equipment should go, keeping a working area tidy and making sure useful items are easy to find. The Campcraft Challenge…
Outdoor cooking is about much more than preparing food. Before anything is cooked, Scouts need to think about equipment, ingredients, hygiene, preparation, heat, time and what could go wrong. The Outdoor Cooking Challenge introduces these ideas through a practical planning activity. Scouts work in teams to plan a simple outdoor meal and decide what equipment…
Water is something we often take for granted, but when you’re spending time outdoors, it becomes an important part of planning and preparation. The Water Wise Challenge gets Scouts thinking about how much water they might need, how to protect their supply and why assumptions about finding water outdoors can be dangerous. Rather than collecting…
Making a decision when everything is calm can be easy. Making one when the situation changes, time is limited and other people are waiting for an answer is much harder. The Decision Under Pressure activity gives Scouts a series of short challenges where new information is introduced after they’ve already started making a plan. They…
Leadership isn’t always about standing at the front and giving instructions. Good leaders need to listen, communicate clearly, make decisions and help other people succeed. The Mini Leader Challenge gives Scouts a chance to experience these skills through a series of short, simple leadership tasks. The activity is designed so that different Scouts get an…
Being able to judge distance is a surprisingly useful outdoor skill. Scouts don’t always have a measuring tape, GPS device or clearly marked path available. Sometimes they simply need to look at something and make a sensible estimate. This activity gives Scouts the chance to practise estimating distances, compare their answers and discover which techniques…
A Scout leader can have a room full of outdoor equipment, but how much of it could Scouts actually identify and explain? The Outdoor Equipment Detective activity turns ordinary camping and outdoor kit into a practical investigation. Scouts examine unfamiliar or less commonly used items, work out what they are designed to do and decide…
Spending time outdoors is one of the best ways for Scouts to appreciate the environment, but enjoying the outdoors also comes with a responsibility to look after it. The Leave No Trace Challenge gets Scouts thinking about how small decisions can affect the places they visit. Through a series of practical scenarios, they identify potential…
