Develop essential Explorer skills through practical activities covering camping, survival, navigation, bushcraft, leadership and other valuable outdoor abilities.
A successful hike depends on more than choosing a route and putting one foot in front of the other. Conditions can change, paths can become difficult to follow, equipment can fail and people can become tired or injured. The decisions you make when something unexpected happens can have a considerable effect on how safely you…
Being able to follow simple directions is an important outdoor skill. Whether you’re walking with your family, taking part in an activity or exploring with a group, you need to be able to listen, understand what you’ve been told and use the information around you to work out where to go next. It doesn’t mean…
There is something special about learning how to do things for yourself outdoors. Knowing how to read a map, put up a shelter, light a fire, recognise a tree, tie a useful knot or simply work out which way to go gives children more than another skill to add to a list. It helps them…
Activity Overview Difficulty: IntermediateTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Suitable woodland or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts, Explorers and outdoor enthusiastsSkills: Shelter building, pioneering, outdoor survival, site selection, environmental awareness, teamwork Knowing how to create a basic shelter is an important outdoor skill. A good shelter helps protect you from wind, rain, cold ground and exposure to the…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 20–30 minutes to learn the basics; applied throughout a pioneering projectLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor activity areasBest for: Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and adult leadersSkills: Risk awareness, ropework, lashings, teamwork, equipment care and safe construction Pioneering safety is about planning the project, using suitable equipment, constructing it correctly and…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ChallengingTime: 2–4 hoursLocation: Scout campsites and suitable activity areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced pioneering groupsSkills: Pioneering, lashings, knots, teamwork, construction, buoyancy and water safety A pioneering raft is a temporary structure made from poles, lashings and suitable flotation. Building one is an excellent pioneering project because it combines ropework,…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ChallengingTime: 1–2 hoursLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor activity areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced pioneering groupsSkills: Pioneering, lashings, ropework, teamwork, construction and problem-solving A pioneering catapult can be built as a controlled campcraft engineering project using poles, rope and a soft projectile. The emphasis should be on learning how…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ModerateTime: 45–90 minutesLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced pioneering groupsSkills: Pioneering, lashings, ropework, teamwork, construction and emergency awareness A pioneering stretcher is a temporary structure made from poles and rope lashings, traditionally used to demonstrate pioneering and emergency-response skills. A homemade pioneering stretcher should…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ChallengingTime: 3–5 hoursLocation: Scout campsites and suitable pioneering areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced pioneering teamsSkills: Pioneering, knots, lashings, teamwork, planning, structural awareness and campcraft A pioneering tower is a temporary structure made from poles joined with rope lashings. It is an advanced pioneering project requiring careful planning, sound construction…
Activity Overview Difficulty: ChallengingTime: 2–4 hoursLocation: Scout campsites and suitable outdoor activity areasBest for: Scouts, Explorers, Patrol Leaders and experienced pioneering groupsSkills: Pioneering, knots, lashings, teamwork, planning, ropework and structural awareness A pioneering bridge is a structure built from poles and rope using traditional knots and lashings. For a Scout pioneering project, the safest approach…
