by Ben Exton

#ScoutingAtHome #ScoutsMon

COVID-19 has been hard for all of us and I’ve very much been missing my outdoor hobbies during our lockdown. But I have found ways to carry on my Scouting whilst confined to our homes…

Zoom? Never heard of it!

I, like many, had never heard of Zoom before the pandemic hit the U.K. but now it has become an integral part of my “new normal”. Whether this be for University, for various Scout meetings -including my weekly Explorers meetings; for Network and Bangor University Guides and Scouts society meetings; even for family pub-less quizzes. Zoom has become essential to my life, but it has allowed me to run a wide variety of social activities whilst my social interactions are limited, from: scavenger hunts; Kahoot quizzes; egg decorating challenges; bingo; and so much more.

How my Scouting looks like at the moment, through the medium of Zoom
One of our Kahoot! quizzes, this one was on OS map symbols
A celebrity egg challenge I ran for my Explorers

The Great Outdoors Indoors

Whilst hiking in the mountains has been off limits I have been going for a walk or cycle everyday and found many new paths I never knew existed so close to my home.

But my favourite thing I have been doing to stay in touch with the outdoors has been some whittling and woodwork from some logs retrieved from my local woodland. I’ve created another log-mallet for knocking in tent pegs when I can safely go camping again but also an owl door stop – which went on a slight adventure in the same woods from whence it came…

And here is a snap of it whilst in progress with some of the tools used…

Did you spot my log-mallet in the corner? Here’s a clearer photo of it…

Please remember axes, saws and knives are tools, not toys! They’re sharp and should only be used with supervision.

How have you been Scouting in lockdown?

Send us some photos or a blog post about how you have been #ScoutingAtHome whilst we’ve been in lockdown. Have you been meeting over Zoom? Been getting any badgework done? Been helping out in your community? Been camping at home? Or taking part in GogJam?

Get in touch at socmedia@scoutsmon.wales and keep your eye on our blog and social media for posts featuring you!