1ST ST IVES SCOUT GROUP CLEAN UP

The talented 1st St Ives Scout Group, from Cornwall, is well on the way to completing the WD-40 Scouts DIY Activity Badge.

Scouts have been working on a whole range of different types of DIY, from gardening to painting and even interior renovation!

The group uses a piece of land known locally as ‘Ayr Field’ that is run by Ayr Field Community Group.

1st St Ives Scout Group members voluntarily gave time to clear the ground, and help the Ayr Field Community Group with planting new trees and shrubs. The group also played a vital role in helping to design the new Ayr Field play area.

The skilful group has even made bird boxes for the St Ives town’s gardens. They are now making bat boxes for them, in order to create good habitats for the local wildlife.

However, the biggest project by far is the full renovation of the Scout Hut.

Last year the Scouts, with the help of dedicated parents, painted the exterior of the hut, and now plans are currently on-going for work on the interior.

Scout Leader, Ian Sanders, said: “When we are finished we hope to have a welcoming hut which other groups will be able to use too. We are very excited about starting work on the inside of the hut; it is going to be brilliant when it’s complete.

“Our group has learned so much from the whole experience. I’d definitely say we’ve got a few budding tradesmen in our midst.”

The next stage for St Ives Scout Group’s DIY project is to install a new kitchen and toilet facilities. We hope to see them using our DIY online resource to make sure their skills are up to scratch!

1ST BAR HILL SCOUT GROUP GOES FOR GOLD

Members of the 1st Bar Hill Scout Group near Cambridge has proved they’ve got DIY skills by renovating their Scout hut.

The group had a massive clear out, then re-insulated and re-boarded the whole hut.

Their next move will be to refurbish the facilities and re-decorate. Hopefully they will remember to use WD-40 to clean their paint brushes!

Scout Leader, Rohan Platts, said: “We are having a fantastic time. The Scouts are really in their element and love putting their newly learnt skills to the test.

“When we are finished with the hut it’s going to be a great resource for our whole village to use, so we are finding the project very fulfilling.”

We hope to see 1st Bar Hill Scout Group using our DIY online resource very soon and developing their skills even further.

SELFLESS SCOUTS CLEAN UP

A selfless Scout group from Godalming is helping in clearing up White Beaches Campsite, a partially neglected district site, to make it a haven for all of the local Godalming district scouts and all other Surrey Scout groups and the local community.

Some parts of the site had become so over-grown and unusable that fewer and fewer Scout, Cub and Beaver groups were using it, but thanks to the 4th Godalming Scout Group, the site is now becoming a usable and a enjoyable area for all.

4th Godalming Scout Group has even invested time in building a new Scout hut made completely out of reclaimed materials.

Assistant Scout Leader, Simon Fishlock, said: “The only thing it has cost us to build the new Scout hut and clear the area is time, effort and boxes of screws.

"All the Scouts from the 4th Godalming group love to make things better for others, and their hard work, time and effort will certainly do that.”

The improved area will now be open to all Explorers, Scout, Beavers and Cubs in Surrey, in addition to being a resource for the community.

The next stage of the project will see them clear the surrounding woodland, to open the area up and make it an even bigger area to explore. This will also include coppicing of the woodland, and the group making our own charcoal on site.

The group also plans to make the area a better place to live for the wild life by erecting wildlife boxes to attract different species of birds and mammals.

They are also going to be looking at different ways of power generation, the first to be a wind turbine, which will hopefully allow them to have 12 volt lighting in their hut.

Spring clean for 1st Bulkington Scout Troop

Great news! Members of 1st Bulkington Scout Troop will complete WD-40’s DIY badge this month and put their new found skills to the test, by improving their headquarters in Warwickshire.

The troop based at Barnacle Lane in Bulkington, has cleaned and re-painted the walls of the Scout hut and improved the look of noticeboards by painting the edging in ‘Scout’ purple paint.

We hope our interactive resource gave them all the advice they needed to do the job well and that they used WD-40 to clean their brushes!

Their clean-up project saw them sand, clean and touch up the window frames as well as fill in holes.

In addition Scout Leader, Darren Keach and his team of leaders taught the 1st Bulkington Scouts how to change a light bulb safely and re-wire a plug.

Darren said: “The WD-40 DIY Scouts badge has helped teach our group to recognise safety symbols and signs. The Scouts and I have also learned what other uses WD-40 has when doing DIY jobs- including cleaning!”