1st Bridlington Scouts-The winners of our Community Clean Up competition

All’s well that ends well!

We were thrilled to handover £500 to 1st Bridlington Scout Group, the winning group of our Scout Community Clean Up competition. We were even more pleased to also hear that the group completed our WD-40 Scout Badge and passed with flying colours too!

WD-40, multi-use, product named the Bridlington Scout troop the winners following a nationwide search of Scout Groups who had used their DIY and Scouting skills to help clean up their community.

The competition was launched to celebrate WD-40 multi-use product’s sponsorship of the DIY Scout Activity Badge and online interactive resource that teaches DIY, safety skills and tips on how to clean and protect your tools following projects.

1st Bridlington Scout Group’s use of DIY, scouting skills and their long term commitment to local community projects and groups in the area is what has won them the award.

The dedicated group works with the Salvation Army preparing and cooking meals and helping those in need.

They’ve organised a dog show from start to finish for their community and made pancakes for their local Allotment Association and the church. The Scout Group’s work with Hilderthorpe Allotment Association saw them revive a plot of derelict land and make high quality signs following vandalism.

They’ve managed a charity shop, whilst staff were taking a much needed break and even built a wildlife pond for the local people to enjoy.

In addition, 1st Bridlington Scout Group has a long term commitment to cleaning projects across Bridlington, to make the area a nicer a place to live and visit.

WD-40 Multi-use Product’s brand manager Amy Long said: “We were very impressed with the amount of projects 1st Bridlington Scouts are involved in.

“It is brilliant to see the younger generation learning DIY skills and using those skills to help the community.

“Our motto is WD-40 takes care of it and these Scouts fully encompass our beliefs.”

1st Bridlington Scout Group leader, Gary Trowbridge, said: “It is an honour to be awarded £500 from WD-40 for winning the competition.

“All of our Scouts love helping the community and for them to be rewarded for this is brilliant

“We are putting the money to one side for next year’s Scout camp and it will be used to fund our activities, it will be a great reward for all our hard work.”

We hope the group has a fantastic camp next year and enjoy taking care of themselves for a change!

BLOOMING MARVELOUS

Doing it for Manchester! Those blooming marvellous 20th Oldham Scouts have rescued some waste land and turned into a community garden to be enjoyed by all.

20th Oldham Scout Group based in Saddleworth village has cleared a piece of waste land on Smithy Lane just off the High Street in Uppermill, of rubbish and debris, in order to make way for a garden to be used by the local community and the Scouts.

The green fingered group were thrilled when Saddleworth Council, said that they could develop the land for the community and as an added bonus the council gave them £100 for plants and bulbs to landscape the area.

The 22-strong group has voluntarily given their time to create the community garden and they’ve used their gardening and DIY skills, learnt at Scout meetings, to make the gardening a place of enjoyment for people.

The budding group were also nominated for a Pride in Oldham award; they did not win the accolade but received a mention for their efforts.

Although, 20th Oldham Scout Group, are being taught by a fantastic gardener. Scout leader, Eddie Butterworth, who is a member of Saddleworth Gardening Club, has won the Saddleworth in Bloom award for the best small garden, for three years running.

Eddie said: “It is fantastic news that our Scout Group is in the running to win the £500. Our Scouts love maintaining the garden and ensuring that is a nice place to go for residents in the area to be.

“The council have been very generous by letting us have the land to work with and it’s an excellent showcase of our skills as a group.”

Another fantastic entry.

Don’t forget the WD-40 though guys, to clean your tools and preserve them for future use!

CLEANING UP THE TOWN

1st Heworth Scouts has being cleaning up the town to put them in the running to win £500.

The highly organised group took on a cleaning challenge in the local town, to improve the area for the community and the Hempland Lane Allotments.

The group of 20 Scouts’ participated in a litter pick taking place from Melrosgate end of beck, going over to Heworth Holme and up via the Hempland Lane Allotments and though to Stray Road play park.


The litter pick saw the areas cleared of rubbish and people's discarded items, from tyres, to bottles, to even a TV ariel! Of course the ‘green’ group made sure everything that could be recycled was. The end result was that they only had one bin full of general rubbish, everything else was recycled.

Scout leader, David Clayton said: “When we saw the article, about the WD-40 competition, in our local newspaper, it provided us with a great reason to do something to help our local community and the chance put us in the running to win £500 to boost facilities at our Scout HQ.

“Our litter pick has resulted in us having great relationships with Heworth Holme Group, the allotment association and of course the local community.

“I’m sure the Scouts’ efforts will make the areas a pleasanter place to be.”

WORKING PARTY WEEKENDS WORK!

1st Culvertone and Vigo Scout Troop based in Vigo village in Kent is another great entry in our Scout hunt to find a hardworking and community focused Scout group to give £500 to.

The imaginative group created ‘working party’ weekends to boost team morale amongst hard working volunteers that joined 1st Culvertone and Vigo Scout group, to rejuvenate the appearance of their Scout hut. Several working parties later has resulted in the Scout Hut looking brand new after modernising the toilet facilities, installing new lighting and painting and decorating the walls.

There working party weekends also included fund raising, which has resulted in the deserving troop having a new floor installed this summer.

Another working party saw them take on the exterior of the Scout hut, which had been left to run wild. The community hearted group enlisted the help of a friend of the group, who was a tree surgeon, to trim back the leaves and branches, to allow them access to start their clean-up operation.

To keep the hut’s surrounding grounds safe the group helped skilled volunteers, level the ground, install a new fire pit and lay a new path.

Scout leader, John Richards said: “Our Scout group is very involved in the local community and we are pleased we can make our hut more welcoming for our regular Scouts and vistors.

“We are pleased that WD-40 has recognised our hard and positive work.”

1st Culvertone and Vigo Scout Troop’s DIY work is on-going as the hut is made of wood but their fund raising efforts are still underway.

The hands on group plan on using the funds for metal cladding, to match the other side, to protect the Scout hut from the elements.

The group plan on enjoying the cleared garden area this summer by having overnight camps.

Some great work guys! We hope that you are able to utilise our online resource that has plenty of DIY tips.

THE SCOUT GROUP THAT SAYS CAN DO...

In the words of 1st Bridlington Scouts they are “the group that says can do”.

We’re proud to include 1st Bridlington Scouts as part of our clean-up competition. These dedicated Scouts have committed themselves to various projects across the area and even cleaned up during their six week holidays!

Where do we start? This group has worked with the Salvation Army preparing and cooking meals, helping those in need; organising a dog show from start to finish for the local community and has made pancakes for their local Allotment Association and the church.

The Scout Group’s work with Hilderthorpe Allotment Association saw them revive a plot of derelict land and make high quality signs, after vandalism had occured. This group’s on-going effort really is outstanding. They’ve managed a charity shop, whilst staff were taking a much needed break and even built a wildlife pond for the local people to enjoy.

In addition,1st Bridlington Scout Group has a long term commitment to cleaning projects across Bridlington, to make the area a nicer a place to live and visit.

Scout leader, David Butland said: “We are an incredibly community focused group and enjoy undertaking new challenges, especially those which benefit the local community.

“All of our Scouts love to help and are constantly completing activities in their spare time."

David concluded, “1st Bridlington Scouts put a lot of time and effort into the community and the community is very grateful but if we could win the £500 from WD-40, that would be a real boost to our Scout group.”

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.

Bristol Scout group helps Council clean up

A Scout group near Bristol is being acknowledged for its positive clean-up work.

145th St Christopher Scout Troop in Brislington answered WD-40’s call in their local newspaper, The Bristol Evening Post, to find Scout groups who had helped clean up their local community.

A group of 20 Scouts from 145th St Christopher Scout Group worked with Bath and North Somerset Council to clear the River Whitchurch.

For two hours, Scouts cleared the river of litter and people's discarded items, which included a motorbike and shopping trolleys.

Cub Scout leader, Derek Hawes said: “All our Scouts love to help the community. The clean-up of the River Whitchurch, allowed them to showcase their skills and make a positive difference."

Congratulations to our first clean up entry!

A Scout group from Bathampton are WD-40's first clean up entrant, in the running to win £500 for their group.

28th Bathampton Scout Group has cleared a garden behind their HQ, that was formally unusable.

With adult supervision the whole Scout group worked together to clear the overgrown garden and remove dangerous pieces of metal.

The Scout Group from Bath cleared the back border of old fence, trees and shrubs and hopes to have a new fence fitted in the near future.

28th Bathampton Scout Group said, they will coppice the remaining trees in order to encourage new growth and may plant new trees along the bank.

The group are in the process of clearing another border, which is made of a large earth bank and shrubs, and intend to plant daffodils in its replacement.

This hard working group is hoping to erect bat boxes and bird tables on a few of the older trees.

Great work guys!

WD-40 SEEKS SCOUTING SKILLS

WD-40, the multi-use product, has announced a nationwide competition to support its sponsorship of the Scout Association's DIY Activity Badge with a cash prize for the winning troop.

Scout Groups across the UK are being invited to tell WD-40 how they have used their DIY and Scouting skills to make a difference to their community. It could be cleaning up a local park, helping clean up with a litter pick or redecorating and freshening up a community centre or Scout hut.

The winning group will be awarded £500 to use for equipment, materials or resources for their group.

WD-40’s senior brand manager, Neil Gow, says: “We know there are many Scout Groups up and down the country that are making a big difference in their community using their Scouting and DIY skills to help others. We want to celebrate those good examples and reward the youngsters for their efforts.”

Scout groups wishing to enter the competition can email WD40@connect-group.com or call 01902 714957 to explain their clean up or community project. Entries will be hosted online at http://wd40Scouts.blogspot.com and all entries received will receive a WD-40 goody bag for their group.

To find out more about the WD-40 DIY Activity Badge and the skills required to pass, log on to http://scouts.org.uk/sponsors.