LABOUR OF LOVE FOR CORNWALL SCOUT GROUP

A Cornwall Scout group who has invested plenty of love, labour and time into their Scout hut is our latest entry to be in our competition to win £500.

1st Lostwithiel Scout Group over the last two years has invested time and effort to repair damage to their HQ due to dry rot.

The whole HQ had been affected by dry rot and the persistent group took it upon themselves to rectify the problem, to make the Scout hut a nicer place to be.

In order to remove the dry rot the Scouts had to cut, replace and re board all the walls, timber frames also had to be stripped away and replaced as well as total renewal of all the floor and walls.

The Scout Group held working party days where parents and the local community would come down to the Scout hut to assist with painting and cleaning.

Scout leader, Alec Poulding said: “This project has helped the Scouts to develop their skills. The children really enjoyed the opportunity to attempt new things, getting to grips with hands on tools such as saws and hammers and have enjoyed the chance to use power tools such as drills and screw drivers for the first time.”

“Within the summer months the group is encouraged to spend time outside, they do nature trails, leaf and tree identification and fire lighting as well as litter picking to try and keep the town tidy and keep the environment as they would like to find it.”

The group is very active in the community and holds DIY evenings with fathers, friends and local trades people to showcase their skills to the Scouts.

DOING IT FOR YOURSELF FOR OTHERS

We were thrilled to hear from 68th St Mary’s Wyke Scout Group, firstly, after hearing they’re doing the WD-40 Scout DIY badge and secondly, they’re putting those skills to good use by helping the community.

Members of the Scout group in Bradford are doing their DIY badge that will see them learn skills such as how to fix a leaky tap, hang a door and fix a lock or make a tool box.

The handy group is going to use its newly learnt skills to mend and improve the local church’s benches that are in a poor and unsafe condition.

The Scout group is going to split into four patrols and each take on a decaying bench and restore them to their former glory.

68th St. Mary’s Wyke Scout Group will start by removing the existing rotten planks and clean up the metal by using a wire brush (don’t forget guys, WD-40, can be used to clean different metal surface and can remove rust).

The following week will see the group prepare the new planks of wood by drilling new holes and bolting them onto the bench frames, finishing them off with a new coat of varnish.

We’re pleased that this hands on group will get plenty of use from our online resource and hope they will use WD-40 to clean their brushes and equipment after restoring the benches.

Scout leader, Phil Chadwick said: “Our Scout group loves any hands on activity and it is great that we can help the local church by restoring the benches for visitors.

“The Scout WD-40 DIY badge has provided us with lots of tips and teaches our Scouts valuable life skills.

“The Scouts’ work will enable the local toddler and tots group to use the benches in the summer and also the elderly people that attend the befriending service of New Horizons.”

However, 68th St Mary’s Wyke Scout Group’s good work doesn’t stop there. Once the benches have been restored, the group is going to clean up ‘Val's Garden’, a plot of garden adopted in memory of a much loved cub leader.

DO IT YOURSELF IS BEST

Members of North Ayrshire Scout troop, 1st Ardrossan, have proved that they are next generation of DIY experts and have also earned their WD-40 DIY Scout badge.


The handy group has refurbished its Scout hall, which will not just benefit them but also the local community groups who use the hall including the Judo Club, the Stamp Collecting Club and the Amateur Dramatics Club.


1st Ardrossan Scout Troop with the help of its Scout leaders, none of which are tradesmen, has installed a new kitchen and WC facilities.


The group raised the money for the work by participating in fund raising activities such as bag packing in their local supermarket, in addition to funding support from Hunterston Power Station.

Originally, the group was going to use a contractor but funds were insufficient to pay for the time and labour.


Therefore 1st Ardrossan Scouts took on the challenge themselves and local companies have supported them by donating specialist tools such as jigs and routers.

The project saw them demonstrate a range of DIY skills including stripping out old fixtures and installing new ones, decorating the wall, doors and ceilings and installing new pipes.



However, safety always comes first so electrical work was carried out by a qualified Electrical Engineer for safety reasons.


The whole refurbishment project demonstrated key DIY skills that the WD-40 Scout badge includes, in fact this project led to them earning the badge.


Scout leader, Craig Mulholland (who also proved he had what it took to earn the badge!) said: “The project required a huge amount of hard work and effort.


“Along the way we have learnt new DIY skills and built on existing ones. By combining the refurbishment project with the WD-40 badge, provided great motivation for the Scouts and rewarded them for their hard work.”




Great to see the photos of the Scouts receiving their badges-well done guys!

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.

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!”