## **Trustee Annual Report 2022 – 2023 1[st] Monkstown Scouts Group** ## **April 2022** The main event for April was our Easter Camp which saw about 50 young people from Beavers through to Explorers out camping over what is possibly the coldest weekend so far, with temperatures dropping at night to -2°C. Fantastic camp all round with nearly 70 people in total away. Hats off to the new leaders that all stepped up to the mark on their first camp and to the “older” or “longer-serving” leaders who really pulled it out of the bag this time. At the end of the month the Beavers also received an invite to go down to the 112th in North Belfast for a petting farm experience which was very well attended, and everyone loved it! ## **May 2022** This month began with the Explorers going on an expedition to the Antrim Hills as part of their Platinum Chief Scout Award. It was also great to be joined by a couple of members from the GB who were out for their DofE Bronze award. Although the weather was pretty much completely against them from the start, all the young people did incredibly well and there are plans already being made for running the next one during the summer months. ## **June 2022** June is the wind down month for the group with most sections finishing up their outstanding badgework and wrapping up the year with an end-of-year party. This year was also special as we celebrated with a Jubilee party sponsored by a Council grant. ## **July 2022** The group was inactive during this period, but the leader volunteers were working away in the background preparing for another large Summer Camp. ## **August 2022** Summer Camp. This year was the largest Summer Camp to date with over 100 members attending for the duration of the camp and a further 20 or so Squirrels joining for a fun day on the Sunday which included parents and guardians coming down to try out different activities around Crawfordsburn. This year’s camp was funded mostly through a grant from the National Lottery. This meant on the Saturday we were able to take the younger members to a day at We Are Vertigo and the older members to an action-packed day at Let’s Go Hydro. ## **September 2022** We were back with a bang and at registration evening we welcomed many new faces to the group including both young people and leaders. All sections got back to action right away, and the Beavers led the way by starting up with a nature walk around Belfast Castle. The Explorers attended the Northern Ireland survival weekend, joining in with 100 Explorers from across the country in army led team building activities. ## **October 2022** In October we hosted our annual Night Hike. This year it was held around Woodburn Forest again, with a BBQ at the end. This was a very well attended event with many of the parents joining alongside. The Scout section took their older members away for some leadership training with a PL/APL training camp held at Lorne house. The Beavers had a brilliant day with a trip to Carrick Castle. ## **November 2022** With the weather in November being less than ideal, there was very little activity outside for the group during November. Instead, there was plenty of work put in with badgework and improving scouting skills. ## **December 2022** Stranmillis Panto. District Quiz. Ballyearl theatre panto. December is a super busy month for the group. As per tradition around this time of year the group heads off for some laughs and entertainment with a good old panto! The younger sections headed off the Ballyearl Panto and the older sections attended the Stranmillis Panto. The Scouts and Explorers also welcomed a number of other groups from around the District for our annual Christmas quiz. ## **January 2023** We started slightly later in January this year due to the dates of the Christmas holidays. The Cubs and the Scouts however had already made plans to visit the Glengormley Fire Station which was a great couple of nights entertainment for everyone that attended. ## **February 2023** February was a short month with attention again being turned to badgework for all sections. ## **March 2023** Beaver District Bowling. Cub back to basics camp with Jordanstown YLT. March was another busy one for most sections. Beavers attended the District Bowling event at Glengormley sports bowl and was well attended. The Cubs and Scouts ran a back-to-basics camp and brought another local group’s cub pack along with them. Some of our Explorers completed the Young Leader Scheme Training hosted by the District Explorer Leaders.