Date: Sunday 22nd May

Location: Cush, Galtees

Start Time: 9:30am

Finish Time: 2.30pm

General Directions: Take M8 north and exit at Jct 13 Mitchelstown. Keep on Mitchelstown bypass until R513 at the Aldi Warehouse on your left take 1st jct on r/about.

Google Map Directions: https://tinyurl.com/4c9fxc3u

Food before hike: A very good breakfast is essential to fuel your cub scout on their walk until the 1st food break.

Spare clothes and footwear should be left in the car that will be collecting them.

Hi all,
You can download a consent form that needs to be filled out for every youth member and handed back to their Leader immediately to allow for activities in 2021/22.

ConsentForm2021/2022

You can also download the Managing Medications form which is now referenced in the consent form if needed.

Managing Medications Form

You can fill them in and print it off yourself and bring it down to the next activity.

A good sleeping bag is an essential piece of scouting kit. In Ireland we’re lucky not to have huge weather extremes, but one of the biggest issues that we see scouts of all ages experiencing is being cold at night when camping. Having a good sleeping bag is as important as having a good rain coat and hiking boots.

What type of bag to get?

Sleeping bags come in two shapes

1. Mummy bags
2. Standard or Rectangular

1. Mummy bags

• Are quick to heat up.
• Retain their heat well.
• When compressed take up less space than an equivalent rated standard bag.
• Can be a little restrictive for movement.

2. Standard or Rectangular

• Quite slow to heat up.
• Don’t generally retain heat well.
• When compressed are much bigger than an equivalent rated mummy bag.
• Much roomier than mummy equivelant.

Rating of bag

Bags are rated using the term “Season”, which in effect corresponds with Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. We don’t have major extremes of temperatures and while scouts do camp out in cold weather it’s never at excessive sub-zero levels, so we’d recommend the bag you get is a “3 season”.

A “3 season” will keep a scout warm in the Irish conditions we camp in and if it gets warm they can easily open the bag to cool down.

Bag prices can vary widely, so we’d suggest you shop around to match your budget.

Sleeping bag care.

A good sleeping bag when looked after properly will give your scout many years of warmth and comfort.

They come with a compression bag, helps squeeze it as small as possible which is handy when packing a rucksack. When not in use bags should be kept in a pillow case and not in their compression bag. This keeps the fibres loose and helps maintain the bags heat retaining properties and will increase its life span.

After using the bag.

After returning from a trip the bag should be opened, unzipped, shook out and hung on a line or over a door for a day or two and then stored in a pillow case.

If the bag is dirty

It’s very important that you follow the cleaning instructions on the label. Most are machine washable, but be sure to check what soap can be used. When washing include a tennis ball or two in the drum, this will help loosen out any compacted fibres.

Hang your wet bag on a clothes line or across a door in a well aired room until totally dry. Then shake before storing in a pillow case.

NB: All kit should be labeled or etched with the scouts name.

Scouts of all ages hike across all types of terrain and at times can be many hours from the nearest road access point, so the foot and ankle supports that well-fitting boots offer are invaluable at preventing needless injuries such as twisted ankles and blisters.

Type of boot?

Leather or Gortex?

Gortex can be lighter, which can be better for the younger hiker. Leather on the other hand can probably handle more extreme use.

It really comes down to your personal preference which type you go for, but the fit is key to comfortable hiking.

What size boot to get?

You should go up a half-size from your usual shoe size, this allows for wearing warm hiking socks. That said, they shouldn’t be too loose anywhere in the boot except for the toes. If the foot is sliding around in the boot even with laces done up that’s not a good fit and it’s a recipe for blisters and sore feet.

Never wear brand new boots on a hike, besure to break them in for a few days before hand.

Wearing boots

One of the most common issues scouts have with hiking boots is that their laces are not done up securely. It causes rubbing that creates painful blisters on the heels, it also allows for water to get in further adding to the potential blister issue and of course it means cold feet even on a warm day.

Looking after your boots

You should clean your boots immediately after you’re back home from your hike, it’s a good habit to get into. You’ll be happy you did the next time you head out and your boots are ready for action.

Cleaning Boots

Remove the laces and just rinse the outside of the boots with a damp cloth and warm water. To remove mud and dirt use a stiff brush. Do not use any detergents as they may damage the fabric or boot leather.

How to dry your boots?

Keep them away from any direct heat sources e.g. radiators or sunshine as these will damage the boot uppers. Stuff them with old newspaper and leave them in a well ventilated place and replace the paper until it eventually comes out dry.

Care after cleaning

When dry, treat your boots with a water proofing agent. Best to speak with the shop you bought them from or drop into one of the many outdoor shops in town for advice.

Proofers are usually just sprayed or rubbed on and then gently rubbed in and left to dry. They’re not expensive and are well worth investing in, they’ll help lengthen the life span of your boot uppers and will help keep your feet warm and dry when out hiking.

What socks to wear?

The best socks to use are woolen or you could opt for any number of the special hiking socks that are available in outdoor shops.

Extra laces

You should invest in spare laces when getting a pair of boots.

NB: All kit should be labeled or etched with the scouts name.

Dear Scouts & Parents,

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New year as best you could given the circumstances. 

Since our last update before Christmas a lot has changed and the situation with Covid19 continues to develop and unfortunately escalate around the world. 

Following todays announcement by Scouting Ireland all Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group indoor meetings and outdoor activities are suspended until further notice and our return to regular Scouting is going to take longer than expected. 

The leadership team are however looking into the possibility of running virtual meetings or virtual activities where possible.

The constant negative news articles and the waiting to hear the daily numbers are putting a huge amount of pressure on everyone but there is light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccines beginning to roll out and we will look back on this eventually and know we came together by staying apart.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting myself by email at vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie

Yours In Scouting,

Vickie Swanton
Group Leader – Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group

As we watch the flames of 2020 fade away we wish all our members, scouters, family and friends a very Happy New Year and welcome 2021 with a renewed spirit.

Scouting certainly didn’t go the way we expected in 2020, some sections did manage a few local activities and even a few online meetings.

Thank you to our members for continuing to show us your support. Thank you to all our Scouters for doing what you could in running activities and online meetings.

Roll on 2021 where we’re sure we’ll meet around a campfire once more!

2020 has been a very challenging year for everyone and for Scouting it has been no different.

We hope to return to Scouting of some form shortly and continue on in January for all our sections. This of course can change and will depend on Government, HSE and Scouting Ireland guidelines.

The Group Secretary sent out an email to all our parents on Monday last to ask for confirmation if your child will be returning to Scouting with us so we can plan for the coming months.

We would appreciate it if you could let us know by replying to dsfgroupsecretary@douglasscouts.ie as soon as possible and if you could please mention your childs name and the section they are in when replying we would appreciate it.

If your child does not currently wish to return but changes their mind in the future we will of course welcome them back.

If you have any questions please feel free to email dsfgroupsecretary@douglasscouts.ie or contact the Group Leader, Vickie Swanton at vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie

Since our Return to Scouting was published back in August the situation with Covid19 continues to develop and unfortunately escalate around the world. It is up to each Group to do what they feel is safe and in keeping with the various Government, HSE and Scouting Ireland regulations.

We have taken a decision to suspend all indoor meetings and outdoor activities until further notice. At this time, with the rise in numbers around the world, across the country and here in Cork we feel we should do our part and play it safe for the health of our Youth Members, our Scouters and our Community.

We want to thank you all for what you are doing, especially those of you who were able to take part in an activity or either an indoor or outdoor meeting since we got back to Scouting and we are sorry that we have to pause this journey again.

Our sections will look into the possibility of running some virtual meetings or maybe virtual activities and will let you know in due course. We will look back on this eventually and know we came together by staying apart.

If you have any queries you can contact your section leader or the Group Leader Vickie Swanton by email vickieswanton@douglasscouts.ie

Yours In Scouting,

Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group
Group Council

Hello everyone: it’s been a while so here is an update for all our members.

The Group Council prepared our ‘Roadmap to return’ and this was shared with our Scouters at a virtual meeting on July 28th.

Following on from the government’s announcement on Tuesday evening the Group Council must review our plans regarding our return to regular Scouting.

At the moment and in line with our own roadmap we will continue to permit planned outdoor activities but now with the revised numbers of 12 youth members and 3 leaders and only with our Covid19 declaration completed in advance.

Resuming our regular weekly meetings is still under review but in line with government guidelines these will not occur until mid September at the earliest

Changes to the Group Council of Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group have been made and we’re thrilled to announce that Vickie Swanton has been appointed as our Group Leader.

Following Eoin Fields decision in January 2020 that he would step down towards the end of this Scouting Year the Group Forum met virtually in May and unanimously agreed that Vickie would be nominated for the position of Group Leader of the Douglas & St. FinBarres Scout Group, this decision was ratified by the Group Council and Eoin officially stood down on June 8th. The County Commissioner has been informed and Vickies details will now be forwarded to Scouting Ireland for approval.

Up to this point Vickie had held the role of Group Secretary and also that of Assistant Cub Scouter.

Vickie has been a member of Douglas Scouts since 2008 and has previously held the roles of Beaver Leader, Assistant Scout Leader and Cub Scouter. Vickie comes from a Scouting family and her fiancee Mark, her mother Wendy, her father Nick and her brother Cian are all current members of our Group.

The Group Council, the Group Forum and the leadership team of all our sections wish her well in her new role and look forward to supporting her and helping her to lead Douglas & St. FinBarres into the future.

Sean Taffee was duly nominated and elected to the role of Group Secretary and we extend our congratulations to him also