Hosted at the home of Hampshire Scouts, Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre in the New Forest National Park, this annual tradition saw everyone having fun and making new memories by trying out something new.
When the first Fun Day was held just two years ago, Squirrels itself was only one year old. This year, Hampshire was celebrating having over 100 Squirrel Dreys in the county, the first County in the country to do so.
Alongside the Ferny Crofts favourites which many of our older Scouts would be very familiar, such as Archery, Climbing and Tomahawk Throwing, new activities especially for this annual event arrived such as carnival games, an area to express their own creativity and the ever popular bouncy castles.
Together, Squirrels reached new heights on Crate Stacking, or navigated their way through the dark in the Cave Bus or simply enjoyed some old Scout favourites like cooking dough twists over an open fire. For many this was their first taste of the thrill of adventure, and of the skills of life this brings for them.
Ian Browning is part of the Scouts team who helped launch Squirrels, and the years of Early Years pilots that preceded it, was at the event to see how Squirrels had grown. "As a Hampshire boy born and bred, I'm thrilled to see so many of you here and for here in Hampshire to be doing so well with Squirrels."
Amanda is Hampshire Scouts' lead volunteer for Squirrels, which spans the 4-6 years age groups:
This is our third Squirrels Fun Day, where all our Squirrel Scouts from across the County come together and do some amazing activities.
Giving young people the opportunity to get outside and do amazing activities today, like tomahawks, crate stacking and wall climbing among many others, to give them that great start in life is what we do. As Scouts we may talk about Skills for Life and this really does give them that, it's truly wonderful.
The young people have such an amazing time, they get so much out of it, but I think it's important to remember that volunteers also get a lot out of it too. I personally find it really rewarding watching the young people have an amazing time, knowing that we've been a part of that.
Amanda Wallace, Lead Volunteer for Squirrel Scouts, Hampshire Scouts
The fun day has become a firm favourite in the calendar of Squirrel Dreys and places for this years event sold out in record time. The Ferny Crofts team, who run and deliver the event, are key to the day's success.
It was great to host everyone here for Squirrel Fun Day, the third year in a row. We had 300 plus Squirrels and it was fantastic to see them having a great time. We're so happy that we can host this and run these events as it welcomes them to Ferny Crofts and gets them into the activities and Scouting, learning what activities they can enjoy here in the future.
A massive thank you to all of the volunteers that come to help us, we really couldn't run these events without them. This year, we've had 30-40 extra volunteers today helping run the activities and the day itself - without them we couldn't do it.
Nicole Smith, Senior Instructor, Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre
The number of Squirrels in Hampshire has already jumped over the past couple of years at a very impressive rate as more communities embrace the newest branch of the Scouts family tree. Across the county, we want to double the number of Squirrels groups in two years. Planning for future fun days with higher capacity, and more activities at Ferny Crofts in general is already being planned:
After we did the first fun day, we saw loads more enquiries from Squirrels carrying on their adventures, but it also made sure we stepped up and had enough activities on site, so that when they do visit there is always something for them.
Nicole Smith, Senior Instructor, Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre
The best way to help Squirrels grow, and to allow other 4-6 year olds enjoy the fun of Scouting is to volunteer. It's fun, builds your skills, and shapes a young person's future. Find out and volunteer at scouts.org.uk/volunteer.
Text: Steven Osborn
