The Warkworth Scout den is looking for new leaders after being hit hard by the impact of Covid-19.
Group leader Anne-Marie Woodcock says there is currently a waiting list for new youth members but the group can’t cater sign them on until it can recruit more leaders.
Warkworth scouts do a range of activities such as making camp fires and sleeping in tents, but is also offering new opportunities to learn skills. For instance, at a Mount Ruapehu snow school they learn to ski and at the Walsh Memorial Flying School, where they send a week in Matamata in January, they get to fly small aircraft.
A jamboree is held once every three years where scouts from all over the word meet for a 10-day camp with activities such as diving and shooting.
Warkworth recently did a bush-style master chef competition where scouts learned how to cook in the wild. Anne-Marie says the Warkworth den is fortunate to have Kawau Island in its backyard where it holds traditional camping activities and hosts North Shore and Puhoi dens.
But it’s not all out in the elements – Warkworth Scouts also holds concrete jungle orienteering exercises in Auckland city, which includes learning how to get around on the buses. They are given coordinates and have to find locations using a combination of phones and compasses.
Annie-Marie says being a scout leader is a fulfilling role and leaders learn as much from the scouts and the activities, as they teach. The youngest leader is 21, while some are in their 50s.
Warkworth Scouts caters for boys and girls, and is split into different age groups from age five to late teens.
For more information on how to become a leader, email Anne-Marie at warkworth@group.scouts.nz.
