Explorers

"The Explorers started May by being set the task to create useful gadgets out of our pioneering poles, such as benches and swings. The following week the task was to build a camp fire, which they were then able to cook a toasted sandwich over. An easy task for most Explorers but a good starting point to see what our new ESU knows. Instead of a wide game in Standish Woods the Explorers took part in a "Large Surface Area Game" similar to capture the flag. The rest of May saw the Explorers embrace their creative side by designing and creating a stamp to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Given the 1980s the Explorers were asked to research an event, pop culture, music or film releases or sporting events from the decade and create a stamp with the Queen's image on. Created on pieces of wood and using acrylic paints the Explorers created images celebrating the release of Birdseye's potato waffles, The Simpsons, the Discovery Shutter disaster and much much more. This artwork was displayed and part of the Group's Jubilee Trail. At the start of May several Explorers also took part in our Spring Camp, this year held at Great Tower in the Lake District. Over the weekend the Scouts took part in several day hikes around the area and mix of climbing at Scouts rock, canoeing on Windermere and Ghyll Scrambling along a river near Coniston."
Rhys
Explorer Volunteer Team Lead

Who are Explorers?

Explorers are a go-getting group of young people aged 14 to 18. Together, they make up the fourth section of the Scouts.

Week in and week out, they gather in groups called Units to try new things, make new friends and conquer the small task of changing the world.

What do Explorers get up to?

Discover the world.

Being an Explorer is all about discovering the world on your own terms and making the most of what you have, wherever and whoever you are.

Alongside your new friends, you’ll master the skills that will make you feel stronger and happier in the long run, and try things you’d never get the chance to do at home or at school.

Whether you’re hiking to faraway lands or building a robot in your local town hall, you’ll have the freedom to choose what you’d like to do, and work together with adults to make it happen.

Start small but think big.

Explorers start small but think big.

They stand up for what they believe and make a difference on their own doorstops, confident in the knowledge that their daily actions add up.

 

Seek out the answers to big questions.

Explorers seek out the answers to the big questions, and to the smaller questions that don’t seem to matter but really should.

Most importantly, they say yes more often than they say no – whether they’re signing up for their first major hike across Europe, or writing their first line of code, or accepting the last of the toasted marshmallows.

Sound like fun? That’s because it is. All that’s missing is you.

Promises and ceremonies

Every Explorer is unique, but they find common ground in their shared Scout values, and make a promise to stick by them.

Making a promise when you join the Unit is a way of celebrating these values.

Every time a new Explorer decides to join, they chat through their promise with their leader before saying it out loud in front of their fellow Explorers. Family and friends might come along to see this, too. The process usually takes place once you’ve had a few weeks to settle in, and is known as being ‘invested’ into Explorers.