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First Queen’s Scout Award – Zoe Baxter
We are delighted to announce that in February 2021 Telstar received its first Queen’s Scout Award, thanks to the hard work of one of our Explorers/Network members Zoe Baxter.
Zoe joined Telstar as a Beaver Scout in 2007 and never looked back, always a keen Scout she loved to be outside and camping.
In order to achieve this award Zoe complete her Mérite Jeunesse (International Duke of Edinburgh Award) up to Gold level and in addition did 6 activities from the International, Community and Values list. For Zoe these were:
- Working as a young leader
- Assisting in group integration with the Luxembourg groups by working as a translator
- Attending an International camp at the Kandersteg Scout centre in Switzerland
- Working with the environmental charity Natur&ëmwelt
- Completing her Explorer Belt award on a 10-day expedition in Slovakia
- Researching and teaching the Explorers about vegetarianism
Zoe worked through the 3 levels of the Queen’s Scout Award, Platinum, Diamond and Queen’s Scout and I hope this encourages others to do the same.
To gain your Platinum Award you need to gain your Bronze Mérite Jeunesse Award and then do 2 additional activities from the International, Community and Values list at Platinum level.
To gain your Diamond Award you need to gain your Silver Merite Jeunesse and then do 2 additional activities from the International, Community and Values list at Diamond level, ensuring you pick up the third item you did not do at Platinum.
To gain your Queens Scout Award you need to gain your Gold Merite Jeunesse and then do 2 additional activities from the International, Community and Values list at Queen’s Scout level. You also need to give a final presentation of your whole award journey.
As so many of you achieve all the way to Gold in your Mérite Jeunesse it would be great to see more Queen’s Scout awards being earned in the future. Please speak to the Explorer Leaders about it if you are interested.
Well done Zoe many congratulations on years of hard work and great scouting.
Telstar Explorers In February 2018
The Telstar Explorers are a hardy bunch and we have had not one but two camps this February. We started with our winter camp where 20 Explorers and 5 mad leaders braved the snow at Camp Lagland, an Army training base near Arlon, to do a winter survival camp. Activities included a navigation exercise to find food and equipment that had been dropped at various grid references, shelter and fire building and of course the skinning and butchering of bunnies to make stew. There are some pretty gory videos of bunny heads being chopped off but I have spared you those! The Explorers woke to find themselves in igloos on Sunday morning as snow fell in the night. All the Explorers had a great time “Best camp ever” was quoted.
But some were not happy with just being cold once, and due to the problems with the Explorers being at many different schools, finding a date for the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Gold Practice Expedition was being problematic. So the group said “I know let’s do it in the February half term” oh yippee I thought! So we were off out in the snow again, although I have to confess to sleeping in a mobile homes this time. The 5 Gold level Explorers had a great expedition and walked 70kms in 3 days over the hilly terrain of Northern Luxembourg. Deep snow and slippy ground made the going tough but morale remained very high throughout. I am really looking forward to taking this group for their Assessed Expedition to Snowdonia in the summer.
We are off out in the snow again this coming weekend but just for the day when we will be working with the charity natur&emwelt clearing scrub-land. So no indoor sessions for us at all this month, it’s all about the fresh air.
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