Longcraig Update – February 2025

7 Feb 2025

Ian Harrower

Longcraig Scout Centre

Looking forward to 2025

Our online booking system goes live in just a few weeks. So, if you or your section or your Group has any plans for a water activity event – either at Longcraig or elsewhere – that is anything out of the ordinary for a regular activity booking – get in touch!

By planning early, we welcome any suggestions for events or activities that we can support or indeed even run for you. This could be a special anniversary, or just a group day out by the seaside messing about in boats.

How to get in touch? getinvolved@longcraig.info

Longcraig Net Zero Project

The solar panels have continued to generate energy for us every day through the winter – although at a much-reduced rate as the days are much shorter. During the very cold spell in January, the output fell even lower – we think this was due to frost build up on the exterior of the panels on the roof, so we need to watch out for that. But already, at the end of January, we are noticing the difference, and we are gaining enough energy to keep all the background things operating, and to provide a little bit of warmth when we have people in at the Centre. The next few months will see a rapid growth in the energy generated – if you’d like a quick tour of what we’ve achieved, please give us a call to arrange a visit. In just a few days from now, our total energy generation (since last July) will surpass 5 Megawatt Hours – that’s enough to charge up a small Electric Vehicle 100 times!

Protecting our beach

Although the daylight over the winter has been short, and we’ve had several spells of very cold frosty weather, we have kept on with improvements to our shore defences as time permitted over the past months. So far, this work has been successful and is much improved upon how it was at the end of the summer. We’ve been very fortunate that the sea that sometimes takes away our shoreline sometimes also helps us repair it, with large lumps of timber washed up during some of the winter storms. We are currently planning how best to prepare and locate the big one (10 metres x 40ccm x 40cm) which will be placed just in front of our buildings and give us much needed storm protection for many years to come.

As always, we can still make good use of:

– Heavy duty steel stakes (such as reinforcing bar)

– Heavy duty pegs or pins (larger than tent pegs but same idea)

– Topsoil

– Grass or turf

Please just get in touch if you think you can help with any of these ingredients used in the baking of a strong shore defence!

Training Opportunities

Here are details of some firmed training opportunities early in the spring this year:

Paddleboard training /Assessment Day has now been arranged, this will be held as two One Day sessions over the weekend of 8/9 March 2025. The Assessor team from Lochgoilhead will be leading this event to support our own activities. The aim is to either assess for a permit or provide a suitable plan to each person to get one.

Beyond that, we can offer courses in:

Dinghy sailing
Kayaking
Powerboating
Raft Building
Marine VHF Radio

Which can lead to national qualifications if you wish to gain one of those, and/or to a Scouts Activity Permit which then enables you to lead activities with your own groups of young people.

Many aspects of seamanship such as: weather and meteorology; Tides and Currents: Basic navigation skills; knots, lashings and ropework.

We can also provide course for Badges for Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Young leaders.

These can in some cases cover the entire syllabus of a particular badge, and in many cases can cover one or more elements of a wider scope badge.

There are many badge options relating to water activities – there’s even one for ‘helping out at activity centres’ which may be of interest!

We strongly recommend having a discussion with us about what you might like to cover, how we can support that, and how best we can plan it in for next year – or even the year after!

For information on, or to register an interest in, any of these courses please contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info

Volunteering?

Last year we welcomed a good number of new volunteers to help us operate the Centre and to help deliver the activities that young people want. As the demand for our activities grows and we constantly seek to expand what we can offer, we need more volunteers to help us implement our plans. We now have a super-duper warm up to date activity centre to welcome volunteers into!

We’re still happy to hear from any potential volunteers whether your interest is on the water or off the water supporting the Centre.

Just get in touch for a chat, or come along to one of our Volunteer Drop In Sessions at Longcraig:

Tuesday 25^th February at 7pm
Saturday 15^th March at 1pm

We’ll take care of the rest!

Do please let us know if you would like to come along to any of these sessions. getinvolved@longcraig.info

Put these Key Gang Show Dates in Your Diary

6 Feb 2025

Scott Walker

Gang Show Marketing Lead

The Edinburgh Gang Show 2025 will be held between Tuesday 4^th to Saturday 8^th November 2025 at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre

The audition dates for the Edinburgh Gang Show 2025 are as follows:

Main Gang Auditions – (Scouts, Guides, Explorer Scouts, Rangers, Network)

Sunday 27 April @ St Anne’s Parish Church, Kaimes Road, Edinburgh

Junior Gang Auditions – (Cub Scouts & Brownies)

Sunday 11 May @ Blackhall, St Columba’s, Columba Road, Edinburgh

Full details about auditions will be in following newsletters.

Curtain Falls on Gang Show 2024

30 Nov 2024

Scott Walker

Gang Show Marketing Lead

Last month returning to the Festival Theatre for the third time, over 250 young people from South East Scotland Scouts and Girlguiding Edinburgh presented the annual Edinburgh Gang Show.

Throughout the week over 5,500 people were entertained by the Gang with a show that was vibrant, energetic, funny and spectacular.

Guests included Lead Volunteers from Scouts and Girlguiding at local, Scottish and UK level including Lewis Dangerfield, UK Lead Volunteer for Programme, who later described his first visit to a Gang Show as his Scouting highlight of the year!

Group Bookers – Prize Draw

The winners are as follows;

73rd A Brownies: 1st Prize - £250 to use towards a booking at Bonaly Scout Centre or Longcraig Scout Centre.

108th Pentland Scouts: 2nd Prize - £150 to use towards activities at Bonaly Scout Centre.

103rd A Brownies: 3rd Prize - An hour, for a group of up to 5 people, at Longcraig Scout Centre power boating on the Forth. Instructor-led with the option for participants to drive.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who worked for many months to develop such a large-scale production for so many young people. A huge thank you to all the groups who came to see the show.

Details about the Edinburgh Gang Show 2025 will be announced in the early part of next year.

Longcraig Update – November 2024

30 Nov 2024

Ian Harrower

Longcraig Scout Centre

Looking forward to 2025

Our planning for 2025 is now under way.

So, to help avoid disappointment, if you or your section or your Group has any plans for a water activity event – either at Longcraig or elsewhere – that I anything out of the ordinary for a regular activity booking – get in touch!

Up to the end of this year, we welcome any suggestions for events or activities that we can support or indeed even run for you. This could be a special anniversary, Akela’s big birthday, a celebration of something special – or just a group day out by the seaside messing about in boats.

Does your Group or your District have an ASU team – we might be able to help with arranging an activity day for the ASU – we don’t always exclusively do things for young people.

No matter what your idea, get in touch and see if we can turn your idea into an event!

For example, although we are not yet able to routinely offer our activities to younger sections (Squirrels, Beavers) we can do so, and sometimes the best way to approach this is through a Group event which could incorporate some boating activity for Beavers within it.

How to get in touch? getinvolved@longcraig.info

New Compass benefits

Looking forward to the new Membership Database which is rolling out very shortly?

One of the things it can make easier for adult members is applying for an Activity Permit.

This is all done within the database online package – you simply click on the appropriate link, and it takes you through the process of making an application. Selecting an Activity Assessor will also be much more visible – suitable assessors will appear on your screen, and you just have to select one. Don’t pick the best looking one – all the assessors will assess people to the same standards and all assessments are now done in conjunction with another assessor – so there’s no Good ones nor Bad ones! The assessment process for Permits is not changing – it’s just the process flow that will be much more streamlined and available to all within the new system.

New Tractor

Our final acquisition of 2024 was a replacement tractor that we use for moving boats up and down the pier – especially our safety boats which we have to launch and recover every time we are running activities.

This new Solis tractor replaces our faithful orange Kubota, which we acquired (second hand) in 2009, and which is starting to show some signs of its age. The new tractor was picked from around 6 different options and was selected on the basis of Best Value for purchase cost, equipment and features, trade in value for the old tractor, and overall suitability. It’s already been waxed in the hidden parts underneath so we can minimise the damage caused by the salty water atmosphere that we encounter so close to the sea.

This tractor was funded by a generous grant from the Bells Nautical Trust and a further generous legacy from the Ken Thomson bequest fund, we are gratefully indebted to both funding sources.

Shoring up the shore defences

Over the past few weeks, we have been busy protecting ourselves and Longcraig from the potential of stormy seas which from time to time attempt to engulf the shoreline around our building. For many years now, we have successfully kept those storms at a safe distance, by installing and maintaining a defensive barrier along the boundary between the beach and the grass areas to the front of our building. These defences need some repairs from time to time, and this year we have carried out some areas of refurbishment.

These involve: large pieces of timber – we regularly find them washed up along the coastline and carefully retrieve the best of them.

Here’s a view of a section we’ve just repaired: (you can see how close to the waves it can get!)

Strong metal stakes to retain the timber in position – horizontally and vertically – so it doesn’t get washed out with the surge waves (this was why we were looking for things like old reinforcing bare earlier in the year:

Heavy thick soil to infill behind the timber

Turf or grassy vegetation to knit the soil together and spread a root system deep into the ground.

Strong netting attached to the outer faces of the timber, then over the grass and securely pegged down to limit erosion by the sea and to keep the grass in place until it establishes its root system.

Big thanks to everyone who has assisted with this over the past few weeks of settled autumn weather – just made it before the winter starts!

As always, we can still make good use of:

Heavy duty steel stakes (such as reinforcing bar)
Heavy duty pegs or pins (larger than tent pegs but same idea)
Topsoil
Grass or turf

Please just get in touch if you think you can help with any of these ingredients used in the baking of a strong shore defence!

Training Opportunities

Our training programme for 2024 has now completed, with the final course running last weekend – a Powerboat 2 course.

All the candidates on this course were members of the Longcraig ASU, their funding of the course fees was supported by the SHQ Development Fund for adult training which is available to all adult members undertaking relevant training courses. We are as always grateful to SHQ for supporting training activities like this throughout the year!

Here are the intrepid candidates last Sunday enjoying the Forth with just 4 degrees C around them!

Still in the diary in early 2025:

Paddleboard training /Assessment Day has now been arranged; this will be held as two One Day sessions over the weekend of 8/9 March 2025. The Assessor team from Lochgoilhead will be leading this event to support our own activities. The aim is to either assess for a permit or provide a suitable plan to each person to get one.

Beyond that, we can offer courses in:

Dinghy sailing

Kayaking

Powerboating

Raft Building

Marine VHF Radio

Which can lead to national qualifications if you wish to gain one of those, and/or to a Scouts Activity Permit which then enables you to lead activities with your own groups of young people.

Many aspects of seamanship such as: weather and meteorology; Tides and Currents: Basic navigation skills; knots, lashings and ropework.

We can also provide course for Badges for

Squirrels, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Young leaders.

These can in some cases cover the entire syllabus of a particular badge, and in many cases can cover one or more elements of a wider scope badge.

There are many options in badges relating to water activities – there’s even one for ‘helping out at activity centres’ which may be of interest!

We strongly recommend having a discussion with us about what you might like to cover, how we can support that, and how best we can plan it in for next year – or even the year after!

For information on, or to register an interest in, any of these courses please contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info

Volunteering?

As the demand for our activities grows and we constantly seek to expand what we can offer, we need more volunteers to help us implement our plans. We now have a super-duper warm up to date activity centre to welcome volunteers into!

We’re still happy to hear from any potential volunteers whether your interest is on the water or off the water supporting the Centre.

Just get in touch for a chat, or come along to one of our Volunteer Drop In Sessions

Saturday 14th December 1pm
Sunday 12th January 1pm

We’ll take care of the rest!

Do please let us know if you would like to come along to any of these sessions – getinvolved@longcraig.info

Do you have any parents in your Group who might be interested in this? Please do let them know!!

Longcraig Update – October 2024

21 Oct 2024

Ian Harrower

Longcraig Scout Centre

Looking forward to 2025

As 2024 draws to a close we appreciate that a small number of Groups were disappointed this year, due to having a few activity bookings cancelled as we did not have enough of the right kind of volunteers available on the day, or because the weather conditions were such that it was not safe to proceed.

Although our 2025 booking system doesn’t kick in until early next year, we’d like to give anyone affected by these disappointments the early bird first choice of an activity slot for next year ahead of time. If your Group falls into either of these categories please get in touch to discuss what options are available for you: please contact bookings@longcraig.info in the first instance and we’ll help you from there.

LONGCRAIG – NET ZERO – how it all works

Last month, we announced the fantastic news that the Net Zero project at Longcraig, installed earlier this year, had gone live and was producing enough electricity to enable the Centre to operate.

This month, as promised, we’ve got more detail about the systems we installed and how they all work. Read on!

Main objectives

The principal purpose of installing the renewables was twofold:

To present a ‘greener’ appearance to the Centre and how it operates
B) to reduce our annual bill for utilities (mainly electricity) following the exorbitant cost increases inflicted over the past couple of years.

This is how it all strings together –

Main power generation – Solar PV. The proposed panels were selected to combine a comfortable fit, without crowding, on the available roof space. Initial rough calculations estimated the roof could support around 16kW capacity, the supplier’s selected proposal settled at 15.84kW., based upon an installation of 36 panels each 440W. Generation capacity clearly follows both a daily predicted curve (assuming good sun conditions) and also seasonal variations which can be computed based upon location, roof angle, surrounding shade/shadow and other geographical factors.

Energy Storage:

Electrical energy – Batteries: we selected 4 x 5kWh batteries totalling 20kWh which closely emulates the 21kWh expected theoretical consumption. The batteries have a maximum linking capacity of 5, so we retained the option to fit one further one in the future.

Thermal energy – Hot water tank: power can be sent directly to the hot water exchange tank which contains around 300litres of water, which then transfers heat through coils to the domestic hot water outputs. Control of the energy applied to the tank is further enhanced by a Solar Boost unit which actively directs power when it is required or when there is surplus energy available.

Direct feed – the PV energy drives directly to any building consumption required during generation hours.

Heating – hot water:

As part of the facilities upgrade, the incoming water supply was separated as it entered the building. One pipe goes directly to the kitchen, the other serves the cold water tank and thence the toilets and hot water system.

The main hot water tank is described above, and supplies hot water on demand for showers, wash hand basins throughout the customer facilities.

A separate 30 litre hot water storage device was installed in the kitchen, adjacent to the sinks, which provides almost instant hot water on demand. Whilst not an integral part of the renewables project, this enhancement avoids the need for the kitchen taps to ‘waste’ hot water from the old tank location, amounting to some 30 metres of piping each time the tap is opened. Rough calculations indicate a saving of up to £350 a year based upon energy prices in 2022 through this element alone.

Space heating – customer facilities: This is provided by way of an Air to Air Heat Pump, one external pump unit providing heat to 5 separate outlets covering the two main changing rooms, two toilet and shower areas, and the staff facility. The pump unit can generate just under 11kW of heat output, and is powered by the PV generated electricity at a maximum rate of 2.8kW. (an efficiency factor of 3.92) Each of the 5 outlets can be independently controlled for: temperature; fan speed’ horizontal and vertical air flow direction. Heat up time from cold is around 10 – 15 minutes.

Space heating – other areas: Providing Heat Pump heating to the kitchen, workshop and two upstairs training rooms was not going to be possible without installing a complete second Heat Pump installation. Because of the much more sporadic nature of the heat demand of each of the four spaces, it was decided to adopt a much lower cost, but more fuel hungry when in use, installation of Infra Red Heat bars in each room. Once again, each is independently controllable for temperature, and they can be adjusted to optimise the heat output to the areas where people are most likely to benefit. These heaters are quick to heat up, only warm the people in the rooms, and don’t clutter the floors!

All of the heating is controllable by phone Apps, which can also set timers, over-rides, and instant adjustment through the WiFi within the Centre.

So, what’s the benefits?

Our shower areas and changing rooms are now warm! BUT, the warmth also helps dry them out, so they are much less damp and musty; the floors are easier to sweep out and when mopped they dry off in a short time.
There is plenty of hot water to service all our showers, and it doesn’t run out when the first 6 people have had their showers!
Better hot water supplies in our kitchen (for washing dishes!)
Controllable warmth in the two training/meeting rooms on the upper floor, replacing our very old oil filled radiators and an even olde portable gas heater.
We’ve yet to trial it fully, but we’ll have renewable power through the winter months which means we can provide heated spaces and hot water to support winter activities. More importantly, we hope that we will be able to keep the critical parts of the building free from frost so we don’t have to drain down the water.
Significantly reduced electricity bill especially during the summer months when there is longer daylight. Not quite Zero, but very close, and effectively Zero on most days unless it is really dull all day.

What did we have before?

In summary:

adequate power generation on the premises to fulfil our needs for hot water and for power to run the Centre.
Energy Storage so we can use the energy when we need it, not just when the sun is shining!
Much reduced overhead of electricity supplies, means more money available to support activities, training and operational needs.

None of this would have been possible without the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).

We cannot Thank them enough.

https://localenergy.scot/funding/

Training Opportunities

VHF Marine Radio Course (one day) Saturday 9^th

This one day course leads to the RYA Short Range VHF Certificate, which is a requirement to operate a Maine Band radio used for communications at sea. These can be used for anything from large yachts, to dinghies, kayaks, even paddleboards and are now seen as just as important a safety measure as buoyancy aids or helmets. The course will be run entirely indoors. It’s also encouraged for anyone working with boats, whether at Longcraig or elsewhere.

Powerboat Level 2 Course (one weekend) 16^th to 17th November

This can be a follow up to a Powerboat 1 Course or it can be done directly. It is a necessary pre-qualification for anyone seeking to do the Safety Boat course (see above)

Paddleboard training /Assessment Day has now been arranged, this will be held as two One Day sessions over the weekend of 8/9 March 2025. The Assessor team from Lochgoilhead will be leading this event to support our own activities. The aim is to either assess for a permit or provide a suitable plan to each person to get one.

For information on, or to register an interest in, any of these courses please contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info

Volunteering Opprtunities

As the demand for our activities grows and we constantly seek to expand what we are able to offer, we need more volunteers to help us implement our plans. We now have a super-duper warm up to date activity centre to welcome volunteers into!

Ther are two distinct types of volunteers that we can effectively make use of:

TYPE 1:

These volunteers are the people who make the centre operate. We have spaces for:

Skilled water activity people who could lead activities on the water;

Semi-skilled people who have some skills but we can help develop those to a level where they can lead activities;

People with some skills to lead our shore-based activities (for bad weather days or to expand the operations of the centre)

Volunteers who can help in a number of ways ‘behind the scenes’ – with e.g. finance, marketing, recruitment, maintenance, boat or building repairs

Please simply contact us at getinvolved@longcraig.info with your details.

We’ve set aside the following dates where we will hold an introduction session to welcome any potential new volunteers and explain further what wed o and how you can get involved:

Tuesday 12^th November 7pm

Saturday 14^th December 1pm

We’ll take care of the rest!

Do you have any parents in your Group who might be interested in this? Please do let them know!!

TYPE 2:

We can also offer a different type of volunteering, which is to provide an opportunity for groups of adults, scouts or explorers to come along during the ‘closed’ season and give us the benefit of your volunteering – this could be just for one event, or it could be – say – once a month for a period of time. This can count to a number of outcomes, such as DofE volunteering, various scout badges and awards, or simply to lend a hand for a few hours. Things you might get involved in could be checking of buoyancy aids, fixing boats, painting, and decorating some parts of the centre which were not impacted by the recent building improvements, beach protection work, or behind the scenes stuff like preparing our land activity kits.

If you’re interested, please get in touch to make arrangements or discuss further.

10 Days to go until Gang Show 2024

19 Oct 2024

Scott Walker

Gang Show Marketing Lead

10 Days to Go Until the Edinburgh Gang Show 2024!

The excitement is building, and the countdown is officially on! In just ten days, the curtain will rise on the Edinburgh Gang Show 2024, bringing a burst of energy, colour, and entertainment to the historic Festival Theatre. Since August, more than 250 young performers—Cubs, Brownies, Scouts, Guides, Explorer Scouts, and Rangers—have been hard at work, supported by a dedicated team of over 100 volunteers. Together, they’ve been perfecting every dance step, line, and song to ensure this year’s show is nothing short of spectacular.

A Momentous Milestone

Recently, the cast took part in a vibrant photocall, marking yet another important milestone on their journey to opening night. For many, it was a moment of pure joy and excitement, a chance to don their respective uniforms with pride and see just how far they’ve come as a cast. This year’s Gang Show is all about bringing people together, and the buzz of anticipation during the photocall was infectious. It’s clear that everyone—from the youngest Cub to the seasoned Explorer—is thrilled to be a part of this much-loved tradition.

Why should you come and See the Show

The Edinburgh Gang Show is more than just a performance; it’s a celebration of creativity, teamwork, and community spirit. Year after year, it brings together young people from across Edinburgh, showcasing their talent, hard work, and dedication. For many of them, this show is a highlight of the year—a chance to shine on stage, make new friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime. But don’t just take our word for it. Watch our video to hear directly from some of our talented cast members about why this show means so much to them.

An Urgent Appeal

We need your help! Due to a change in scheduling, our Thursday night performance is clashing with Halloween, which has affected ticket sales for that evening. It would be such a shame for our dedicated cast to perform to a smaller audience after all their hard work. If you can, please consider attending on Thursday night, or help us by spreading the word. Your support would mean the world to the young performers and volunteers who have poured their hearts into this show. Let’s make sure the theatre is filled with laughter, applause, and support on every single night.

Edinburgh Gang Show 2024 – Show Details

📅 Dates: Tuesday 29th October to Saturday 2nd November
🕖 Times: Evenings at 7:00 pm, plus a Saturday Matinee at 2:00 pm
📍 Location: Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
📞 Tickets: 0131 529 6000 (For group bookings of 8 or more, call 0131 529 6005)

BOOK ONLINE HERE

Get your tickets now and prepare to be dazzled by a show that promises to be a true celebration of Edinburgh’s young talent. Whether it’s your first Gang Show or a cherished tradition, we guarantee you’ll leave with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. See you there!

Our Gang Show Partners

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Longcraig Update – February 2025

Ian Harrower

Looking forward to 2025

Longcraig Net Zero Project

Protecting our beach

Training Opportunities

Volunteering?

Put these Key Gang Show Dates in Your Diary

Scott Walker

Curtain Falls on Gang Show 2024

Scott Walker

Group Bookers – Prize Draw

Longcraig Update – November 2024

Ian Harrower

Looking forward to 2025

New Compass benefits

New Tractor

Shoring up the shore defences

Training Opportunities

Longcraig Update – October 2024

Ian Harrower

Looking forward to 2025

LONGCRAIG – NET ZERO – how it all works

Training Opportunities

Volunteering Opprtunities

10 Days to go until Gang Show 2024

Scott Walker

10 Days to Go Until the Edinburgh Gang Show 2024!

A Momentous Milestone

Why should you come and See the Show

An Urgent Appeal

Edinburgh Gang Show 2024 – Show Details

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