Longcraig update May 2024

12 May 2024

Things to attend to in the Spring: A REMINDER

If your Group owns or regularly uses any sort of boats, this is a good time to check that the boats are seaworthy and carry, or have, all the necessary safety equipment and such like.

There are good FactSheets at Scouts.org which give a lot of useful information about this.

Additionally, even if you don’t have any boats, all lifejackets and buoyancy aids need to be checked and inspected on a regular basis, and Spring is a good time to do this – especially if they’ve been stuffed in a damp cupboard over the winter because they weren’t being used

Our experienced team at Longcraig are happy to assist with these checks and testing – please just get in touch and we’ll see what we can offer by way of advice or assistance.

2024 Activity Bookings very Buoyant (well they would be – it’s water activities after all!)

We’ve had a huge demand for water activities once again this year, and we know that several groups will have been disappointed to not be able to get their activity slot when they want. That’s often the case in May and June, but the great news is that the latter part of the year is relatively quiet (at the moment!) so if you have even a small group of young people seeking some water excitement, take a look at July, August and even into September. We can still offer taster sessions, badge training or assessments, or complete training courses for sailing certificates or paddling certificates.

Especially during the summer holiday months, Longcraig can sometimes be a good venue for a BBQ or a day out by the seaside, with all the things that entails. Check us out or get in touch to find out how we may be able to help you plan your event.

Planning a summer camp or activity weekend away this year? We may be able to support that with a team of instructors and equipment to bring you some water activities to your event (if there is some suitable water nearby!) But please do get in touch soon, as sometimes these opportunities take a little bit longer to arrange and plan.

Pier Repairs

We’ve now got some photos of the refurbished Pier at Longcraig, thanks to all the good work that the Council’s contractors did in April. We’ve been able to check these out at the most recent ‘spring tide’ (that’s when the tides are bigger than normal, so the low tide goes further out).

Here’s a photo to show the improvements at the end of the pier.

(Foot of Longcraig Pier at low tide – rebuilt, new concrete: more accessible!)

Our Journey to Net Zero

What is Net Zero?

The term net zero means achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere, and the carbon removed from it. This balance – or net zero – will happen when the amount of carbon we add to the atmosphere is no more than the amount removed. (source: Energy Saving Trust)

Latest update:

Near the end of April, our first contractor arrived at Longcraig to install the Heat Pump heating equipment which will provide us with heating in the toilets, showers and changing spaces. By operating from an Air-to-Air Heat Pump, this extracts warmth from the outside environment, and sends it to the various distribution units inside where the warmth is then circulated within these spaces. Although it takes some electricity to operate the equipment, it’s very efficient – for example, if we consume 1 kilowatt of energy the heating system will produce between 3 and 4 kilowatts of heating inside. And, ultimately, the energy needed to power the equipment will come from solar panels which will be getting fitted on the roof of the Centre.

(Heating unit inside one of the changing rooms)

Volunteering?

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.

There 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 several 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 do and how you can get involved:

• Tuesday 21^st May 7pm
• Wednesday 5^th June 7pm
• Saturday 6^th July 11am
• Monday 19^th August 7pm

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 Volunteering:

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 several 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.