Explorers and DofE
We are now in peak expedition training season, and Explorers and Leaders from across the Region have been very busy.
SEEE has run two training days at Bonaly involving 115 Explorers doing Silver and Gold. The first weekend had sub-zero temperatures overnight, the second had torrential rain on the Saturday evening and night, but the good news is that camping skills were of a high level, and there were no complaints.
It appears that camping is still something that Explorers are quite comfortable with, which is by no means always the case with DofE candidates from outside Scouting. The main focus was on developing navigation skills, mainly on a hike designed for this purpose, which was only possible because 26 different adult leaders volunteered their time; some of them enjoyed it so much they came on both weekends.
Bronze level training is under way with at least three major training programmes run by Districts.
As we finalise the allocation of leaders to the expeditions planned for May/June (Practices) and August/September (Qualifiers), we would encourage anyone who can offer to help support them to use our form to check dates and let us know when they could be available – even for one day. Hill permits are not necessary, as the Leaders in Charge will have these, though additional leaders with permits are very welcome.
We would also like to thank the Unit leaders and others who helped by ensuring that their Explorers turned up with the correct kit, as this is an essential part of the process.
John Buchanan and David Newton for SEEE
