Best organisation to join for Bushcraft experience?

[Grendel]

Ok as a few with gather from my previous posts I’m new to the whole bushcraft lark and it’s been 20+ years since I was a cadet on Salisbury plain. But I’m looking at learning a bit of bushcraft by volunteering as a leader in a youth organisation since it seems the logical answer to gain field craft experience while also assisting others.

I used to be an adult instructor/volunteer with my local Air cadets but left due to politics and not being in the right gang of instructors to be allowed to do anything.

So the question is which would be the best organisation to volunteer for bushcraft experience?

Army cadets

Or

Scouts (If so which sort?)

 

[Fizzlebang]

I am an explorer scout leader and find plenty of oppurtunity to find out and practice all types of new things. Scouting in general would be ideal but i decded on a slightly older age group.

 

[Grendel]

Well I’m more used to the 13-18 age groups from teaching Air cadets. Are Explorer scouts what used to be called venture scouts a few years back?

 

[Fizzlebang]

yes but a few years back they changed all the ages. Scouts are upto 14 and a half...explorers go upto 18 then you have Scout network which i think goes to 25

 

[tim_n]

Grendel

I would say scouts, mainly because I'm biast, but also because generally everything is a bit more laid back. However if you're thinking of joining a group I would visit a few, don't just be influenced by the one.

There are two groups in my local area who do bushcraft, I am one, the other is at the far end of the district. Many of my kids are walkins from word of mouth and have never had anything to do with scouts or have fallen out with other groups because they're not the indoors sort.

My group plays with big pioneering poles, knives, fires etc all on a weekly basis. A group near to me won't allow their kids to have knives even on a survival competition.

My point is, for every kid there is a troop, but it's probably not the first one they visit or necessarily the one where their mates are and for every leader the same applies.

Similarly you can always take over an exisiting failing group (there's always one per district) and switch it to the way you want to run things.

Beavers 6-8
Cubs 8-10
Scout 10-14
Explorers 14-18
Network 18-25
Active Support 18+

You can belong to both network and active support at 18, however network finishes at 25. Leaders can be 18+, young leaders 14+. A young leader has to be part of an explorer group, but there are young leader explorer groups which rarely meet and are there to manage the capitation we have to pay and provide training.

 

[Grendel]

Had similar problem when teaching the Air Cadets since they where not being allowed to do proper field craft or use real rifles on exercise or knives yet the Army Cadets where but Hampshire had no vacancies for instructors at the time.

Must admit I’m probably looking for a well established group with a few instructors so I can learn the rope slowly since I should think the training and discipline is somewhat different from Cadets also being 35 I would rather not be the oldest person at the group.

Edit: just got the number for the local scout area leader so will give him a call tonight. Although most of the explorer Scouts around Southampton seem to be more water based?

 

[Grendel]

UPDATE:
Well contacted my local Scout group and the area organiser said they would gladly accept me as an assistant instructor of an Explorer Scout Unit with all my past experience and he would pass my info onto the leader of my local group. So a week passes and I hear nothing so I phone him up again for him to say he will remind the Units leader to call me. That was beginning on April and still no word from them.

So I presume there leader wasn’t keen on an assistant instructor but it would of been nice if they had the courtesy to let me know.

 

[stovie]

UPDATE:

So I presume there leader wasn’t keen on an assistant instructor but it would of been nice if they had the courtesy to let me know.

That's a shame, most groups would bite your hand off...I'm lucky with the guys that help me with our scout group; all of a similar mind (immature, some would say)

Me making sure one of the new guys gets it right....

 

[Fizzy]

Yeah, he looks a bit of a novice city camper to me

 

[mark wood]

I'd also echo the Scouts recommendation. Pretty much all Bushcraft and pioneering for my Scouts this term We too would bite any volunteers hand off!

 

[Man of Tanith]

you have to be prepared to chase them a little i thnk mate
i spent best part of a year trying to nail the bloke organising the start up of scout network in my area
eventually i got sick of it and told him to jog on and spotted the local scout troop doing a charity event went over and had a chat and lo and behold i am now training to be the leader of the scout troop.lucky for me the assistant is well up for outdoors stuff and there is a new gsl who is otrack with my line of thinking