One of the benefits of Scouting in the Isle of Man is our community and shared values within the Isle of Man’s Scouting community and that is best experienced at the annual Island Camp where Cubs and Scouts come together to try new experiences, learn camping skills and make new friends with other groups.
This year we were invited to Castletown to try out puzzle solving, applied science, sailing, kyaking, aqua biking, paddleboarding, axe throwing, bushcraft, archery, climbing and if we can squeeze in some mixing with other groups to play some football or cricket.
We were able to work towards some badges whilst having fun at camp, as shown in our Parent Portal – a special service provided so parents/carers are always informed and in control of how their Scout is doing.
Have a look through our photos if you’d like to see the fun we all had at camp.
As part of his Creative Badge, Patrol Leader Christopher Logan has written a short essay on what Scouting means for him. He has talked about Scouting Values and how he feels it will help in his future endeavours.
Christopher Logan
I have been doing Scouts for the past 5 years, as of early 2026, so it has been a huge part my life. ln my time Scouting, l have collected many badges, done many activities and met many people. I have made many memories, and I expect I still have a long run left in my Scouting journey. The many things I have learned will help me wherever I go in life and may potentially even help me to protect other people. The Scout values have helped shape me into who I am now and have helped me construct a moral compass, and I also expect they will shape me into whoever l will become in life.
In my opinion, the most significant Scout value to me has been integrity. Integrity will help me wherever I aim to go in life and help me in getting to there. Whether integrity is helping me stay out of trouble to helping me call it out whenever I see something that is wrong, integrity will aid me in those things.
Another Scout value that will be invaluable is cooperation. In whatever profession I end up taking, cooperation will be perhaps one of my most useful skills, as wit it I will be able to receive help a lot quicker, I will be able to give other people help as well, and will be overall pleasant to work with. This value will be especially helpful with the general profession I wish to pursue, engineering, specifically an engineering job at Lego.
Scouting has also taught me various skills, with possibly the most important being fire safety. With the various fire safety skills I have been taught in Scouts, some of them I never would have knew without Scouts, for example, I have learned about the vest ways to escape a house during a fire and how to protect as much of the house as I can. I may be able to help great quantities of people in a dangerous situation, if it is unfortunately needed. Also, with the information I have been given I will be able to pass it on to other people who have not been educated on the topic, helping even more people to stay safe, enabling them to help others and pass information onto even more people.
Scouts has also given me great encouragement to go outside and explore the world surrounding me, with fun activities that have really clicked with mem such as orienteering, launching bottle rockets and doing hikes. Not only have these activities been greatly interesting and fun, but they have also helped me stay healthy and take up new hobbies.
In my time at Scouts, I have managed to become a Patrol Leader, with my Patrol being Cobras. I have had fun managing members that have been in my Patrol and taking charge of my Patrol in the team activities we have done. In the past term of Scouts, we have earned the most points and part of the reward of winning was helping plan the next term of Scouting in which we have chosen various outdoors activities in preparation for the upcoming warmer weather that comes with summer.
In conclusion, Scouts has given me many memories, taught me many things and helped me make new friends, talk with new people and opened the door to new opportunities. I hope to continue Scouting by joining Explorers when I am old enough, possibly even becoming a leader for a whole Scout group one sat, and providing others with the same opportunities I was given.
In one of our planning meetings, where our winning Patrol were represented by their Patrol and Assistant Patrol Leaders. we heard of our Scouts’ desire to introduce Minecraft to our programme.
Alongside our programme, which was designed in part by our winning Patrol, we included Minecraft. Specifically, we explored some things we’d learnt IRL (that’s “in real life” if you’re a n00b 😉 ) for our Fire Safety badge.
We’ve had a number of challenges this term, including:
Building houses to a specific constraint (must have a bed, with restricted building materials, etc.)
Flammability of certain materials and how to slow down fire spread
Race to the finish in a virtual Parkour course
We’ve had lot of fun and we know our Scouts have enjoyed it, sharing their personal achievements with each other and sharing tips and tricks. It has been a great opportunity for Scouts to meet in a different context/world yet still work as a team to build or race.
Scouts IOM have a climbing club 1st Tuesday of every month at our climbing wall at MyC. All ages of Scouts welcome and will go towards Beavers and Cubs Challenge Award, and Scouts and Explorers Climbing Award, and personal Climbing Permits. Parents are welcome – leaders are also encouraged to join us to gain their own permits to assist in supervising their own Groups climbing. We have a 7 metre climb, with 4 ropes and a 12 metre abseil. We meet at 6.00 pm
Scouting has also taught me various skills, with possibly the most important being fire safety. With the various fire safety skills I have been taught in Scouts, some of them I never would have knew without Scouts, for example, I have learned about the vest ways to escape a house during a fire and how to protect as much of the house as I can. I may be able to help great quantities of people in a dangerous situation, if it is unfortunately needed. Also, with the information I have been given I will be able to pass it on to other people who have not been educated on the topic, helping even more people to stay safe, enabling them to help others and pass information onto even more people.
