Cubs and Scouts
ACTIVITIES FOR BEAVERS, CUBS AND SCOUTS
These activities are designed to provide some of the requirements for selected badges for beavers, cubs and scouts. They are led by appropriately qualified and experienced staff employed by the National Park Authority. If you can’t find anything suitable for your group here, please let us know as we may be able to develop activities to suit your group’s needs.
We always aim to provide the activities as described but group leaders should be aware that activities may be altered or cancelled at the Education Manager’s discretion if any potential problems or risks arise relating to group arrival and departure times, the capabilities of the group members and weather conditions on the day. If an activity has to be altered or cancelled, our staff will consult with you and provide an appropriate alternative.
Essential Information for Group Leaders
Locations where the activity can be provided:
MC The Moors National Park Centre
SB Sutton Bank National Park Centre
RHB Robin Hoods Bay
RB Runswick Bay
Beavers Outdoor Challenge Badge
This day achieves all the requirements for the Outdoor Challenge Badge. On completion of the day each Beaver will be presented with an individual certificate of merit.
Activity Day Outline:
Visiting the National Park: an interactive, indoor session exploring what the National Park is and why it is special. The activity finishes with an opportunity to learn more about wildlife by meeting some furry and feathered friends from our collection of stuffed animals and birds.
Preparing for a Visit: an interactive game choosing what clothing to wear and what equipment to pack in a rucksack for walk in the countryside.
Lunch: includes looking at a healthy packed lunch brought by one of your group members.
Treasure Hunt: Beavers explore the grounds of the Visitor Centre using a treasure map to locate hidden clues. They use the clues to work out the combination of a locked treasure chest and open it to discover their treasure!
Duration: 3 hours in total excluding lunch
Cost: ½ day rate per child
Location: MC, SB
Beavers Explore Badge
These fun and interactive visits achieve 2 out of 4 of the requirements for the Explore Badge. On completion of the visit each Beaver will be presented with an individual certificate of merit. Choose either a visit to the seashore or a visit to a woodland.
Seashore Visit: this takes place at either Runswick Bay or Robin Hoods Bay. Meet your National Park Activity Leader on the slipway and take part in a rock pooling activity. Learn how to identify and name some of the wildlife that lives on the seashore. Indoor facilities for lunch are not available.
Woodland Visit: Beavers explore Crow Wood at The Moors National Park Centre in Danby and use their senses to play a selection of games to discover the secrets of the woodland habitat.
Duration: an hour and a half
Cost: ¼ day rate per child
Location: Seashore RHB or RB, Woodland MC
Beavers Adventure Badge
This day achieves 2 out of 3 of the requirements for the Adventure Badge. On completion of the day each Beaver will be presented with an individual certificate of merit.
Activity Day Outline:
Treasure Hunt: Beavers explore the grounds of The Moors Centre to locate missing clues which reveal some of the wild residents of the North York Moors and point the way to hidden treasure!
Adventure Walk: A 2.5 km guided walk through some of the habitats of the National Park. Cubs follow a simple map and explore the landscape through games and activities.
Duration: 3 hours excluding lunch
Cost: ½ day rate per child
Location: MC
Cubs Naturalist Badge
This day achieves all the requirements for the Naturalist Badge. On completion of the day each cub will be presented with a certificate of merit.
Activity Day Outline:
Stream Survey: Take a short walk to the Clitherbeck, a small tributary of the River Esk. Use pond nets to capture freshwater invertebrates and use keys to identify them.
Grassland Meadow Survey: Learn how to identify six species of wild grasses and flowers in the field in front of the visitor centre.
Woodland Adventure: Explore Crow Wood and identify six different trees from their leaves and shapes, make a bark rubbing.
Duration: 3½ hours excluding lunch
Cost: ¾ day rate per child
Location: MC
Cubs Map Reader Badge
This day completes all of the requirements for the Map Reader Badge. On completion of the day each cub will be presented with a certificate of merit.
Activity Day Outline:
Birds Eye View: This activity introduces cubs to map work. The cubs will be guided through a series of interactive exercises learning how to identify features on ordnance survey maps using symbols, keys and contours, how to work out 6 figure grid references and how to find north on a map and set the map to north.
Cunning Compass Navigator: During this outdoor session cubs will learn how a compass works and how to set a bearing and walk on it. They will then tackle our cunning compass navigator course in pairs.
Moorland Walk: Using skills learnt from the above activities, the cubs will be guided on a moorland walk. Each cub will have an ordnance survey map and compass to use along the route.
Duration: approximately 4 hours, excluding lunch
Cost: ¾ day rate per child
Location: MC
Scouts Naturalist Badge
This day achieves two requirements for the Naturalist Badge and contributes to the remaining ones. On completion of the day each scout will be presented with a certificate of merit.
Activity Outline:
The activity can be carried out in any one of the habitats listed below. Please select on booking. Each activity includes discussion about how human activities and management can affect the habitat and its wildlife.
Woodland: Scouts explore an area of mixed woodland at The Moors Centre through a selection of activities. They identify the main tree species within the woodland, use quadrats and keys to identify the ground flora and record these on recording sheets. They will also use pooters, nets and pitfall traps to collect, identify and record the invertebrates found in the trees, bushes and leaf litter and use binoculars and keys to record the birds visiting our bird feeding station.
Duration: Up to 3 hours
Cost: ½ day rate per person
Location: MC
Moorland: Scouts learn about the internationally important moorland habitat. The first activity is an indoor, interactive presentation which explains what moorland is, why it is special and how it is cared for. The presentation finishes with an opportunity to learn more about the wildlife of the moors by meeting some of our stuffed animals and birds together with sound effects. The second activity is a 4.5 km circular walk from the centre to explore the moorland habitat at first hand.
Duration: Up to 3 hours
Cost: ½ day rate per person
Location: MC
Stream: An exploration of the Clitherbeck which is a small tributary of the River Esk. Scouts use pond nets to capture freshwater invertebrates and identify them using keys. The group will also learn to identify the plants and trees along the stream banks.
Duration: Up to 3 hours
Cost: ½ day rate per person
Location: MC
Seashore: An exploration of the seashore habitat and life in rock pools. Scouts learn how to identify and record the wildlife that they find and how each species is adapted to surviving in this dynamic environment.
Duration: 1 ½ hours
Cost: ¼ day rate per person
Location: RHB, RB
Scouts Hill Walker Badge
This day achieves 4 of the requirements for the Scouts Hill Walker Badge. On completion of the day each scout will be presented with a certificate of merit.
Activity Day Outline
Preparing for a hike: Scouts work in teams to work out what should be worn and carried during a day’s hike and how to call for help in an emergency.
Cunning Compass Navigator: Following an introduction to using a compass, scouts tackle the Cunning Compass Course in the centre’s grounds.
Bird’s Eye View: an introduction to map work. Scouts are guided through a series of exercises to identify features on maps, use symbols, keys and grid references, work out distance, direction, height and identify land use. These skills will then be used to complete a route card for the afternoon’s moorland walk.
Moorland Walk: Following completion of the route card, scouts take it in turns to lead a circular walk up to the moorland using the map and compass bearings. Throughout the walk our Activity Leader will discuss the conservation of the National Park landscape and its 1,400km of public rights of way.
Duration: 4½ hours.
Cost: ¾ day rate per person
Location: MC
