Noosa Sea Scouts have gone to the head of the pack when it comes to earning the most prestigious award in the movement – the Queen’s Scout Badge.
Recently, five youth members, Jordan Bannister, Tom Pearce, Jennifer Allman, Adam Strong and Emily Griffin received their Queen’s Scout awards – by far the largest contingent in the state in recent months.
Having fun in the outdoors, coupled with learning how to be a good citizen through service, working in teams and developing leadership skills are at the heart of Scouting.
To get their award, the recipients enjoyed gaining competency in a wide array of outdoor activities. Water activities are a big part of being a Sea Scout and both Tom and Jordan earned national youth competency in both sailing and canoeing.
Tom and Adam are going on to get a motor boat licence to assist with safety boat duties. Not to be outdone Jennifer and Emily headed under the waves and obtained their PADI scuba diving certificate while Adam gained his competency in both canoeing and abseiling.
All have been to camps across Australia and some to New Zealand as part of their journey through Scouts. Jordan, for example, did her snowboarding training in New South Wales.
Scouting doesn’t just teach young people how to enjoy the outdoors, it also instils the knowledge of how to make it safe. All five recipients now hold a senior first aid certificate.
Increasingly, the discipline and commitment required to obtain your Queen’s Scout is being recognised by other organisations and in the workplace. Recently, Central Queensland University has announced they will give preferential consideration to Queen’s Scout recipients.
Noosa Sea Scouts is currently offering activities from Cub Scouts to Rover age groups. For more information, email Group Leader Brian Stockwell on Coogee100@gmail.com.
