Learn essential emergency and survival skills for Scouts and outdoor adventures, including first aid, signalling, getting lost, shelters, emergency planning and calling for help.
A bivvy bag and an emergency blanket are both useful pieces of outdoor equipment, but they have different important jobs. A bivvy bag is designed to go around you and your sleeping system, while an emergency blanket is much more flexible and can be used…
A debris shelter is a simple woodland shelter made mainly from natural materials such as branches, leaves, moss and other fallen vegetation. It is one of the more interesting shelter-building skills to practise because the materials are all around you, but making a shelter that…
Outdoor skills can seem like a huge subject when you first start learning. There are maps and compasses, fires, shelters, knots, navigation, cooking, first aid, weather, water and plenty more besides. You don’t need to learn everything at once. In fact, trying to do so…
Before heading out for a walk, hike or other outdoor trip, it is worth making sure someone knows where you are going. It doesn’t need to be a complicated itinerary. A few clear details can make a big difference if your plans change, you are…
A lot of outdoor problems start out as small inconveniences. You take the wrong turn, the weather changes, something breaks or the route takes longer than expected. The problem is often not the original mistake, but what happens next. Staying calm gives you a much…
A short hike does not require a huge backpack full of specialist equipment. But “short” does not necessarily mean “risk-free”. A two-hour walk can still involve rain, cold weather, muddy ground, navigation problems, a twisted ankle or simply taking longer than expected. The right things…
You have planned your route, checked the weather, packed your bag and set off for a good day’s walking. Then you reach a footpath and discover that you cannot continue. It might be a fallen tree, flooding, a damaged bridge, a locked gate, a landslip,…
Knowing some basic first aid can make a big difference when someone is injured or becomes ill outdoors. However, knowing what not to do is just as important. In an emergency, people can panic, rush in without thinking or try something they have seen in…
Knowing how to retrace your route is an important outdoor skill. You might need to do it if you take the wrong path while hiking, miss a turning while scouting, or become unsure about where you are in the countryside. Retracing your route means going…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 1-3 hours depending on activitiesLocation: Suitable woodland, campsite or outdoor training areaBest for: Scout leaders, Explorers and outdoor instructorsSkills: Survival skills, leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, navigation, shelter building, fire safety and outdoor awareness The best survival activities for Scout leaders are simple,…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 45–90 minutesLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts, Explorers and outdoor enthusiastsSkills: Communication, signalling, teamwork, observation, Morse code, semaphore, message handling Communication has always been an important part of Scouting. Before mobile phones and digital radios, Scouts had to…
Activity Overview Difficulty: BeginnerTime: 45–60 minutesLocation: Suitable indoor or outdoor training areaBest for: Scouts, Explorers and outdoor enthusiastsSkills: Communication, signalling, observation, Morse code, semaphore, teamwork, concentration Before mobile phones, digital radios and satellite communications, people had to find other ways of sending information over distance….
