Horsham Scouts celebrated the end of term and the beginning of the school holidays with a fun night of games and food at the Baillie Street Clubrooms on Thursday, September 15. Combined with the celebrations were awards for excellence in pursuits they had undertaken during recent weeks.
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It was a very special night for 8-year-old Leyton Hay, who received his Joey Scout Peak Award. Leyton was the first Joey Scout in the region to receive the new award.
The Joey Scout Peak Award is the equivalent of a Scout receiving the Queen's Scout Award or a River receiving the Baden Powell Award.
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Leyton emerged from a Joey Scout to a Cub Scout after the presentation.
Leyton worked hard to achieve his award during the past two years to complete six special assignments, which he had to plan and execute.
For his environment project, he decided to plant trees, which involved contacting Horsham Rural City Council, and making arrangements with Landcare to arrange planting the trees. He produced and edited a video of the tree planting day for innovation and technology.
In the literary field, he kept a diary of a family holiday, and for his second activity, he designed, sculptured, and painted a clay Pokemon.
Leyton isn't interested in some of the regular sports but is keen on activities so he enrolled with Risky Kids and the YMCA and continued to attend after he completed his project.
He took on a swimming challenge in February with the Starlight Foundation with the aim to swim two kilometres and raise $300 over the month-long challenge. He excelled in this challenge. He raised $1000 and swam 7.4 kilometers.
Leyton planned a three-hour journey to mark one of his milestones. He chose a three-hour bike ride through Horsham Parks. Part of the planning process included visiting the Horsham Visitor Information Centre for a map and planning the 10-kilometre route. He had a backup plan in case the weir was overflowing on the day when it came time to cross the Wimmera River.
He met his fellow scouts at the Nature Play Park for a barbecue and then rode to May Park to complete the project,
He produced a video and reflected on his strategy and what he would do differently if he did it again.
An important part of scouting is to learn to plan and execute the project but to also recognise and prepare for change,
The Horsham Scout Group has five groups: Joey, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, and Rovers.
"We have 24 members in our under 18 years old and eight in the Rovers in the 18-26 age group," Group Leader David Timms said.
Fellow scouts were presented with badges for individual achievements.
Scouts Australia provides young people aged 5 to 25 with fun and challenging opportunities to grow through adventure.
With around 70,000 members, Scouts Australia is one of the largest youth development organisations in Australia with a diverse range of activities that develop skills in young people such as leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication from the age of 5 years old.
Scouts can take part in a variety of outdoor activities, from traditional Scouting skills such as camping and bushcraft, to more extreme challenges such as abseiling, overnight hiking, rafting, canoeing, canyoning, snow activities, rock climbing, sailing, and even flying!
The Scouts Australia Program also incorporates contemporary issues such as youth health, 'responsible risk-taking,' vocational skills, and issues pertinent to Indigenous Australians and an Award Scheme that encourages participation in the full range of activities available and provides recognition of individual achievement.
Scouts Australia is accredited by the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM), with over 40 million members in 169 National Scout Organisations worldwide.
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