Jun 13 2019

Rebecca’s Springbok Pioneering Project at Keurboom Park

On 1 June a team of scouts met early at the scout hall to prepare for the building of the Thriftwood Unilock Bridge, otherwise known as the Banana Bridge. We packed all the poles, ropes and general equipment, and set off to Keurboom Park to build the bridge.

There are three stages to this bridge: the pyramids, the assembly and the walkway.

We started off with the pyramids. Two pyramid shapes were built from two pairs of sheer legs each, tied together at the bases with 5m poles. These pyramids formed both the bases for the walkway on either side of the bridge, and the decorative overhead part of the bridge.

The assembly was definitely the most grueling part of the building. Two teams of scouts needed to lift each pyramid at an angle in order for them to lock into each other overhead, above the stream. This took a lot of manpower and time, as well as many nervous minutes where these huge structures were suspended in the air with no support except that provided by the scouts.

The lifting of the two pyramids had to be done twice! The first time, the distance across the river in between the two pyramid bases was too great, and the entire structure needed to be taken down to readjust this distance safely. A few lashings were retied to accommodate the width of the walkway, and the required distance was carefully mapped out before we tried again after our lunch-break.

The second time the lift was attempted, it was successful! After securing the pyramids with pegs and guy-lines, the final stage was ready to begin. The walkway had been built at the same time as the pyramids, and its width now fitted the width of the bridge overhead base.

With much lifting and maneuvering, we got the walkway in between the bases of the pyramids. The trapeze was secured and tightened in the center of the bridge, the guy-lines were tightened, the lashings were checked, the safety checks were completed, and the first hesitant guinea-pig crossed the river using the new bridge. It worked!

The bridge was a result of over 10 hours of hard work from all the scouts. Many scouts learned new pioneering skills over the course of the day, and learned a lot about the workings of a large pioneering build like this one.

The fundraising aspect of the event was equally successful – about R4000 was raised through the pancake selling, thanks to all the customers and donations.

Thanks to all that took part!

Related Images:

Discussing the raft Sunset over the raft Completing the floor

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/rebeccas-springbok-pioneering-project-at-keurboom-park/

May 22 2019

Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers

On the 1st of June 2019, a team of scouts is building a bridge in Keurboom Park. This will be a day of training and achievement, as the scouts learn to tie lashings to the standard that large projects demand.

The project to be constructed is the Thriftwood Unilock Bridge, more commonly known as the Banana Bridge. Its design is unique, made by locking two low pyramids together to create a dome over a walkway.

The team will be led by Rebecca for her Springbok Award.

Model of the Bridge

Although building bridges is a worthy cause for excitement, the day will have yet another aspect that presents an even bigger opportunity.

The bridge is being built in a public place for two reasons: first, in order to publicly advertise Scouting and give people an idea of what we can do.

The second reason is to fundraise for a Community Service Project that Rebecca is running, also for Springbok. She is raising funds for her project of upgrading an aftercare centre in Westbank. This will be done on a donations basis as well as through a stall selling pancakes and hot drinks to passers-by throughout the day. Everyone is welcome!

Related Images:

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Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/building-bridges-breaking-barriers/

May 22 2019

Springbok Pioneering with Natasha

On Saturday actually the 13th of April to be precise the troop took part in a construction project run be me. This must not be mistaken for the pioneering project that took place the next day on the Sunday.

We set out to build a mini tower and once we had taken out all the equipment that we needed we ”locked” the basement (it was more like that we weren’t allowed back into the equipment to fetch something that we had forgotten).

We started off and soon full behind with original program. This was due to a small bumps along the way such as lose lashings but these were ironed out and we raised the tower only an hour and a half behind the allocated time. We had time to muck about on the tower (not really but we still did) and it was structurally sound. As I have said before that we were running behind and we lowered the structure we had an hour and fifteen minutes to get everything down and packed away. To my surprise we had everything down with half an hour to spare. That was pretty cool. All in all this day spent making a tower out of poles and rope and then taking it down in the same day instead of doing our homework went really well. The scouts that didn’t know how to tie lashings learnt and the ones that did learnt how to tie tight lashings as we had plenty to go around.

To sum things up I would like to thank everybody who was involved with the construction in anyway. It was greatly appreciated.

Related Images:

Discussing the raft Sunset over the raft Completing the floor

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/springbok-pioneering-with-natasha/

Apr 22 2019

City Nature Challenge

Cape Town is joining the City Nature Challenge for 2019.  Volunteers  from  170  cities worldwide will be recording their animals and plants over 4 days from 26-29 April 2019.  You may hear more of this in the press, perhaps radio and from the City of Cape Town. 

Your reward: Fun, becoming a citizen scientist, putting Scouts SA on the map, contributing to a worldwide nature project, Tonkin Trophy points and an event badge which can be sewn on to a Scout’s uniform.  This is the badge:

Please see https://westerncape.scouts.org.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/Cape-Town-City-Nature-Challenge.pdf where much more information is provided along with extra links too.

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/city-nature-challenge/

Mar 20 2019

Smoke Signals – First Edition 2019

Since we first published Smoke Signals, far back in the somewhat misty history of 1st Claremont, it has always taken the form of a book. In the old days it was typed by hand and roneod.  Later it was created on personal computers and printed. Later still it was , created as a pdf and emailed or loaded to our website.

Now, we are looking at the next evolution of the venerable publication and we are moving it all onto our website. Our website is one of the most sophisticated scout websites in South Africa. Based on a WordPress platform, the current website was created some 7 years ago. Despite its apparent sophistication, not one line of code has been written. The entire website relies on WordPress and the use of plugins to create, what in scout terms, is an outstanding website.

The site currently has over 100 pages of static information, photo galleries and more occasional posts on events. Moving Smoke Signals to the website will bring greater traffic to our website and make it the focal point of information about the Group. Reports on events, appeals for help and general information will increasingly be placed on the site. As some information is confidential, some pages will require a login to access. Access to the confidential information is carefully controlled and only recognised individuals are granted access (scouts, parents, scouters, alumni).

So  take the time to browse through the very first entirely website based edition of Smoke Signals on the 1st Claremont website.

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2019e1-lightingthefire/

Mar 20 2019

Contents – Smoke Signals 2019: First Edition

Instead of a list of contents you can skim this post and click on the articles that interest you. A different way to find content that interests you.

Scouts

For an exciting overview of what Scouts get up to,  start off by watching what two senior scouts have to say about “A year at 1st Claremont  Scouts” here and here .

Ever wondered what sea scouts do? As a land scout troop we don’t often have people on sea scout courses. But we have in the troop a former sea scout who attends sea scout badge courses such as the Boatswains Badge Course.

The most demanding hike in the Western Cape. Two directions. Up… and Down…. Once every 3 years by invitation only!  Senior Scouts. By the time you are over 15 will you be experienced and fit enough for the Arangieskop Senior Scout Invitational Hike?

With cancellation of the Senior Scout Adventure at the end of 2018, what do you do? You pack your seniors off to hike the Outeniqua and Harkerville Trails on a Senior Scout Hike. And because at the same time as they are hiking, you are helping run an Annual Camp at Appleton (see the Camp Photos here), you send them on their own.

As a land scout troop, hiking is one of our core strengths and something that we take on as a troop. Recent hikes have included the recent Elandspad hike for the whole troop, and the Bats Patrol Hike to the De Villiers Dam.

Cubs

The Cub Pack has been busy as well:  learning about other cultures, making friends while learning about safety, first aid and BP Day, hiking up to Eagles Nest and camping at camping at Rondevlei, among other exciting things.

Every year Lord Baden-Powell’s birthday is commemorated by scouts around the world. This year Cape Town troops celebrated Founders Day at the Gilray Scout Camp, on the 24th February.

AGM

The Annual AGM was well attended: you can read the Scout Group Leader’s Address ,  The Scout Troop Report and The Cub Pack Report here. 

Reflections

2018 was a big year for the 1st Claremont Scout Troop:  what does 2019 hold for us? Read the Reflections here. 

Upcoming Events

Get a picture of what is coming up in the second term. Hint: It’s busy as always!

 

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2019e1-contents/

Mar 20 2019

Safety, first aid, snakes, BP Day, more fires and making friends

Some highlights from the first term: snakes, CPR, Liesbeek District campfire, B-P birthday cake, visit from the neighbourhood watch, and a sunset hike at Constantia Nek.

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Related Images:


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Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/smoke-signals-ss2019e1-safety-first-aid-bp-day-and-more-fires/

Mar 20 2019

Upcoming Scout Events

The year for scouts will be characterised by the number of scouts that hope to register and complete the highest award that a scout can earn – the Springbok Scout. After a long drought of Springbok Scouts, the troop now regularly produces Springbok Scouts. At the time of publishing, 3 scouts – Natasha, Rebecca and Matthew G have all registered for Springbok Scout and another two scouts are expected to register in the near future.

Springbok scouts run many events (camps, hikes, community service, major projects) and thus the calendar was not filled up with the usual activities. Space was left to accommodate the expected activities of the Springbok Scouts. To achieve Springbok requires the participation and help of every member of the troop – especially when we have so many scouts working at this level. We expect every member to participate fully in the activities of the troop – scouting does not happen on a Thursday night – it happens over weekends. Despite the size of the troop, participation on many events has been surprisingly poor and we would like to see this improve.

The term opens with an overnight hike on Table Mountain.  This hike is specifically aimed at the junior scouts, many of whom have not participated in a scout hike. As a troop we are the foremost hiking troop in the country and hiking is one of the greatest experiences that scouts can have.  To tackle the more advanced hikes, we must be confident of your hiking ability and this means that junior scouts must attend the day hikes and easier overnight hikes before they can be considered on the more exciting hikes like the Greyton-McGregor hike planned for later this year.

This is followed by a Springbok Pioneering project the next weekend while Leadership Development Course 1 (LDC1), a new course, takes place towards the end of April. LDC 1 is a required course under the new advancement system and it is essential that all scouts who were requested to register, do so immediately, if you have not done so already.

May starts off with a day hike in the Jonkershoek and is followed by the Upton Shield on the 5th May. We came 7th last year and are hoping to improve on this position this year. We will also be putting in as many teams as possible (maybe 7 teams of 4 scouts). As the Upton is a hiking competition for junior scouts, not only is hiking fitness important but so are scout skills.

Activities slow down in May as exams take hold but several scouts will be attending the Cooking badge course while there is a Work Party at the hall on the 25th May. Work Parties are essential maintenance, not only on the grounds and the hall but also on equipment. The contributions of parents and scouts to maintaining a safe and clean environment for scouting cannot be underestimated.

The term ends with a winter trip to the Cederberg. We will be stying in houses at Driehoek and doing day hikes out from this base. The Cederberg winter trip is an exciting and fun filled few days for scouts to get some experience of hikes and activities in one of the great wilderness areas of the country.

Although it is a long way to the end of the year, please note that there will be a 5 day annual camp at the end of the year. This is likely to be held at Rawsonville. Annual camps are great fun with a variety of experiences (last time we went to watch gliders launch, did a night walk, built an obstacle course, had a campfire and did advancement) and are essential in building experience, skills and getting advancement. Please consider this camp in your end of year plans. The dates are likely to be from the 16th to the 20th as we may not be able to book the campsite over the preferred weekend. It is important that scouts attend annual camps to get the full benefit of scouts.

Finally, as the calendar changes often, you should refer to the Google Calendar which contains the latest updated information on activities.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2019e1-upcoming/