News from Gilwell Reunion 2025
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It’s been another action packed day at Gilwell Reunion 2025. Starting with collecting the ashes from last night’s campfire, there were more activities and discussions before it was time to bid farewell for another year. Here’s our roundup of what’s been going on around the site.
The 99th Gilwell Reunion drew to a close today as everyone gathered at the stage, in sight of the Gilwell Oak for the Closing Reflections and the 1st Gilwell Park AGM.
The UK Youth Team welcomed everyone to the reflection with shout outs and a good warm up to find out what everyone had done over this weekend. Did you attend a workshop? Make a new friend? Was this your first Reunion? Will you be back?
Led by Rob, the team reflected on what has made them happy this year. One of the biggest achivements for the team has been the Youth Forum which was held in several different locations across the UK earlier this year, allowing almost 1000 young people to feedback what they want Scouting to look like in 10 years time. “It’s amazing what our young people can achieve when they feel supported. They have no shortage of ambition and positive dreams. Scouting makes this happens, so Thank you for all that you do to encourage those dreams and ambitions”.
One thing that was clear from the team is that Scouting makes them happy. When challenged to talk to others around them, the crowd filled the air with a babble of things in Scouting that makes them happy. So the challenge to us all is to take our experience this weekend home to our young people and our other local volunteers and ask them “What makes you happy?”
Carl Hankinson, Uk Lead Volunteer, was then invited to share his reflections of the weekend and to up date everyone on everything Gilwell Park as part of the 1st Gilwell Park AGM. In the next year we will see some updates and changes to our beloved home of Scouting. From more capacity in the tented village, to kitchen cabins and even an upgrade and redevelopment of the Campfire Circle ahead of the 100th Gilwell Reunion next year. Visitors will also experience a new welcome centre complete with heritage space too. The hope is that these new facilities will not only encourage more users but enhance the experience of those who already enjoy Gilwell Park.
Of course plans are afoot to make 2026, 100th Gilwell Reunion even bigger and better. With a call for more groups to attend and provide actitvities for those attending to take part in. So if you know an Programme Team, like BushScout, who could provide skills and activities for the weekend, Lewis is on the look out for suggestions!
“Naturally the weekend doesn’t happen without the sum of its parts. A huge thank you to the 600 volunteers who have made this weekend happen, from stall holders and workshops, activties and of course Scout Adventures Staff.”
“Hopefully this weekend has been joyful, restorative, and you have gone home inspired for the year ahead. As you head home, take the Scouting Spirit with you”
As Scouts we are considerate about the environment, doing what we can to live more sustainably. You will have noticed the reusable cups we have been using, but did you know that Gilwell Park has its own solar farm consisting of over 200 solar panels?
Over the weekend of Reunion Scout Adventures have used no diesel powered generators, instead making use of renewable energy. At one point the solar panels were sending power to the stage, the programme zone, external providers, the AGM and still had enough left to export to the National Grid!
Looking to the next 12 months, the plan is to offset all power to both Gilwell Park and Youlbury from the Gilwell Park solar farm, creating a greener future for UK Scouting.
Life changing Scouting happens every week in village halls, churches, fields and communities, but the chance to go on an international Scouting trip will leave you with lasting memories, skills for life, friends and contacts all over the world and give you experiences you couldn’t have dreamed of in a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
In the next month applications open for you to be part of a couple of UK Scouting international opportunities; we are traveling to Poland for the 26th World Scout Jamboree and Madagascar for an expedition based around community support. These international experiences are both in the summer of 2027, but now is the time to get your application in to be involved.
Madagascar is home to rainforests, coastlines and scrublands with hugely diverse wildlife (which sadly doesn’t include penguins). The expedition will see participants spending three weeks working with local communities to develop facilities such as orphanages and schools. There is a chance to work with local scout groups with this project and help develop local scouting by improving facilities such as campsites and Scout centres. Environmental work is also part of this trip and on this years trip participants assisted with the Re-forestation of over 14040 trees alongside exploring the Rainforest.
The deadline for applications to be part of this trip close on the 4th October for Leaders (25+) and 18th October for Participants (18-24). There will be a number of preparation weekends which will help attendees learn about the culture of Madagascar, give you chance to do a UK community project (which this year was working with the Canal and River Trust) and also give you chance to learn some important travel skills to prepare you for this adventure. This opportunity can also be used as one of the ICVs to assist in gaining your Top Awards too!
Once every four years, the pinnacle event in Scouting occurs and now is the chance to apply to be a member of either the Contingent Support Team (CST) or International Support Team (IST) in Poland as part of the UK Contingent at the 26th World Scout Jamboree. Helping make the Jamboree an unforgettable experience for the 14-18 aged participants takes an army of volunteers, from cleaning the toilets, to running activities, to shepherding people on to trains and planes, Our CST take on the key elements of logistics and supporting units pre-event and building the jamboree journey for the whole contingent both before they go and during the event and the IST volunteer during the event from helping to put up marquees to dishing out dinner. The chance to join with over 100 other National Scouting Organisations every four years in one place is truly something incredible to be part of and Poland will provide a perfect backdrop to this adventure with its lakes and mountains.
The deadline for both CST and IST applications is the 26th September, with a CST selection day happening on the 25th October and regional IST selection days happening throughout October November.
Links to the application forms are here:
Madagascar Expedition:
26th Worlds Scout Jamboree CST:
26th World Scout Jamboree IST:
Did you know that there is an award for Network members that literally leaves the world a better place than you found it? The Scouts of the World Award is open to young people aged 18-25 and is the only Network only award.
The award journey sees participants start with an award Discovery weekend, identify an issue related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals which they can relate to and undertake a project of a minimum of 80 hours which will have a sustained impact beyond their involvement.
Speaking with the UK SOWA Lead Volunteer, Chris Worthington his enthusiasm for the award is clear. “The award encourages young people to be involved in their community and challenge what others might think can’t be changed. All the time improving the environment and helping the wider commitment to the UNSDGs.”
We’ve got some really exciting opportunities coming up, including a Discovery Weekend here at Gilwell Park, the Awards 20th Anniversary next year, which we are looking for ways to celebrate and we’re launching our first nationally run SOWA expedition to Ghana next summer”.
The team are particularly excited about the Ghana Expedition. “We’re hoping by organising the trip more people will hear about the award and its possibilities. We are also really excited to be offering the projects in a new way and making them available to more young people as it will be more group than individual based, working directly with the community in Ghana.”
If you’re interested in SOWA and the expedition applications to join the team are open until 22nd of September. They are looking for 3 leaders and 20 young people to join the trip and engage in projects to benefit the lives, community and environment of a remote area of Ghana.
If you want to find out more about the Ghana SOWA expedition, check out: Ghana Scouts of the World Award expedition
If you want to find out more about SOWA check out: Scouts of the World Award
World Scout Jamboree isn’t the only World Scout event hosted every four years – World Scout Moot gives a jamboree-like experience for the Network age range (18-25) with over 5000 attending from across the world, supported by over 1500 members of IST.
This year Moot went to Portugal – starting on the outskirts of Lisbon, the participants split up into 118 different paths across the whole country – with some travelling as far as Madeira – spending time exploring Portuguese culture and making new friends. As for the IST, some went with the paths to support them, while others continued to Cortegaça, a small village south of Porto (the Moot tripled its population while they were there!)
For the participants and IST, it was the adventure of a lifetime. Making lifelong friends from across the world (otherwise known as finding free accommodation for your next holiday) and diving straight into an amazing cultural experience, the contingent team were delighted to see them engage with the Moot so well.
The fun doesn’t stop here for the UK Contingent team though. They’ll be spending the next few months reviewing what went right (and what went left wrong) and passing that along to those going to Poland and Taiwan.
As for Matt, he hasn’t decided where his next adventure will be, but for now he’ll be working with the Cubs team here at Gilwell.
But of course, it wouldn’t be a Moot reunion without the Moot Song. It’s irritatingly catchy!
Gathering around the campfire is a highlight of many a camp, and as the fire took hold you could feel the excitement build as people came together from across the site. After the classic call of “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy” from our hosts Alan and Lorna we were soon singing away and trying to remember if we were supposed to be standing or sitting for our “Bonnie over the ocean”.
The aptness of Singin’ in the rain wasn’t lost as we refrained in the inclement weather of the evening, before learning what the Quartermaster has in his store.
Lord David Baden-Powell spoke of his tradition of spreading and collecting ashes from the campfire at camps around the world, as some of you may remember from last year. After asking Gill Clay to help him spread the ashes, others shared the tradition by adding their own ashes to the fire as Lord Baden Powell said “In the morning, take away some ashes (if it’s hot, don’t do it!) and take away memories of your time here.”
As the night drew in, Julian was invited to come forward after being nominated by a friend for his birthday. After leading the group in “The Pizza Man” song, they then responded by singing Happy Birthday in a truly magical moment.
You can relive the experience by watching back the live stream.
With Bucks Fizz being the tipple of choice and Sean Conway leaving us with stories of his unplanned excursions, questions such as “What are your top tips for recovery” and “What’s next for you” (with one of the clues being something about a Shaun of the Dead movie) were asked.
We then handed over to some of the UK team (CJ, Rob, Craig and Karl) to answer some of the more serious questions from the “floor”
From “What were your highlights of the year” to “How are you supporting youth leads”, the overall message was clear. Behind the scenes, everyone is working hard to develop Scouting to help give our young people the best experience we can as they progress from being the tiniest Squirrel, through all 6 sections and emerge as an adult volunteer, who will then receive a whole wealth of support in whatever role they choose to undertake.
The panel told us their Scouting highlights from the year, which included some big public appearances out and about, from VE Day celebrations, to “grilling the Prime Minister”. Windsor had many a proud parent watching as participants received an award (including proud dad Craig Turpie), and milestones were celebrated such as the 50th Anniversary of the National Scout and Guide Orchestra.
The Youth team are working hard to bring young peoples’ voices to the forefront of decisions and help spark change, from getting opinions at the UK Youth Forum, to handing over the reigns as roles finish and see where the next generation of youth leads take our movement. They are also supporting those in the youth lead roles by running training opportunities such as an upcoming development weekend at the end of September.
Of course, the new system got a mention and we were assured that issues are gradually being fixed and continuous improvements are being made. There was also talk of a big update coming which may well arrive not long after we’ve all made it home and showered after this mostly gloriously sunny weekend!
Strategy was discussed, and as #skillsforlife draws to the end of its tenure, we were asked “What would Scouting look like in 9 years?” There was a record breaking 30,000 responses to this survey which have helped shape the new strategy ready for its launch in 2026.
Welcoming more people into Scouting is something we do on a daily basis, in every corner of the nation, and whilst we are proud of what we have done so far, there is still more to do, especially with regards to our Black and Ethnic community, and bringing more young people and volunteers into our movement from all walks of life is something we really want to improve.
The programme is constantly being reviewed and with £3.5 million from Omaze, along with support from the Uniformed Youth Fund, we are reviewing all the Beaver and Cub badges and opening more units in deprived areas. There are also over 90 Explorer units taking part in a pilot for the new Explorer provision and continuous work is being done on how the Top Awards are mapped out between the Explorer and Network sections in the 18+ review.
Whilst that all may seem very heavy, there is so much for us to look forward to over the next year with some big milestones on the horizon such as the 100th Gilwell Reunion, the 20th Anniversary of the Muslim Scout Fellowship and plenty of other events as well as our new strategy launch and seeing more young people take the lead.
We were left with the words, “Focus on the knitting, what the young people need, and what the volunteers enjoy and hopefully Scouting will feel easier and more joyful” and if that doesn’t leave you feeling inspired and incredibly proud to be part of this movement, I don’t know what will!
It’s not every day that you get to invest a new member to your Scout Group, but it’s even rarer to invest someone into the 1st Gilwell Park Scout Group, with membership reserved to adult members who have completed their Wood Badge.
Today we met under The Gilwell Oak for a very special investiture: David Baden-Powell, 5th Baron Baden-Powell (great-grandson of Sir Robert Baden-Powell) who was invested to the group by members of his family: Gill and Robin Clay and Annarella Prime, who started the proceedings with:
“Normally I would say a spiel of ‘are you ready to join’ and all that, but I think we all know he is!”
Historically, the wood beads that are awarded were made from the branches of The Gilwell Oak – a practice that the tree clearly wanted us to resume, given it dropped two branches on us throughout the presentation! In David’s case however, he was presented with his dad’s wood beads in his honour.
“If Dad was here… He’d be absolutely stoked. I love it here – it truly feels at home. Thank you all for coming and I look forward to having a beer with you all tonight!”
It was at this point that the group burst out into song, for it is traditional (apparently) to sing Back to Gilwell – also known as The Wood Badge Song – when investing someone into the 1st Gilwell Park Scout Group. (Although they could have just wanted to get some practice in before campfire…)
As for what Dave’s doing next? More of the same – volunteering with his Venturers (Explorers) back in Melbourne. He doesn’t see earning his Wood Badge as the end of anything, he’s a firm believer in continuing to put in the work to become a better and better Scout leader. “I see it more as a recognition of ‘you’re doing a good job as a leader, keep on doing it!’”
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