How to earn your award
Each young person who participates in the Programme, including badges and awards, should face a similar degree of challenge, and requirements can be adapted according to each young person’s abilities. For more information and practical tips see our guidance on flexibility.
Scouts who have particularly enjoyed this Challenge Award may like to try these Activity Badges:
As well as the guidance below, Programmes Online contains lots of activity ideas that you could use to deliver this badge.
To complete this award Scouts need to have spent at least eight nights away within Scouting. These nights away could be over any number of occasions, and at least four of them should be camping.
A camp or residential experience provides lots of opportunities for doing activities that you wouldn’t be able to do on a normal meeting night. Scouts could go away with their own Troop, with another Troop, or as part of a Group, District or County event. They should take an active part in the experience, and need to complete requirements 1-9, and four from the optional list (over the eight nights away) in order to gain the badge.
Training on running residential experiences is available as part of the Adult Training Scheme, and you can also ask your Assistant District Commissioner (Scouts), Assistant County Commissioner (Scouts) or other people in similar roles for help and advice.
Remember that the flexibility statement applies to all badges. There may be some Scouts who are unable to stay away overnight due to a special need, and you will need to think about how they can be involved in a challenge which is appropriate to them in order to complete this badge.
Nights Away and activity rules should always be followed.
The list of activities gives an idea of the type and style of the activities that the nights away should include. Depending on the activity there may be extra ideas that could be included. Ideas for activities linked to this badge (for example pioneering projects, backwoods cooking and wide games) can be found on Programmes Online.
The Countryside code is operated by Natural England and applies in England and Wales. The key principles are relevant everywhere in the UK countryside. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code operated by Scottish Natural Heritage applies in Scotland. The Northern Ireland Countryside Code applies in Northern Ireland. More info: England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Personal and Site hygiene could include such things as personal hygiene, looking after personal equipment and troop equipment whilst maintaining a tidy and orderly site, food hygiene, including waste disposal and dealing with litter.
Typical accidents or incidents which may occur outdoors or at camp include cuts, grazes, burns and scalds, stings and insect bites, heat stroke, upset stomach, dehydration, sprains and broken bones. Scouts should understand how to deal with an accident, the importance of getting help and how to make an emergency call.
In exploring the environment of camp Scouts should know which areas are out of bounds, understand the need to respect other people’s camps (for example by walking round not through them), take care of communal areas, and pick up their litter.
tent tips
pitching a tent
striking a tent
firelighting