Galway troop keeps the flag flying for scouting!

It was that response for Brendan that epitomised the impact lockdown was having on children – and the importance of the outdoors to restoring their wellbeing.

The 14th Galway group, which has boys and girls of all ages up to 18 involved, has become synonymous with the outdoors for that reason, as Brendan explains.

“In the first lockdown last spring, we’d been doing as much as we could online. That was more so to keep the teenagers connected, but it doesn’t work for the younger ones. It’s really just not the same.

“Then, in the summer, when restrictions eased a bit, we got them all outdoors. We were able to bring our older groups on 10-day outdoor experiences and what we were noticing was they were exhausted after the first day of activities,” says Brendan.

As the days went on, he describes it as being like ‘a weight was lifted off their shoulders’.

“They seemed to find the whole living within so many rules very tiring. After the 10 days, they were running around like normal kids. Our normal experience is that they’re full of enthusiasm at the beginning and calm down as it goes on – but this flipped it on its head,” says Brendan.

As a result of Covid restrictions, a decision was taken by the group to focus its energy on the outdoors – investing in tents and returning to what the Scouts has always been about like camping, hiking and outdoor survival skills, he continues.

“By us being active last year, we have seen our numbers grow by 27%. We have had a queue of children and adults wanting to get involved. As time went on, the message was getting stronger that we were safe out in the parks.”

The children and teenagers already involved were going back to their friends, spreading the word and spurring more and more to join.

There was a noticeable improvement in the children’s sociability as the summer went on, says Brendan a welcome sight for parents and volunteers who had seen children go into their shell as they tried to cope with months trapped indoors.

“We operated all through the summer and as the evenings drew in from October, we started meeting on Sunday afternoons rather than weekday evenings. We would have kept going right through January and February, but for the restrictions that came in at Christmas.

Making their return as the latest batch of restrictions eased, small groups were able to meet at Shantalla Park where Brendan says they will continue to meet over the coming weeks and months.

“Last year, we only got to do away trips for the older groups, but this year we have plans for camps in July for all age groups. We’re staying a bit closer to home than we might normally, because there are a lot of new members who mightn’t be as comfortable to be away from home.

“We expect to expand further in September. It’s only week two back and we already have people contacting us wanting to join,” says Brendan.

The Scouts as an organisation has been hit, like many others, by Covid – losing volunteers who have had to step out because of health risks has been a particular challenge, says Brendan.

But 14th Galway has bucked the trend with growing numbers.

“The national organisation has a campaign going to increase awareness of what Scouts is about. In Galway, we have ourselves on the west side of the city, the 13th in Renmore and the Sea Scouts and as we’ve seen, it can be such an important outlet for young people,” says Brendan.

For more information on joining Galway 14th Scouts, visit 14thgalway.ie, or for other groups see scouts.ie.