From the County Lead Volunteer

Author:

Published: January 2, 2026

Happy New Year!

Despite the long nights and cold weather, January is never dull in Lincolnshire Scouts, with lots going on to inspire you for 2026. Over the Christmas period, it was fantastic to see local Scouting highlighted in the media, shining a light on the number of young people waiting to join Scouting across Lincolnshire. While there are many excellent resources available via the Scouts website to support growth, more needs to be done to promote the benefits of Scouting within our local communities. If you have something you would like to shout about please contact Abigail at Abigail.Jodhan-Singh@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk

January is also census time. An accurate census is not just about County income; it is also vital in helping us understand where additional support is needed – whether that is due to long waiting lists or sections with fewer than 12 young people. This year’s census includes additional questions that will help us identify where units may be struggling, enabling us to offer targeted support through the Growth and Communities team where appropriate. There will be opportunities to help support growth and adult recruitment – but only if we know where the need is. Please also remember to speak with your District Lead Volunteer, who can help signpost available support.

Lincolnshire Scouts has a full and exciting programme of events, training and expeditions planned for 2026. Please share these dates widely within your Groups, Districts and Networks, and encourage early planning and bookings where required.

· Explorers & Network County Camp - Friday 2 January, 4:00pm – Sunday 4 January, 4:00pm

· County First Response Course -Saturday 10 January, Grantham

· County First Response Course- Sunday 11 January, Gainsborough Sea Scouts

· Nights Away Assessor (Module 25) Training - Sunday 25 January – 3:00pm start

· Silver Expedition – First Training Weekend, Saturday 7 – Sunday 8 February

· Lincs Progfest 2026, Sunday 1 March, 10:00am – 3:00pm

· District Lead Volunteers Meeting- Wednesday 11 March, 7:30pm – 9:00pm

· Silver Expedition – Second Training Weekend (including Skills Assessment), Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 March

· Practical Skills Day - Adult Leaders Course - Saturday, 21 March at Sudbrooke Scout Campsite

· Tomahawk Throwing For Young People - Adult Leaders Course - Sunday, 22 March at Sudbrooke Scout Campsite

· Silver Practice Expedition, Friday 17 – Sunday 19 April

· Stamcamp 26 Friday 1 May – Monday 4 May

· Silver Qualifying Expedition, Saturday 2 May – Monday 4 May

· Nights Away Training, Friday 8 May, 6:00pm – Sunday 10 May, 6:00pm, Sudbrooke Campsite

· WOW 2026 - Saturday 13 June, 9:00am – Sunday 14 June, 5:00pm

· District Lead Volunteers Online Meeting - Wednesday 24 June, 7:30pm – 9:00pm

· Lincoln Archery and Shooting Tournament - Saturday 4 July – Sunday 5 July

· Cubs on the Water – Day 1, Saturday 4 July, 9:00am – 4:00pm

· Cubs on the Water – Day 2, Sunday 5 July, 9:00am – 4:00pm

Further details, booking information and any updates will be shared via the Lincolnshire Scouts website, County bulletins

and direct communications. Please ensure leaders and young people are aware of relevant opportunities and deadlines.

I look forward to hearing about your many adventures across Lincolnshire in 2026.

Howard Nelson

Lead Volunteer – Lincolnshire Scouts

January Bulletin

International Scout Pen-Pal Scheme

January 2, 2026

Sign up to be part of an International Pen-Pal Scheme lead by the Youth Team: The idea behind this scheme is to connect people from different places, with different experiences in scouting. We want to make this a free, accessible way to globalize your scout journey and meet scouts from around the world. If you’re interested, please apply through the form below. This will be on a first-come, first-served basis pairing people up so get your application in! https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=QyFEsSceqkGXT_kCaIBQ3tMpbnNAbK1PkS_VErTBfbBUNDJTN1JMMUlLVlUzNDA4SDI5M1IyTVlLTC4u&origin=QRCode Wishing you a happy new year from the Youth Team (Caitlin, Emma and Jess) and please feel free to contact us on YouthTeam@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk if you have any feedback or questions about youth opportunities this year! Caitlin Hall Lincolnshire County Youth Lead

Lincolnshire Programme Event - Progfest

By Carolyn Greig • January 1, 2026

Calling all section based and programme support volunteers! This Spring, our amazing Programme Team will be running a support events for you, our Section Team Members! This event will give you an opportunity to: refresh your programme basics including running a quality programme and keeping our young people safe; pick up tools, resources and programme ideas; and tell us about the programme support you need to offer exciting and adventurous activities and enable all our young people to achieve their section top award. We would love to see as many of our Section Team Members as possible in attendance. The event is designed for Section Team Leaders and Team Members (formerly Section Leaders, Assistant Section Leaders, Section Assistants) as well as District Programme Support roles (formerly Assistant District Commissioners District Explorer Scout Commissioners and teams). The events is being held at The Stanhope Hall in Horncastle. Address is The Stanhope Hall, Boston Road, Horncastle, LN9 6NF JOIN US: Sunday 1 March 2026 – Arrival 9.30am for 10am start. Departure 3.30pm.

Nights Away Assessor Training Course

January 1, 2026

Duke of Cornwall Awards Ceremony – June 2026 Liam Nelson, Emergency Planning & Business Continuity Officer for Lincolnshire, has confirmed that the Duke of Cornwall Awards ceremony will take place on 13 June 2026 at Waddington Training Centre, running from 0900 to 1300 hours. Any changes to arrangements will be communicated in due course. The ceremony provides an opportunity for young people who have completed the Duke of Cornwall Award during the year to enjoy a morning of blue-light service activities and to receive their certificates from the Lord-Lieutenant of Lincolnshire and the Chief Fire Officer. Due to the popularity of the event, a cap on numbers may be required depending on demand. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Liam is asking groups to confirm whether they have young people wishing to attend, along with approximate numbers by award level (Home, Neighbourhood, Community), as early as possible to support planning. Contact: Liam Nelson, Emergency Planning & Business Continuity Officer Email: Liam.Nelson@lincolnshire.gov.uk Office : 01522 843401 | Mobile: 07711 17714

Duke of Cornwall Activity Day and Awards Ceremony

January 1, 2026

Tomahawk throwing course from BushScout UK

January 1, 2026

Tomahawk Throwing For Young People - Adult Leaders Course - Sunday, 22 March '26 9:30am – 4pm GMT at Sudbrooke Scout Campsite, Unnamed Road, Sudbrooke, Lincoln, over 18 years only Overview: Our Tomahawk Throwing Course is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of tomahawk throwing techniques, knowledge, skills, and confidence to safely deliver this exciting activity to our young members at The Scouts. Course Highlights: Rules - Prioritise safety as you learn the fundamentals of safe tomahawk handling and throwing techniques. Types of hawks - Learn how to choose the right tomahawk for your needs and how to maintain it for optimal performance. Targets & Stands - Explore different target and stand types and what wood to use. Activity area - Understand what you need to do to create a safe and effective range. Risk assessments - It's not all play, understand the risks and how to mitigate them. Duration and session types - Adapting your training for different ages is an important part of running the activity. Games - Engage in friendly competitions and games that challenge your accuracy and enhance your tomahawk throwing abilities. You will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the course. £40 per person The course will start at 9:30am and finish at 4pm. You will need to bring a packed lunch with you, Tea and Coffee will be provided. Booking details at https://www.bushscout.org.uk/courses Please note: to attend a Bushscout.UK course you must be a current adult member of The Scout Association. Group bookings are welcome, but all attendees must be named at the point of booking. Placeholder bookings will be cancelled.

Bushcraft course

January 1, 2026

Practical Skills Day - Adult Leaders Course - Saturday, 21 March '26 9am – 5pm GMT at Sudbrooke Scout Campsite, Unnamed Road, Sudbrooke, Lincoln, LN2 2QZ for over 18's Learn simple, safe and successful practical skills techniques that your young people of all ages will love, in a supportive, low-ego environment, with experienced volunteers and plenty of time to practise, ask questions, and build confidence. Modules include fire lighting, knives, axe and saw, campfire cookery and tarpology. Details Are you a leader lacking confidence in Safe use of Knives? Do you need to demonstrate competence to convince your GLV to allow you to teach Beavers Fire Lighting? Are your Cubs saying “no more s’mores!”. Come along to a Bushscout Skills Day and we will teach you skills around traditional practical skills that your Young People will love to learn. We will show you safe techniques, as well as progression that will allow you to apply these skills to all ages. Bushscout.UK, delivering safe Practical Skills, is running a course on 21st March 2026 at Sudbrooke Scout Camp Site, Sudbrooke, Lincoln LN2 2QZ The day will cover: Fire Lighting Axe & Saw Tarpology Knife Safety Campfire Cooking Come along and see why Bushscout is the fastest growing trend within UK Scouting. The day will cost £40 per person. You will need a packed lunch and suitable clothing for being outdoors all day. Tea/Coffee will be provided. Booking details at https://www.bushscout.org.uk/courses

Programme Update

By Carolyn Greig • January 1, 2026

Soft Fencing Course Update I now have 4 dates for the soft fencing course and will be contacting venues to check availability today. Proposed dates are 25 th Jan Market Deeping Scout HQ 31 st Jan Lincoln (Checking) 7 th Feb Lincoln (Checking) 7 th March Earlsfield Rd HQ, Grantham Everyone who contacted me about the courses will be getting individual emails this weekend with a suggestion of your closest course and further details. If anyone else is interested, please get in touch with carolyn.greig@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk and I will try to fit you in. Archery Course There are 8 spaces available for a GB archery course on 21st & 22nd June at Spilsby Scout HQ. Costs for the course are likely to be £230 pp which can be supported by group, District or County funds if necessary. More details once final HQ and mileage expenses are known but please contact Barrie Jenkinson at tomahawk@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk for further details. Save the Date, It's our Birthday! Sunday May 17 th at Boston Wings Meadow, we are looking to hold the first of our Birthday bashes for Squirrels who are 5 years old, Beavers who are 40 and Cubs who are 110 years old. We are looking at running more events over the year across the county but hope you will join in celebrating these 3 big birthdays with us. Lincoln Target Tournament. On 4 th and 5 th July, Lincoln Archery will be running their target tournament again featuring Archery and Tomahawks. Cost is £6 per person, per sport to be held at Sudbrooke Campsite. Entries open this month so watch social media for more information coming very soon. Carolyn Greig County Programme and Adventure Team Lead (with Ellie Broome) 14-24 Support | Top awards | Activity Teams | Events

Other News from Across the County

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County Bulletin: Issue 20 (January 2026)

January 2, 2026

Welcome to the latest edition of the Lincs County Bulletin. This is issued on the first Friday of each month. The bulletin will be sent to all adults registered on My Membership and distributed widely. To submit material for the bulletin please email howard.nelson@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk . Download as a PDF View historic Bulletins In this issue: From the County Lead Volunteer Lincolnshire Programme Event - Progfest Duke of Cornwall Awards Nights Away Assessor Course Tomahawk Throwing course from BushScout UK Bushcraft course from BushScout UK

County Bulletin: Issue 19 (December 2025)

December 4, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Lincs County Bulletin. This is issued on the first Friday of each month. The bulletin will be sent to all adults registered on My Membership and distributed widely. To submit material for the bulletin please email howard.nelson@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk . Download as a PDF View historic Bulletins In this issue: From the County Lead Volunteer Explorer Christmas Camp POR updates Nights Away Assessor Course Lincs Fest 2026 Duke of Cornwall Awards LCVYs Grants

Lincolnshire Explorers / Young Leaders Christmas Camp

November 22, 2025

Lincolnshire Explorer / Young Leader Explorer Christmas Camp- 3rd to 4th Jan 2026

County Bulletin: Issue 18 (November 2025)

November 7, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Lincs County Bulletin. This is issued on the first Friday of each month. The bulletin will be sent to all adults registered on My Membership and distributed widely. To submit material for the bulletin please email howard.nelson@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk . Download as a PDF View historic Bulletins In this issue: From the County Lead Volunteer National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra Duke of Edinburgh Celebration award event Makaton videos Volunteer Development Free Cash!!! Programme Team Tomahawk and rifle shooting LCVYS Christmas card competition Visual supports

New Lead Volunteer appointed for Sleaford District

By Howard Nelson • October 12, 2025

Rosie Flint appointed as the new Lead Volunteer for Sleaford District

County Bulletin: Issue 17 (October 2025)

October 3, 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the Lincs County Bulletin. This is issued on the first Friday of each month. The bulletin will be sent to all adults registered on My Membership and distributed widely. To submit material for the bulletin please email howard.nelson@lincolnshirescouts.org.uk . Download as a PDF View historic Bulletins In this issue: From the County Lead Volunteer Skegness and Spilsby District Success Census 2026 Data Protection Reminder: Using Email Safely Scouts Future Leader Programme HQ Leadership Opportunities Lincoln District Shooting Tournament ProgFest Shooting activities New County Brand County First Aid Courses

Gainsborough Awards

By Howard Nelson • October 1, 2025

Congratulations to Julie and Dany on their awards!

Lincub and Little Lincs 2025

September 29, 2025

Cubs Take Over Sudbrooke Park as over 400 young people and volunteers join together for an unforgettable County Cub camp.