Bear goes on the hunt for adult Scouts

Tags: participation | volunteering

Bear Grylls has set off on his latest adventure: an attempt to meet 10,000 Scouts and leaders over the next four years, and recruit more adult volunteers for the Scouts.

In April of this year, The Scout Association reported a rise in adult leaders, but due to the need for more adult volunteers, waiting lists to join are still the longest they've ever been, at more than 33,500 aspiring Scouts.

The TV survival celebrity said: "My goal as Chief Scout is for every young person that wants to be involved in Scouting to be able to take part. But in order to make this happen we need even more adult volunteers to keep up with the demand. So my aim is to encourage even more adults to volunteer alongside me and join in that Scouting adventure."

Bear, a well-known explorer and documentary presenter, is used to tough challenges, and although his latest one won't see him climbing mountains or eating live animals (unless he takes a few detours along the way) it's set to be full of obstacles.

With less free time and more hectic, urban-driven lifestyles than ever before, adults in the United Kingdom might take some convincing to give up their spare time without being paid, but those existing Scout Leaders insist it's not just the young people who benefit from joining.

Jon, 36, a scout leader from Birkenshaw said: "I'm really excited that Bear will be coming to visit us here in West Yorkshire. I've been a leader for 18 months now and I love it. While lots of people know that Scouting is all about adventure, they don't always realise that adult volunteers can get just as much out of Scouting as young people."

Bear's first task was to visit 24 events across the North East of England (from the Midlands to the Scottish borders) over the bank holiday weekend, including a medieval camp in Northumberland and ‘canoe polo' at the Grimbsy docks.

Young scouts across the country have been looking forward to meeting their role model.  Becky, 15, an ‘Explorer Scout' from Huddersfield, told the Association how excited she was to meet him. She said: "It's going to be just awesome. It's great that Bear is going to meet loads of different Groups and as many Scouts as possible. I think it's a really important thing to do - and he'll get to see just how much we all love doing the activities and stuff."

Bear, 35, joined the Scouts when he was eight years old, and will be bringing his own seven-year-old son on his tour around the UK. He said: "It's going to be fun hanging out with loads of Scouts at so many fun events. Scouting is all about adventure - encouraging adults and young people to go wild and have fun."

You can follow @bearinthenortheast on Twitter or join the Scouts to find out more.