Summer Camp 2023 – Netherlands
The Scout section have returned from a joint summer camp with Leeson Park Scouts to the Netherlands. This year, we were led by Adam Byrne, Colm Finlay, Conleth Law, James Kinlan, and Luke Dee-Brown, along with the leaders from Leeson Park.
During our 9 day trip we camped in two Scout Centres, Scout Centrum Rotterdam and Scout Centrum Naaldenveld.
We flew into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, and took public transport to the Rotterdam campsite. After setting up our tents, we started to build our site with a kitchen marque, pioneering table, and gigantic flag poll. The Scouts and Ventures of 32nd Rathgar and 6th Leeson Park were split into patrols for preparing and cooking of meals, and washing up.
Some of our activities included a scavenger hunt, a cycling trip to Gouda via Kinderdijk, swimming and boating in the canals around the campsite, a water fight between scouts and leaders, raft building, a day trip to Walibi World, rock climbing, plenty of games of Kan Jam. One of the highlights was our day trip to Amsterdam to see the Nemo Science Museum, where the scouts explored hands-on exhibits and learned about various scientific phenomena. We also hosted an International Night, where we invited scout groups at the Centre to join us for some Dublin Coddle, singing “Grace,” and some Irish dancing.
The camp was full of fun, learning, and new friendships. Before we left, the leaders held a brief closing ceremony, thanking everyone for their participation and hard work throughout the week.