Take a look at the options for badges for Scouts. . .

Local Knowledge Activity Badge

Option 3: Heritage

Requirements met:

  • Study an aspect of national history, local history or family heritage. Exhibit or present the results to other people.
  • Over a period agreed with your leader, get involved in a project to help preserve some aspect of national or local heritage.

Scouts visit Kent Life to explore and find out about the history of hop growing and oast houses in Kent. All around the Kent countryside you see these buildings with pointy roofs. Often they are used as houses for people to live now. But once they were an important part of how country people made a living, by growing and drying hops. At Kent Life we have the last working coal-fired oast house in Kent, as well as a hop garden.

Scouts start with a hands-on tour of the hop garden, the oast house and the hoppers’ huts. This will take approx. 45 minutes to an hour. They then work in small groups to make a short film on their mobile phones, re-telling the story to either other scouts or cubs. For this they will have access to additional source material such as books and artefacts.

In the afternoon they take part in a preservation project. This may include gardening-type work in the hop garden, maintenance or cleaning work in the oast house or hoppers huts, or cleaning & maintenance of artefacts such as wagons or tools.

Prices: £5.00 per child, plus £140 for guided tour and instruction/supervision of preservation project
Duration: Whole day, 10.30am – 2.30pm with 1 hour for lunch
Capacity: Maximum 30 children per session

Notes: Scouts must be adequately supervised at all times with a ratio of 1:8 (adults free of charge). A lunchroom is provided. This will fulfil all requirements to gain the badge. Badges must be provided by the group.

Farming Activity Badge

Option 1
Requirements met:

  • Learn about farming practices in your area.
  • Find out about the organisation, as well as the daily and seasonal operations of a farm of your choice. Make a note of practices relating to livestock, crops, cultivation, rotation, machinery and labour force.

Scouts visit Kent Life’s smallholding to learn about our animals and how we look after them. Scouts start with a tour of the farm where they are introduced to all our animals and learn about farming in Kent. We will discuss what is grown and reared, in which areas, when and why.

Scouts then do some practical work on the farm. This may include feeding animals, mucking out and cleaning enclosures, and work in our orchards and gardens.

Scouts finish with a chat about how things have changed in farming in Kent over the last 100 years or so.

Prices: £5.00 per child, plus £140 for Farm Tour and instruction/supervision of farm work.
Duration: Whole day, 10.30am – 2.30pm with 1 hour for lunch
Capacity: Maximum 30 children per session

Notes: Scouts must be adequately supervised at all times with a ratio of 1:8 (adults free of charge). A lunchroom is provided. This will not fulfil all requirements to gain the badge. Badges must be provided by the group.