Apprentices give Somerset Scout camp a makeover

A popular Scout camp near Taunton that attracts thousands of young people every year has had a major makeover by our apprentices.

Nearly 70 young engineers and training staff used their practical skills to revamp parts of Huish Woods on the edge of the Blackdown Hills, as part of a community outreach project.

The 40-acre site offers opportunities to camp and do numerous activities, including archery, caving, orienteering, air rifle shooting, as well as nature trails, night hikes and adventure play.

Young people from the Scouts, Guides, youth groups, schools, and community organisations in Somerset and beyond are hosted by Huish Woods throughout the year.

But some of the facilities needed an upgrade and the apprentices responded to the challenge.

“They carried out numerous jobs throughout the week and worked really hard to do everything on the to-do list,” said project leader James Moyse, who is based at National Grid’s Taunton Training Centre.

“With hundreds of young people coming in at weekends to use the site, the apprentices could clearly see the benefit of all they had done and that it will impact a lot of people. It was a great team effort.”

As well as building a new footbridge, installing two miles of fencing and making a rooved timber store, the apprentices painted the camp’s main building and a toilet block, improved access to the site by clearing three miles of overgrown footpaths, laid four tonnes of aggregate to fill holes in paths and roads, and cleared vegetation for a new camping area.

Nadia Atherton, lead volunteer at Blackdown Scouts, said: “The completion of the bridge was a particular highlight and at our District camps many children have been down to see it and walk over it. We will now be able to open the pathway up for the younger children for nature trails and walks.”

One of the apprentices’ most arduous jobs was designing and erecting scaffolding to hang protective netting on the 19m wide archery range. To ensure the structure was stable, one metre deep holes were dug for the poles to be concreted into position and the scaffolding was pieced together by a team of eight using ropes.

Dave Lumbard, Huish Woods site manager for the Scouts, said: “It’s been great having everyone here working. Everything that has been done around the site has been done well and has really helped us out immensely. It’s made a huge difference and it’s been absolutely fantastic.”

Tackling hands-on projects like this not only helps the community but boosts the teamwork and communication skills of the apprentices in a practical way. The team came from the South West, the Midlands and South Wales, and comprised jointers, fitters, overhead lines operators and telecoms engineers.

Training engineer Darren Berry, who enjoyed Huish Woods as a Scout himself, said: “To come up here and give something back has been absolutely great.”