Survival Tin

For many people Scouting is connected with Bushcraft and Survival skills.

Take one look at our chief scout, Bear Grylls and you will see that this is encouraged as an image choice too. Take part in a scouting skills day and you would think you are in a bushcraft show.

One thing we need to remember is that as well as feeding our inner child it is imperative as leaders to be able to program those skills and experiences to our scouts, beavers, cubs and troops, in a safe and exciting way. 

This is evident in those scouting skills days as all the instructors made it clear with additional information on how to run a program with those skills.

I have received a survival tin, as a prize in a competition! It is so exciting and thank you to the good men at Urban Bushcraft.

First a few lines about these good folk. 

Ray is a scout leader with 5 years experience on the field and an inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm and excitement. He is the man behind Urban Bushcraft an online resource for all urbanites!

Please find your way to their excellent site at: http://urbanbushcraft.co.uk/

Take your time to listen to their podcast, download it on your iSomething for your commute maybe.

The great outdoors is here all around us. 

More and more, on my daily commute, I see people in their urban survival gear; back packs, water bottles, alcogel hygiene packs, GPS and Comm Devices (aka Mobiles) and "who knows what" in their bags, leaving their abodes to tackle a 10-12 hour day (at least, some last for more than 24h!). We are wired to be prepared once we are faced with a hostile environment.

It's not that dramatic, I know... But to see each day as an adventure and the city as a jungle is more appealing.

Back to the tin! It's not so much for the day to day commute, its geared towards the wilderness.

How many more things can you fit in?

As you see from the picture, it does exactly what it says on the tin! It has a load of stuff inside that excite the imagination. Wire saw, a small pen knife, a whistle etc.

Am I ever going to use it to save my life? 

I hope not. 

Am I ever going to use it as a scout leader? 

You bet!

It is an amazing activity for any young'n to find the tin and equip it with what they think they need for when out and about! You might want to be cautious with their choices but explaining why they picked what they picked is a great exercise.

Having said all that, next time I am going camping, I'm just gonna pop it in my bag. You never know when you might need to setup a snare for a bunny stew!