Meet Honiton Scouts, the local community heroes

Working with local care homes

Honiton Scouts have been working hard to bring smiles and joy to local care homes.

In 2022, Honiton Scouts decided to start their St. Georges Day parade at one local care home and finished it at another, as they wanted to get their local community involved. Both the residents and Scouts alike really enjoyed their day.

The residents loved watching the youngsters arrive. The residents were all sat behind the main window, smiling and waving Union Jack flags at them, as the young people happily got into their sections. The parade was ready to begin and, when they began walking, all the young people waved back, too.

When we got to the next care home, again we were happily greeted by the staff and residents, who were smiling and waving. They watched as everyone renewed their promise, too.

John, a resident, talked to some of the young people. He told them of the days when he was a Cub, many years ago, and about what he did in Scouts. He got to answer lots of excited questions, too. Everyone finished the afternoon with a drink and yummy biscuit.

They gave the care home residents at both home some Nemesia plants. They were put into a pot, alongside a picture of a dragon, which was added in on a bamboo stick. All the young people coloured in the dragons themselves and the Scouts thought it would be a lovely reminder of such a brilliant day for the residents. They were told they flowered for a long time and were beautiful, so it was a great success, too.

Supporting the Memory Cafe

The Scouts also get involved with Honiton Memory Café, which was set up in 2010 and is volunteer led. It’s a friendly meeting place for people who’ve a new diagnosis of dementia or who’re experiencing difficulties with their memory.

Every year the Scouts make gifts for the Memory Café members Annual General Meeting (AGM). They usually decorate plant pots and plant bulbs in them, as it’s something the cafe can keep for quite a few weeks and enjoy. They’ve done this for a few years now and each year they always get told how lovely the flowers are. Everyone always has fun making them, too.

Thanking young carers

Helen, the 1^st Honiton Scouts leader, was lucky enough to be invited to the Honiton Carers as a guest speaker. She gave all the carers a certificate and a small bunch of flowers each to say thank you for the outstanding work they do. Helen told us that everyone really enjoyed hearing about the fun things that the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts had been up to, too.

Creating a community garden

Honiton Scouts have also just started a Community Garden behind the Beehive, a community building that lots of groups use. They got together with staff at the Beehive to clear a piece of ground. The Scouts then planted runner beans, tomatoes, courgettes, radish and lots of other tasty things. They also planted a hazel tree there, which became their Jubilee tree. The best bit is that anyone in the community can help themselves to anything that’s growing there. It’s helping their Scouts to learn about growing plants, how to garden and where food comes from, too.