RECENTLY statistics were released by Ordnance Survey which showed that 40 per cent of people surveyed did not feel confident with reading a paper map. New technology means that we are reliant on satnavs and the GPS on our phones but in some of Scotland’s most beautiful landscapes you might struggle to get a signal that you can rely on. Not only that but technology is expensive and what happens if the battery runs out or if you get it wet? Also navigating your way home using a map is a challenge and requires problemsolving skills, there’s no fun in simply switching on a phone and it telling you how to get home.
Week in week out at Scouts Scotland we progressively teach our young people to develop the skills that they need to navigate and explore their own community. This can be through map reading, using a compass, learning about the stars and co-ordinates but it also teaches them problem solving and team building skills. This is then built upon and developed throughout their Scouting career as they go on expeditions at home and abroad.
As well as this at our National Activity Centres, we introduce young people, Scouts and non-Scouts, to basic map reading through our orienteering sessions. This usually starts indoors where they draw a plan of the dining hall and then use their plan/map to find a route through the tables and chairs. Then building on the skills learned indoors they are given a map of the Centre with orienteering markers to go and find. It’s challenging but fun and the kids love it. But we also deliver training right up to advanced mountain navigation.
With National Map Reading Week taking place in October (17-23) we hope that more people will try to increase their map reading skills, as it’s a fun and challenging life skill which benefits everyone from young to old, and Scouting is an excellent way to do this.
Graeme Luke,
Head of Scouting Operations, Scouts Scotland,
Fordell Firs, Hillend, Dunfermline.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel